doctorwho
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In other forums, people are having fun guessing song names, the album name, the tour name, possible setlists, etc. So I thought we should have fun in this forum trying to predict first week sales and possible overall sales.
As I am in the U.S., I'll start with this country.
Coldplay just had a massive first week sales of their new album, selling nearly 720,000 copies (per SoundScan). Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" was the top album debut of the year after it sold a spectacular 1 million copies earlier this month. This proves that despite illegal downloads, a highly anticipated album can still sell massive quantities in the U.S.
As Paul McGuinness has stated, U2 still enjoy strong CD sales. Andwith legal downloads now available, this will definitely add to overall sales.
Due to the success of ATYCLB, HTDAAB had a huge first week in the U.S., selling nearly 850,000 copies. This easily makes it U2's biggest debut in the SoundScan era.
Given that U2 have been relatively quiet for a while (releasing DVD's and "Best Of's" are nice, but nothing too new there), the anticipation is high. HTDAAB also proved that U2 can have a huge first week. The new album may come out in November, which is also good as it kicks off the holiday shopping season. Also, with other artists proving that big first week sales are still possible, this bodes well for U2 to also have a big first week.
On the other hand, U2 is an aging band that the younger generation - those who mostly buy music - can't relate to as well. U2 fans in the U.S. are usually older - people who became fans in the late 80's or early 90's. HTDAAB was helped tremendously by the iPod commercial featuring "Vertigo". This was a great way to promote the album and reach a younger market. Can U2 replicate this type of success with a new single? While U2 should have no problems selling concert tickets, will they start becoming like the Rolling Stones - a band who sells boatloads of tickets, but not as many albums?
Without seeing what type of promotion there will be or having heard the first single, predicting is especially difficult - which is why this is fun. My guess is that there will still be a huge demand for new U2. I doubt U2 can replicate the success of the "Vertigo" iPod commercial, but a strong lead single will turn heads. U2's age - unavoidable - will decrease interest with younger people, but not to the point of a huge decline. Therefore, I'm predicting first week U.S. sales to be a bit less than Coldplay's, at this point. I'm predicting 650-700K.
In Europe, especially the U.K., where U2 remains wildly popular, I anticipate first week sales similar to HTDAAB - meaning it may hit Platinum in the first week (300,000 copies sold). In Canada, I'm anticipating the same - 2x Platinum within a week (200,000 copies sold).
Anyone else?
As I am in the U.S., I'll start with this country.
Coldplay just had a massive first week sales of their new album, selling nearly 720,000 copies (per SoundScan). Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" was the top album debut of the year after it sold a spectacular 1 million copies earlier this month. This proves that despite illegal downloads, a highly anticipated album can still sell massive quantities in the U.S.
As Paul McGuinness has stated, U2 still enjoy strong CD sales. Andwith legal downloads now available, this will definitely add to overall sales.
Due to the success of ATYCLB, HTDAAB had a huge first week in the U.S., selling nearly 850,000 copies. This easily makes it U2's biggest debut in the SoundScan era.
Given that U2 have been relatively quiet for a while (releasing DVD's and "Best Of's" are nice, but nothing too new there), the anticipation is high. HTDAAB also proved that U2 can have a huge first week. The new album may come out in November, which is also good as it kicks off the holiday shopping season. Also, with other artists proving that big first week sales are still possible, this bodes well for U2 to also have a big first week.
On the other hand, U2 is an aging band that the younger generation - those who mostly buy music - can't relate to as well. U2 fans in the U.S. are usually older - people who became fans in the late 80's or early 90's. HTDAAB was helped tremendously by the iPod commercial featuring "Vertigo". This was a great way to promote the album and reach a younger market. Can U2 replicate this type of success with a new single? While U2 should have no problems selling concert tickets, will they start becoming like the Rolling Stones - a band who sells boatloads of tickets, but not as many albums?
Without seeing what type of promotion there will be or having heard the first single, predicting is especially difficult - which is why this is fun. My guess is that there will still be a huge demand for new U2. I doubt U2 can replicate the success of the "Vertigo" iPod commercial, but a strong lead single will turn heads. U2's age - unavoidable - will decrease interest with younger people, but not to the point of a huge decline. Therefore, I'm predicting first week U.S. sales to be a bit less than Coldplay's, at this point. I'm predicting 650-700K.
In Europe, especially the U.K., where U2 remains wildly popular, I anticipate first week sales similar to HTDAAB - meaning it may hit Platinum in the first week (300,000 copies sold). In Canada, I'm anticipating the same - 2x Platinum within a week (200,000 copies sold).
Anyone else?