superchuk5
Refugee
I wouldn't go as far as roaring success, but it's doing quite well in the US all things considered.
The UK performance is surprising, but the UK loves their Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
Songs of Experience - Let The Chart Speculation Begin
- Thread starter womanfish
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I wouldn't go as far as roaring success, but it's doing quite well in the US all things considered.
The UK performance is surprising, but the UK loves their Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
Think that's all down the the price cut to £6.99. It's on the main page on iTunes aswell. Pretty sure theve cut Taylor swifts record aswell
This site CSPC: U2 Popularity Analysis – ChartMasters has some great stats on U2 sales (including country by country) up through SOI.
A few for the UK:
AB 1,425K
Zooropa 700K
Pop 525K
ATYCLB 1,200K
HTDAAB 1,300K
NLOTH 425K
When looking at these numbers, you have to keep in mind the sharp decline in record sales overall over the period these albums came out. Also keep in mind these are cumulative sales, so older albums have been selling for longer. I'd have to say no, sales have not gotten progressively weaker since 2000, they've been up and down.
Here in the U.S. it’s at 13 on the Billboard 200.
Currently at #10 on the global iTunes chart. Anybody have updated figures on global sales?
Number 4 on the worldwide chart 605k sales. 3rd week chart should be up sometime tomorrow. Normally it is anyway
http://www.mediatraffic.de/albums.htm
How reliable are media traffic? I'm presuming the total would be slightly higher as I don't think media traffic take in all markets
http://www.mediatraffic.de/albums.htm
How reliable are media traffic? I'm presuming the total would be slightly higher as I don't think media traffic take in all markets
Down to 32 on the Billboard 200.
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
The album will fall off without promotion or a hit song. I actually liked the first single - and that couldn’t break through. It may be time to connect a song to a great commercial. That might create the necessary exposure to finally give U2 a top 20 hit and keep album interest high.
The promotion is strange, they teased the video for GOOYOW two week ago and still nothing
mikeuk
War Child
So number 7 this week with equivalent sales of 145k - so 750k after3 weeks
Mrs. Garrison
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Bad choice for a second single imho, they should have immediately went to Red Flag Day or Lights of Home for the second single, not GOOYOW or AS(s)
True, but even so they decided GOOYOW teased the video and then just never showed it, odd
Maybe a band nearing 60 aren't going to have a top 20 hit no matter what they do, because they're a band nearing 60.
Mrs. Garrison
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
After the last 10 years or so I can't really say anything they do anymore is odd
Good 3rd week sales, hopefully another similar sale reported next week with it being xmas week. Then it's gonna slide down and slide real fast. Should definitely do a million
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I certainly won't deny this. However, every so often, with the right song, an older artist will have a huge hit. Cher did it with "Believe" when she was well past her hit-making days (in fact, the song hit #1). Others have "created" hits by associating their songs with a particular commercial (Moby, Sting, Kings of Leon, Selena Gomez, just to name a few). As long as the commercial isn't ridiculous, it will work. U2 already experienced this a bit with "Vertigo" (although that song also loosely advertised the U2 iPod as well as their entire catalog on iTunes for sale). They can even go back and use YTBT again, if it fits. Moby and Sting, years ago, had flopping albums until the commercials helped them break through.
Cher got "lucky" with "Believe". I'm not sure there's that type of pop song on the album. But the music that's there could do the trick.
If that doesn't work, then it really is just an album released in order to tour (Rolling Stones have done that for decades).
Cher was 51/52 when Believe first came out which is still quite a bit younger then U2 at this point however the point is still valid
U2's hardcore fanbase is thinning out, plus the proliferation of digital music hasnt helped them.
I would say U2 have approximately 2 million hardcore fans in the world with probably a few more million softcore fans but those fans likely wont go out and buy the album. Likely very few if any new fans these days....and if their are well I congratulate those people for having good taste in music.
hasin73
Refugee
Big jump for U2 in Worldwide iTunes Album Chart ( probably after BBC programme )
Worldwide iTunes Album Chart - 2017/12/28
8 +5 U2 - Songs of Experience
Worldwide iTunes Album Chart - 2017/12/28
8 +5 U2 - Songs of Experience
Cher was 51/52 when Believe first came out which is still quite a bit younger then U2 at this point however the point is still valid
U2's hardcore fanbase is thinning out, plus the proliferation of digital music hasnt helped them.
I would say U2 have approximately 2 million hardcore fans in the world with probably a few more million softcore fans but those fans likely wont go out and buy the album. Likely very few if any new fans these days....and if their are well I congratulate those people for having good taste in music.
Interesting estimate on the total fanbase. How did you arrive at that number?
Regarding new fans they *are* getting some, including teenagers. Maybe not that many but they do exist because I've seen them online and, in one case, in person. From the comments I've seen, most of the teenagers got into U2 through parents or older siblings but some discovered the band on their own, in some cases -- ironically -- because of the SOI giveaway.
Also, I believe the age profile of the U2 fanbase skews younger in continental Europe and Latin America than in the U.S. or U.K. Maybe someone who lives in those areas could provide more insight?
Super Yo
New Yorker
That’s right.
I’m from Uruguay and i can assure you that a lot of people between the ages of 20/30 likes U2. The same thing happens in Argentina and Brazil. Their popularity in Brazil is incredible.
There are definitely hard core U2 fans in the 24-35 age bucket, mostly those who were old enough to be around for Bomb.
Younger than that? Few and far between.
Younger than that? Few and far between.
nbelcik
Refugee
- Joined
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There's very few that I know, I was 14 when No Line came out so that's probably why there are few U2 fans my age
I'm nearly 32 and I fall in the 2000 atyclb bracket. There was a lot of new fans around that era. A lot of my school friends got into the band around that time. Think that era was a bigger reinvention then the bomb era was but the bomb era definitely made them some new fans aswell.
The period from the time Beautiful Day hit radio through I'd say early 2006 was a huge period for the band as far as bringing in new fans in their teens and early 20s.
By the time No Line came around, a backlash was inevitable - and releasing a dud like Boots didn't help. But they were bigger than ever in a live setting because of all the new fans picked up in the early 2000s.
360 did so well that a shrinking in tour numbers was inevitable.
The_acrobat
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I'm 35 myself, and I feel I see a lot of people around my age at U2 concerts. ATYCLB/HTDAAB had a huge influence on my age group, who were roughly college aged at the time of those albums. I'm glad I got to experience U2 being at their 2nd peak during those years where I was part of the cultural zeitgeist.
I'm 40 myself but I have been a U2 fan since Joshua Tree.
The last tour I was physically at was 360 and the fanbase perception wise for me seemed a lot older then the previous tours I had attended.
The cool thing about U2 up until this time they have been able to maintain a wide range of ages in their fanbase. I have seen people as young as 12 and as old as 75 or over at U2 concerts.
As for the number of hardcore fans, I am estimating based upon albums that are little known or would be considered a flop.....so that means Boy, October, Pop and No Line On The Horizon. Too me the majority of people that actually own a physical or digital copy of those albums in particular are likely to be a U2 lifer
Although the way people "consume" music is very different these days then it ever has been in the past.
trevgreg
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I've also learned over the years that if we follow a band's every move often enough, there's almost always going to be disagreement over the things they do, release, how long things take, what singles they release, etc. If we had the Internet 30 years ago, discussions probably would've been somewhat similar... but we would have gotten the music a bit more often maybe!
Similar here. I am pleasantly surprised when I go to shows and see a bunch of people that appear younger than me too.
