doctorwho
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Below are chart & sales summaries for the 90's "Best Of + B-sides", "Best Of" and their combined efforts. Many countries have combined the sales of both versions, which ranks the album higher on the charts. However, in the U.S., the albums are listed separately (Canada does this as well). Therefore, I wanted to make a "combined" list to show where the album would have ranked on the charts had the sales of both versions been combined. This last item, IMO, is a better indicator of the overall success of the "Best Of".
I have the actual chart positions for the two albums, however, I did not receive SoundScan reports for during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's. I did receive a SoundScan report from last week, which listed New Year's week's numbers. I am estimating the Christmas week sales based on chart positions. Remember, this is perhaps the top-selling week of the year. In previous years, the top 50 (!) albums all sold over 100,000 copies - so my estimates may be quite low. However, I do recall NOT seeing U2's albums "gold highlighted" on Billboard, indicating that they did not have a major jump in sales (at least when compared to other releases). Hence, my estimates are conservative.
90's "Best Of + B-sides":
Charts:
#3 - 27 - 49 - 62 - 80 - 91- 88 - 93 - 100 - 134
Sales:
184,804 + 59,694 + 31,512 + 36,916 + 26,344 + 33,292 + 50,000 (estimate) + 33,055 + 13,613 + 7,469
Total Estimated Sales:
476,699
90's "Best Of":
Charts:
#34 - 57 - 49 - 58 - 56 - 58 - 64 - 88 - 94
Sales:
37,922 + 26,436 + 50,687 + 34,331 + 49,635 + 65,000 (estimate) + 44,993 + 15,377 + 11,048
Total Estimated Sales:
335,429
Combined:
Charts (theoretical position if sales were combined):
#3 - 13 - 30 - 29 - 35 - 37 - 37 (estimate) - 40 - 45 - 52
Sales (combined weekly sales of both albums):
184,804 + 97,616 + 57,948 + 87,603 + 60,675 + 82,927 + 115,000 (estimate) + 78,048 + 28,990 + 18,517
Total Sales (for both albums):
812,128
As shown, the combined sales have already crossed 800,000 copies in the U.S. Sales did drop dramatically this week, but this was true for ALL albums. In fact, I saw a report on this (based on HitsDailyDouble.com's numbers) stating that all sales were much lower than expected. Despite the fact that the combined "Best Of" releases saw 36% sales drop, the combined albums only would have theoretically declined 7 spots on the charts. The huge drops for the "B-side" release are most likely due to the fact that this version of the album is now fading out. More and more stores are just pushing the less expensive single CD version of the album.
In any event, the "B-Sides" version of the album has officially sold close to 500,000 copies in the U.S. Due to RIAA rules, this should certify it as Platinum. The single CD version should be certified as Gold. While both albums are selling less than the 80's "Best Of", this should not be of a surprise to anyone. Furthermore, the 90's single CD version is on a similar track to the 80's single CD (which never charted high).
I have the actual chart positions for the two albums, however, I did not receive SoundScan reports for during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's. I did receive a SoundScan report from last week, which listed New Year's week's numbers. I am estimating the Christmas week sales based on chart positions. Remember, this is perhaps the top-selling week of the year. In previous years, the top 50 (!) albums all sold over 100,000 copies - so my estimates may be quite low. However, I do recall NOT seeing U2's albums "gold highlighted" on Billboard, indicating that they did not have a major jump in sales (at least when compared to other releases). Hence, my estimates are conservative.
90's "Best Of + B-sides":
Charts:
#3 - 27 - 49 - 62 - 80 - 91- 88 - 93 - 100 - 134
Sales:
184,804 + 59,694 + 31,512 + 36,916 + 26,344 + 33,292 + 50,000 (estimate) + 33,055 + 13,613 + 7,469
Total Estimated Sales:
476,699
90's "Best Of":
Charts:
#34 - 57 - 49 - 58 - 56 - 58 - 64 - 88 - 94
Sales:
37,922 + 26,436 + 50,687 + 34,331 + 49,635 + 65,000 (estimate) + 44,993 + 15,377 + 11,048
Total Estimated Sales:
335,429
Combined:
Charts (theoretical position if sales were combined):
#3 - 13 - 30 - 29 - 35 - 37 - 37 (estimate) - 40 - 45 - 52
Sales (combined weekly sales of both albums):
184,804 + 97,616 + 57,948 + 87,603 + 60,675 + 82,927 + 115,000 (estimate) + 78,048 + 28,990 + 18,517
Total Sales (for both albums):
812,128
As shown, the combined sales have already crossed 800,000 copies in the U.S. Sales did drop dramatically this week, but this was true for ALL albums. In fact, I saw a report on this (based on HitsDailyDouble.com's numbers) stating that all sales were much lower than expected. Despite the fact that the combined "Best Of" releases saw 36% sales drop, the combined albums only would have theoretically declined 7 spots on the charts. The huge drops for the "B-side" release are most likely due to the fact that this version of the album is now fading out. More and more stores are just pushing the less expensive single CD version of the album.
In any event, the "B-Sides" version of the album has officially sold close to 500,000 copies in the U.S. Due to RIAA rules, this should certify it as Platinum. The single CD version should be certified as Gold. While both albums are selling less than the 80's "Best Of", this should not be of a surprise to anyone. Furthermore, the 90's single CD version is on a similar track to the 80's single CD (which never charted high).
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