A new U2 album could have easily entered at #1 this week!

[STING2]

Here are the top 5 albums this week according to Soundscan in the USA.

Outkast/Speakerbox:the love below #1 97,000 copies sold
Sheryl Crow "Best of" #2 73,000 copies sold
Alicia Keys The Diary of Alicia Keys #3 69,000 copies sold
Toby Keith Shock'n Y'all #4 66,000 copies sold
Josh Groban's "Closer" #5 65,700 copies sold



Outkast Speakerbox has sold 3.4 million units over the past 17 weeks so far according to Soundscan. US sales only.

Thats the thing, release an album now or early Spring and U2 would definitely be #1 by a mile the first week because of the hard core fans. But the benefit of a fall Christmas release is that casual U2 fans and non-fans/general public would be more likely to pick up the album in the week of release or in the weeks after. Stronger sales up front might be better from a media standpoint, as being #1 for the opening week but not selling as much probably does not have as heave a media impact later on.

 

[tiger_luver64]

STING, i think U2 would be #1 at antime of year but i could be wring. I'm new in here today though. So Hi
How do i put pictures on here?

 

[STING2]

From Joshua Tree to POP, every U2 album hit the #1 spot in the USA. But Best of 1980-1990, ATYCLB and Best of 1990-2000, all failed to hit the top spot in the USA and were released during October/November pre-Christmas release time.

 

[Chizip]

could've, would've, should've...

 

[anitram]

Hi, STING,

Do you have the rest of the SoundScan numbers for this week? Say the top 50 albums or so? I've kind of become a numbers geek and I'd love to get a look at them every week, not having to rely only on Billboard info.

Question - is OutKast certified as 6x platinum since it's a double album?

And would a September release be good in terms of numbers because it's earlier than the big onslaught of Christmas-time albums that starts in November? That way, they could get their #1 status and then when November/December rolled around, still post increased numbers, riding the coattail of the Christmas rush spending? Or is it better to release in November when overall sales are higher?

 

[STING2]

anitram,

I wish I had the Soundscan numbers, but I don't. The numbers above were posted on the Billboard.com News Sections of the site and only included the top 5. Docter Who used to have all the numbers every week. He had an inside source. I'm not sure where he is now.

Outkast is now at 7 million copies sold because it is a double album. The album package of two disc has sold 3.4 million copies in the USA according to Soundscan, in just 17 weeks.

Your Theory about a September release being more beneficial to overall sales is an interesting one. The idea is to avoid the massive drop off in sales that normally occurs after the first few weeks or so. If the new album could maintain its momentum without any holiday buzz for two months, then yes, I think its a good idea.

If the release the album prior to October, it will be eligible for the Grammy awards in February of 2005. Rock Hall of Fame occurs in March 2005. Then perhaps a tour will start in March or April of 2005. U2 may be getting their ducks in a row for some real wam bam consistent sales numbers for months on end.