Can 1st week sales of new Coldplay album (X&Y) match those of HTDAAB?

[Shaliz]

Originally posted by ybird3k


some people would say that money, money, money is a result of making good music.

[fedeu2]

If you don´t like U2, why are you still here?

As for good music, I agree that Radiohead makes great music. Can´t say the same for Oasis (at least since 1999) and Coldplay (ever).

Do you think U2 is still in the business for the money?
If so, I guess you haven´t read any interviews with the band as of late.
The main reason U2 still exist as a band is because they want to continue being the greatest band in the world, and possibly, be remembered as the second greatest band in the history of rock, right behind the Beatles. That´s why they keep making incredibly great music and being relevant. Vertigo sounds as fresh as I will follow back in 1980. I can´t think of any other band that have stayed fresh and relevant for over 25 years.

Compare U2 to the Rolling Stones whose last 5 albums have been an excuse to go on tour and make a hell of a lot of money. Having ceased being relevant for over two decades now, that´s the only thing they can do.

Finally, if money and fame are not important, why are you so thrilled about Coldplay having sold nearly as much as U2 with their new album?

Originally posted by mosquito
Some bands and people still thinks good music (radiohead) is more important that money, money, money... (U2)

[fedeu2]

Yeah, I remember when I first heard Be here now, I thought it was a great album, but then, it slowly started to sound not so good. Eitherway, I would give it 3 starts out of 5, that is, a good record overall.
You see, what happened to Oasis (and maybe now to Coldplay) is they started out with great albums which they were unable to top. On the contrary, as much as I love Boy or October, they cannot hold a candle with most of U2 subsequent albums (not only their masterpieces). And that´s the logic evolution a band should follow, in my opinion.

Originally posted by ybird3k


ye your right, Be Here Now is too similar to Oasis' first two albums IMO also.
same can be said about Coldplays X&Y.

and staying at the top is definately the hardest thing to do.

[mosquito]

Originally posted by fedeu2
[B
Do you think U2 is still in the business for the money?

[/B]

Absolutely.They have been,probably,the biggest band in the world since 1987. Their music will never reach the standards of the 80`s and 90´s . I think that U2 since the failure of POP is not the same original and experimental band and have turned in a conservative band.

[DarkAcrobat]

Originally posted by mosquito

Absolutely.They have been,probably,the biggest band in the world since 1987. Their music will never reach the standards of the 80`s and 90´s . I think that U2 since the failure of POP is not the same original and experimental band and have turned in a conservative band.

Then go to another forum, and let us in peace, you are acting like a troll.

If you don`t like U2 anymore , what are you doing here , bugging us ?

[ChangeTheTemperature]

Coldplay sold 105,000 in Canada last week.

That is more than HTDAAB sold (~95,000).

They are really huge here in Canada.

[edge3]

Originally posted by fedeu2
Precisely, mediatraffic only covers 95% of worldwide sales so that figures turns into nearly 1,950.000. I guess it doesn´t include first week sales in Japan either (the week before the worldwide release).
So 2 million copies for first week sales seems a good estimate.

Bomb sold 84K in Japan the week before ROW for # 39 debut on Mediatraffic chart. So, really, total 1st week sales were around 2,034,000.

I think X&Y actually sold 32K in Japan last week not the 34K I earlier reported. Anyway, I think it will now do 1,950,000 at Mediatraffic (incl. last weeks Japan figure & 5% extra sales).

ps - I can't believe how far out everyone has been (incl. myself!).

[doctorwho]

Originally posted by mosquito
Some bands and people still thinks good music (radiohead) is more important that money, money, money... (U2)

O.K., this is arguably troll like behavior.

First, I have heard all of maybe ONE good Radiohead song (most over-rated band ever, IMO) and given all that Bono has done with his "money, money, money", I think your comment is ridiculously out of line.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to be at the "top of your game". In the music world, that means producing good music (and *anything* U2 has done is better than Radiohead), selling albums, having well-received tours and possibly winning awards. U2 is accomplishing all of this.

If you disagree, I highly recommend that you go to the websites of bands you like as opposed to making banal comments on here.

[POP-ROMANCER]

It's very simple:

The strength of u2 is that they (after 25 years !!!) are still on top! They have had some weaknesses with pop and popmart (not in my opinion) but now they are hot again! That's why they are the biggest band, accept the weaknesses. I don't know why there is so f#cking much discussing about that coldplay is bigger. Maybe in 25 years when they have released 12 albums and done huge tours all over the world and have had different styles in their music and are still great.

I like coldplay, it's a good band. The new album is also very strong, not so good as AROBTTH. But c'mon, this is their 3rd (!!!!) album, then they can't be the biggest.

I'm also huge oasis fan. I think it's funny that they think they are the biggest band in the world. I think at the time SOTSOG came out, that was the point it went worse and worse but the new album is very good.

But no way coldplay is bigger. We'll see in the future but I think coldplay can't 'change' styles so their music will always be a bit the same.

[STING2]

Well much has been said about Coldplay's album sales, almost nothing has been discussed about Coldplay's concert ticket sales.

Lets start off with the USA tour. The price range in the USA for this ampitheater tour can be up to $70 or a little more inside the Pavillion, but only around $25 to $35 for a lawn seat. Lawn seats make up the majority of the seats in these venues that have capacities on average for around 20,000 to 25,000 people. With this in mind, lets see which shows have sold out or not soldout.


Air Canada Centre SOLDOUT
Toronto, ON

Montreal, QC Bell Centre SOLDOUT

Ctnow.com Meadows Music Theater
Hartford, CT Lawn seats available

Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
Mansfield, MA SOLDOUT

Tweeter Center At the Waterfront
Camden, NJ Lawn seats available

Riverbend Music Center
Cincinnati, OH Lawn seats available

Post Gazette Pavilion At Star Lake
Pittsburgh, PA Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Verizon Wireless Music Center
Noblesville, IN Lawn seats available

Alpine Valley Music Theatre
East Troy, WI Lawn seats available

White River Amphitheatre
Auburn, WA Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Clark County Amphitheater
Ridgefield, WA Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CA Lawn seats available

Irvine Meadows / Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Irvine, CA SOLDOUT

Irvine Meadows / Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Irvine, CA 2nd show SOLDOUT

Journal Pavilion
Albuquerque, NM Lawn seats available

Cricket Pavilion
Phoenix, AZ Lawn seats available

Coors Amphitheatre
Chula Vista, CA Lawn seats available

DTE Energy Music Theatre
Clarkston, MI Lawn seats available

Germain Amphitheater
Columbus, OH Pavilion seats and Lawn
seats available

Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Darien Center, NY Lawn seats available

PNC Bank Arts Center
Holmdel, NJ SOLDOUT

Madison Square Garden
New York, NY 1st show SOLDOUT

Madison Square Garden
New York, NY 2nd show SOLDOUT

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Charlotte, NC Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Alltel Pavilion At Walnut Creek
Raleigh, NC Lawn seats available

Sound Advice Amphitheatre
West Palm Beach, FL Lawn seats available

Ford Amphitheatre At the Florida State Fairgrounds
Tampa, FL Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Verizon Wireless Music Center
Birmingham, AL Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

UMB Bank Pavilion
Maryland Heights, MO Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Starwood Amphitheatre
Nashville, TN Lawn seats available

Target Center
Minneapolis, MN Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater KC
Bonner Springs, KS Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Smirnoff Music Centre
Dallas, TX Lawn seats available

Woodlands Pavilion
Woodlands, TX Lawn seats available

Philips Arena
Atlanta, GA Seats available

Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
Virginia Beach, VA Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Nissan Pavilion
Bristow, VA Pavilion and Lawn seats
available

Of 38 shows for North America, only 8 are soldout! Most shows that are not soldout have thousands of tickets available at very low ticket prices.

Based on this, Coldplay has yet to even reach the level of popularity that U2 had achieved just a few months after the release of U2's first USA platinum album, the Unforgettable Fire back in early 1985.

Once the price and demand at that price for tickets are factored in, U2 are probably 10 times as popular as Coldplay on the concert front in the USA. For example, Coldplay's show in Philadelphia is not soldout and is unlikely to Gross more than 1 million dollars. U2 has already soldout 4 shows in Philadelphia with a GROSS of 7 million and they could easily sellout two more shows there pushing the Gross past 10 million.


Overseas and certainly in the United Kingdom, things may be a different story, but I doubt Coldplay will come anywhere near U2's 32 date soldout tour of Europe Grossing 5 million per night and playing to nearly 60,000 people per night.

[Soldatti]

A little bit from Billboard chart alert:

Coldplay Is Hot As "X&Y" Debuts At No. 1

With 737,000 units, Coldplay earns its first No. 1 album on The Billboard 200 and the second-best opening week of the year ... Black Eyed Peas and the White Stripes both see new chart highs and their best sales weeks ... Shakira sets a record for the best debut for a Spanish-language album ... The latest Vans Warped tour compilation moshes its way onto the chart, as does a number of acts that will play the traveling show ... Paul Anka opens at No. 2 on Top Jazz Albums with his unique rock covers set ... Pat Benatar lands her highest-charting album since 1991 and her best sales week since Billboard began using Nielsen SoundScan data that same year.



* Coldplay blasts onto The Billboard 200 at No. 1 with its "X&Y" selling 737,000 units. The massive debut week gives the band its first chart-topping album and its best sales frame ever. This is 2005's second-biggest debut, following 50 Cent's 1.14 million opener with "The Massacre" in March. It's also the biggest week for a rock band since U2 debuted with 840,000 units when "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" was released in November 2004. In fact, since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991, only seven rock bands have managed bigger sales weeks (U2, Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Creed and the Beatles).

COLDPLAY
* The band recorded concerts that aired on MTV (June 5) and AOL Music (June 10), and a "VH1 Storytellers" that debuted June 8. On May 12, the quartet played the season finale of "Saturday Night Live." Additionally, it took part in the Coachella festival April 30 and played a series of semi-surprise gigs throughout April and early May. The album's first single, "Speed of Sound," gathered 25.3 million in radio audience for the week ending June 12, according to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. It was the most-played video at VH1 with 54 airings, and was ranked top 10 at MTV and MTV2. The single is No. 10 this week on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album was available as the first-ever pre-order at the Apple iTunes Music Store beginning in mid-May. The pre-order edition at iTunes included two exclusive bonus tracks. In turn, the set moved a staggering 60,000 units as a digital album in its first week. (That number combines all digital reporters, including iTunes and its pre-orders.) The 60,000 total instantly makes "X&Y" the year's second best-selling digital album, next to Jack Johnson's "In Between Dreams" (79,000) ... About 15% (113,000) of the first-week sales for "X&Y" came from nontraditional music sellers, including coffee giant Starbucks ... The last time a Capitol act was No. 1 on The Billboard 200 was when the Beastie Boys' "To the 5 Boroughs" opened in the top slot in June 2004 ... Over on Top Pop Catalog albums, the Coldplay party continues. The band has the top two spots on the chart with "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (25,000) and "Parachutes" (15,000). The last time an act claimed the top two was in the chart dated March 15, 2003, when the Dixie Chicks did it with "Fly" and "Wide Open Spaces."

[POP-ROMANCER]

you are right sting2. Even here in the netherlands colplay's concert at gelredome (27000) isn't soldout yet while u2 sold 3 concerts at amsterdam (52000) in 1 and half an hour. They even could sell 4, so that's 200.000 against 27.000 for coldplay and tickets still available

[Tallarico]

Do you think Coldplay can win the race against u2 in the first week in Wc?

mi prediction is : coldplay with 1 700 000 copies on mediatraffic....300 000 less u2's first week!

[edge3]

HTDAAB Vrs. X&Y...so far :

HTDAAB :

US - 842K
UK - 200K
Germany - 130K
Canada - 95K
Australia - 48K
Japan - 84K
Total = 1,399,000

X&Y :

US - 738K
UK - 464K
Germany - 70K
Canada - 105K
Australia - 40K
Japan - 32K
Total = 1,449,000

So, X&Y, so far, has a lead of 50K from these 6 countries, so it's gonna be damn close!!

But I still think X&Y will end up with around 1,950,000 overall compared to around 2,034,000 for HTDAAB (phew!).

[Tallarico]

no numbers about france?

[U2girl]

840 000 to 737 000.

U2 wins this round.

[ChargedVT]

The result is in, as Mediatraffic has been updated:

Coldplay's X&Y sold 1,643,000 copies

[Tallarico]

Originally posted by Tallarico
Do you think Coldplay can win the race against u2 in the first week in Wc?

mi prediction is : coldplay with 1 700 000 copies on mediatraffic....300 000 less u2's first week!

yes!!!!!! I had a reason!!!!!

near 300k to difference!!!!

(sorry for coldplay 's fans but I'm very happy to see u2 very very competitive after 25 years of a big career!!!!!)

1643000 coldplay vs 1854000 for u2.....(on mediatraffic nnumbers!)

[edge3]

Phew!! So Coldplay didn't beat U2 afterall - I really thought they might.

Final, 1st week, result for Coldplay at Mediatraffic :

1,643,000 sold + 32K from Japan last week + 5% extra sales = around 1,755,000 copies of X&Y sold, worldwide, in '1st week'.

From Mediatraffic :

ALBUMS WITH BIGGEST SALES IN A WEEK

1. NORAH JONES - FEELS LIKE HOME 1.920.000 COPIES (09/2004)
2. U2 - *HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB 1.854.000 COPIES (50/2004)
3. COLDPLAY - X&Y 1.643.000 COPIES (25/2005)
4. LINKIN PARK - METEORA 1.560.000 COPIES (15/2003)
5. ELVIS PRESLEY - 30 NUMBER 1 HITS 1.480.000 COPIES (41/2002)
6. EMINEM - ENCORE 1.475.000 COPIES (49/2004)
7. HIKARU UTADA - SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.1 1.404.000 COPIES (16/2004)
8. USHER - CONFESSIONS 1.390.000 COPIES (15/2004)

*HTDAAB really sold : 1854M + 84K (Japan, previous week) + 5% extra sales = around 2,034,000 copies sold in '1st week'.

ps - well done to Coldplay for giving U2 some decent competition!

[caylan]

I think word of mouth, as many have reviewed the CD here, will slow down sales considerably.

I already sold my copy on eBay.

Originally posted by edge3
Phew!! So Coldplay didn't beat U2 afterall - I really thought they might.

Final, 1st week, result for Coldplay at Mediatraffic :

1,643,000 sold + 32K from Japan last week + 5% extra sales = around 1,755,000 copies of X&Y sold, worldwide, in '1st week'.

From Mediatraffic :

ALBUMS WITH BIGGEST SALES IN A WEEK

1. NORAH JONES - FEELS LIKE HOME 1.920.000 COPIES (09/2004)
2. U2 - *HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB 1.854.000 COPIES (50/2004)
3. COLDPLAY - X&Y 1.643.000 COPIES (25/2005)
4. LINKIN PARK - METEORA 1.560.000 COPIES (15/2003)
5. ELVIS PRESLEY - 30 NUMBER 1 HITS 1.480.000 COPIES (41/2002)
6. EMINEM - ENCORE 1.475.000 COPIES (49/2004)
7. HIKARU UTADA - SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.1 1.404.000 COPIES (16/2004)
8. USHER - CONFESSIONS 1.390.000 COPIES (15/2004)

*HTDAAB really sold : 1854M + 84K (Japan, previous week) + 5% extra sales = around 2,034,000 copies sold in '1st week'.

ps - well done to Coldplay for giving U2 some decent competition!