NLOTH Week 3

[Maoilbheannacht]

In fact; there is not one hit on this record and like I said 1,5 months ago or something allready, this album will be a lowpoint in sales for U2 and will sell less copies than Viva la vida. There is NO WAY that they will sell 8 million copies with this music. If you could bet on something like this I would put in every penny I own.

In case you did not know, the music industry is collapsing, so everything is selling far less these days. Every year since 2000, the music industry has seen roughly a 10% decrease.

Despite that, by the end of this year, No Line On The Horizon will be one of the 10 biggest selling albums in the United States and one of the 5 biggest sellers worldwide, just as Joshua Tree was in 1987, Achtung Baby was in 1992, ATYCLB was in 2001, and HTDAAB was in 2005!

It only took 1.3 million albums sold in 2008 to make it into the top 10 best sellers in the United States!

 

[Yahweh]

It will pick up when the tour roles around and some people listen to the music for the very first time because it wont be something that gets massive pubicity on the radio.

Its not an "easy listening" album and I am happy for that if I wanted U2 to be a formula adult contemporary artist there would be no point in listening to them at all because thats all their is out there these days.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Week 2 world wide sales were 421,000, enough for #1 for a second week. It is now officially (per the mediatraffic website) the best selling album world wide in 2009 (1.7 million to Beyonce's 1.4 million).

 

[Yahweh]

Week 2 world wide sales were 421,000, enough for #1 for a second week. It is now officially (per the mediatraffic website) the best selling album world wide in 2009 (1.7 million to Beyonce's 1.4 million).

That wont be good enough for some people here are expecting U2 to outsell the nearest competition 5 to 1. Not going to happen I am affraid.

Quoting Larry Mullen Jr back in 1997 "We are the biggest little cult band in the world"

That still holds true today, they sell enough records to be successful but they have never been the number 1 album selling band in the world. Touring is where U2 makes their money. If the tour doesnt do well then I would consider this year to be a disappointment.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

That wont be good enough for some people here are expecting U2 to outsell the nearest competition 5 to 1. Not going to happen I am affraid.

Quoting Larry Mullen Jr back in 1997 "We are the biggest little cult band in the world"

That still holds true today, they sell enough records to be successful but they have never been the number 1 album selling band in the world. Touring is where U2 makes their money. If the tour doesnt do well then I would consider this year to be a disappointment.

Worldwide, Joshua Tree was the biggest selling album of 1987. Achtung Baby was the 2nd biggest selling album of 1992, and biggest selling album by a band. All That You Can't Leave Behind was one of the ten biggest sellers of 2001. How To Dismantle And Atomic Bomb was the 2nd biggest selling album of 2005 worldwide, and the biggest selling album by a band. They have sold over 140 million albums since March 1987. No other band has sold that much since that time. They have not been number 1 in every year they have released an album, but they have been close most of the time, and no band has sold more albums worldwide than U2 since they released the Joshua Tree in March 1987.

 

[bathiu]

Poland:

Week 1 - # 1
Week 2 - # 1
Week 3 - # 1

 

[zwervers2]

But yet you claimed to "love" GOYB when it first came out, you also claimed you like the album, and now your making comments like "There is NO WAY that they will sell 8 million copies WITH THIS MUSIC", so which is it? you like it? you dont like it?,

as for magnificent i think its a bit hollow for people to already be stating that it wont be a hit, as has already been stated violet hill wasnt a hit for coldplay, yet there SECOND single (which magnificent is also to U2) was huge, but yet people are already claiming as fact that it wont be a hit, despite its actual climb on US radio,

strange.

You do not get the point. It has nothing to do with my personal taste.
Boots has never got my LOVE like a LOT of U2 songs got, more of an, "I think it is cool that they sound a bit different". Opinions can change however and the more I have listened the it the more it has become a suckfest to my ears and that is not good. The fact that the song (and it isnt the only one) doesnt seem to grow is strange and it is the second time in a row (albumwise) where this ahs happened. I rate NLOTH much higher that Bomb though.

Like I said before; I really like the new record. What I mean with THIS music is that it does not appeal to the masses like HTDAAB and ATYCLB which both had HUGE hitsingles on it. There isn't a single song on NLOTH that has the potential to get new people on the U2-yacht. Magnificent is a very good song
but not a hitsingle, there is NO WAY that this will become a U2-classic(newstyle) like for instance Beautifull day did. If it does, good for them and I will wholeheartly admit being wrong(something that a lot of people here have a problem with doing just that) but I do not think it will happen.

Again, this is a very good record for a group of almost 50 year old men with famlies and the best record ever recorded by a band of that age I believe but they will lose "battle"ground to younger bands.

Is that a bad thing? No, but it is inevitable. You can beat everything but time

 

[zwervers2]

In case you did not know, the music industry is collapsing, so everything is selling far less these days. Every year since 2000, the music industry has seen roughly a 10% decrease.

Despite that, by the end of this year, No Line On The Horizon will be one of the 10 biggest selling albums in the United States and one of the 5 biggest sellers worldwide, just as Joshua Tree was in 1987, Achtung Baby was in 1992, ATYCLB was in 2001, and HTDAAB was in 2005!

It only took 1.3 million albums sold in 2008 to make it into the top 10 best sellers in the United States!

Oh trust me, I have noticed. I have also noticed that U2 have such a large fanbase that they sell 5 million copies with 60 minutes of ukelele music on it.

I am just curious if they can "beat" Viva la vida because we all know the Coldplay loyal fanbase is much smaller than U2's loyal fanbase. Which would mean that if they sell less copies they are starting to lose relevance to the non-fanbase.

anyway, the sun is shining.

 

[zwervers2]

I bet you would have said exactly the same if this forum had existed back in 1991 when The fly was released.

With Magnificent and Crazy I think the album has a chance to have strong sales for a few months.

Please do not insult my intelligence please.
The Fly blew me away after the love for the Joshua tree and I remember a conversation with a friend about achtung baby. we agreed that this was a classic and an unbelieveble record that would match the joshua trees succes.

I have to admit, the first 30 second of Zoostation I admit I thought my stereo was broken but it didnt take me long to realize that this record was fantastic and would break new ground for them

 

[bathiu]

Oh trust me, I have noticed. I have also noticed that U2 have such a large fanbase that they sell 5 million copies with 60 minutes of ukelele music on it.

I am just curious if they can "beat" Viva la vida because we all know the Coldplay loyal fanbase is much smaller than U2's loyal fanbase. Which would mean that if they sell less copies they are starting to lose relevance to the non-fanbase.

BS
What if VLV is Coldplay's Joshua Tree? (I mean in sales, not in quality)
25-27mln - no other U2 album sold that much, does it mean they lost some fans with R&H, AB... etc? No.

 

[Aygo]

There isn't a single song on NLOTH that has the potential to get new people on the U2-yacht. Magnificent is a very good song but not a hitsingle, there is NO WAY that this will become a U2-classic(newstyle) like for instance Beautifull day did. If it does, good for them and I will wholeheartly admit being wrong(something that a lot of people here have a problem with doing just that) but I do not think it will happen.

I think that it's gonna happen to NLOTH the same that happened to AB, since the commercial strategy (in singles releasement) seems to be similar.

Why "Magnificent"'s gonna succeed on the radios, much better than "Boots"?
- chorus is much more catchy;
- it's closer to the U2-traditional-sound/ADN than "Boots" - Edge's guitars and Bono's "Ooh"'s do it;
- it has that disco-sound beat that people like it;
- it seems to be the public's favourite track (in general terms, of course): see what people say, what fans say and what the critics said about this track;
- it has a lyrical theme that has already worked for U2 before.

Radios (specially in North America) seem to be already giving significant airplay to "Magnificent" almost like promising than in weeks it's gonna gain much more.

I predict that it may crack the Top 40 in the US (around #30), and to place #1 or #2 in most European countries, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.

If it succeeds, it'll be enough to give a boost in sales to the album... right before the tour starts.

 

[zwervers2]

BS
What if VLV is Coldplay's Joshua Tree? (I mean in sales, not in quality)
25-27mln - no other U2 album sold that much, does it mean they lost some fans with R&H, AB... etc? No.

Saleswise, it could be their JT indeed.

Buy the way, I remember a lot of people not liking achtung baby at the time and being turned off because they went in a completely different direction..

they were wrong off course and I never understood why AB isnt even near the albumsales figures of JT

 

[bathiu]

Saleswise, it could be their JT indeed.

Buy the way, I remember a lot of people not liking achtung baby at the time and being turned off because they went in a completely different direction..

they were wrong off course and I never understood why AB isnt even near the albumsales figures of JT

I think the only way to compare Coldplay's and U2's fanbase are their tours, not album sales.
There are many albums by various artists that are "anomalies" in their discographies (JT, American Idiot, Thriller...etc).
I know VLV sold less than X&Y, but compared to everything else released last year the album is huge.
IMHO No Line... still has a chance to sell close to VLV, but does it really matter in the end?
VLV is their 4th album, so with X&Y they're right where U2 were with War and UF.
And as much as I... ...don't care (!) about their music, it will be interesting to see what they'll do on their next 3 or 4 albums.

 

[allbecauseofu2]

SUC sounds like oasis to me. i just want them to at least reach gold. or do better then van halen 3.lol. i think it did already? can anyone check?

 

[Yahweh]

Worldwide, Joshua Tree was the biggest selling album of 1987. Achtung Baby was the 2nd biggest selling album of 1992, and biggest selling album by a band. All That You Can't Leave Behind was one of the ten biggest sellers of 2001. How To Dismantle And Atomic Bomb was the 2nd biggest selling album of 2005 worldwide, and the biggest selling album by a band. They have sold over 140 million albums since March 1987. No other band has sold that much since that time. They have not been number 1 in every year they have released an album, but they have been close most of the time, and no band has sold more albums worldwide than U2 since they released the Joshua Tree in March 1987.

I think you are over inflating U2s sales and even if those sales are valid which I have firm reason to believe they are not based on extensive hours of research at least 25 percent of those sales if not more has come from Best Of or Greatest Hits albums.

Secondly The Joshua Tree came out 22 years ago and Achtung Baby came out 18 years ago, which in music equates to about 5 generations. Even ATYCLB is ancient in music terms for most of the music buying public.

How many people that were in the crowd at the GMA performance actually had heard more then possibly Beautiful Day and Vertigo? Not many considering they were not even born when U2s "Greatest Hits" were out.

U2 is 50 years old unfortunatly you cant be forever young and that alone will make some of the music buying public sway away from U2.

The last time Eno and Lanios were the primary producer on an album was Zooropa and that was an eternity ago. Unfortunatly most of the people buying CDs are used to the more mainstream "safe" sounding U2 and that wont help them on this album as far as sales go.

U2 need not to worry about sales anymore and simply base success on artistic merit of the record although I know they will have a hard time doing that. The hardcores will always be around.

 

[Irishteen]

Down to number 2 in Ireland, Lady Gaga is number 1 and her album has been out 10 weeks

 

[DarkAcrobat]

Down to number 2 in Ireland, Lady Gaga is number 1 and her album has been out 10 weeks

Don't be impressed by commercial and mainstream acts, it's normal that they're topping the lists, even Viva la vida falls in that category, even ATYCLB and HDTAAB could be considered, pop, direct and "easy to listen" music for the radio and the masses.

Now, about U2, , with the daring NLOTH, they are "alternative" again...

 

[GibsonExplorer]

Don't be impressed by commercial and mainstream acts, it's normal that they're topping the lists, even Viva la vida falls in that category, even ATYCLB and HDTAAB could be considered, pop, direct and "easy to listen" music for the radio and the masses.

Now, about U2, , with the daring NLOTH, they are "alternative" again...

NLOTH is as mainstream as a pair of Dockers.

 

[roy]

NLOTH is as mainstream as a pair of Dockers.

Dear oh dear

 

[Irishteen]

U2 are out of the top 5 in the Friday UK midweeks

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Even i got to admit thats quite bad

 

[Irishteen]

Even i got to admit thats quite bad

I'm hoping it's just the mother's day effect and it rebounds next week.

Ronan Keating, Annie Lennox, Faryl Smith and Take That (4 of the top 5) could all be mother's day present (although anybody who buys their mother Ronan Keating should be shot, Songs for my Mother, seriously?). So it's possible sales are steady which would be good. Hopefully it's back top 5 next week Ronan will be gone for sure

 

[KUEFC09U2]

I'm hoping it's just the mother's day effect and it rebounds next week.

Ronan Keating, Annie Lennox, Faryl Smith and Take That (4 of the top 5) could all be mother's day present (although anybody who buys their mother Ronan Keating should be shot, Songs for my Mother, seriously?). So it's possible sales are steady which would be good. Hopefully it's back top 5 next week Ronan will be gone for sure

Wow i actually think your right, i totally forgot about mothers day for a second :, they all definatley sound like mothers day presents,

 

[Irishteen]

Wow i actually think your right, i totally forgot about mothers day for a second :, they all definatley sound like mothers day presents,

Yeah the only one which isn't a Mother's day present would be Kings of Leon, or maybe it is, maybe some mothers aren't as generic as Ronan Keating would suggest So let's hope for good sales even if the position is a little low

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Yeah the only one which isn't a Mother's day present would be Kings of Leon, or maybe it is, maybe some mothers aren't as generic as Ronan Keating would suggest So let's hope for good sales even if the position is a little low

 

[Native_Son]

on a more positive note, NLOTH back to #1 on amazon UK

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

I think you are over inflating U2s sales and even if those sales are valid which I have firm reason to believe they are not based on extensive hours of research at least 25 percent of those sales if not more has come from Best Of or Greatest Hits albums.

Well let see:

Best Of 1980-1990: 17 million
Best OF 1990-2000: 6 million
U2 18: 4 million

27 million albums of compilations sold which is 20% of the total since March 1987 of 135 million. If anything, the total sales number is a little less than what they have actually sold. The sales figures come from the record company and are often a little out of date. The majority of Boy, October, War, Under A Blood Red Sky, and Unforgettable Fire's album sales came AFTER the Joshua Tree was released.

The record company puts total album sales at over 145 million, but I would put it at 155 million based on the confirmed sales figures that I have seen.

Secondly The Joshua Tree came out 22 years ago and Achtung Baby came out 18 years ago, which in music equates to about 5 generations. Even ATYCLB is ancient in music terms for most of the music buying public.

How many people that were in the crowd at the GMA performance actually had heard more then possibly Beautiful Day and Vertigo? Not many considering they were not even born when U2s "Greatest Hits" were out.

Thats just an assumption on your part since I suspect you were not actually there conducting an interview of each person. Also, you don't actually have to be born before a song is released to have actually heard it, or purchased the album it comes from.

Plus, your forgetting the second biggest selling album of 2005, HTDAAB, or is 4 years ago to long to count as well?

Now we have 2009, and the biggest selling album worldwide so far this year is "No Line On The Horizon", and there is a decent chance that it will still be the top seller for the year come December.

U2 is 50 years old unfortunatly you cant be forever young and that alone will make some of the music buying public sway away from U2.

So why do they continue to have the top selling albums and tours of the year? Again, No Line On The Horizon will likely be the biggest selling album worldwide for 2009. By the way, U2 is Adam 49, Bono 48, Edge 47, Larry 47!

The last time Eno and Lanios were the primary producer on an album was Zooropa and that was an eternity ago. Unfortunatly most of the people buying CDs are used to the more mainstream "safe" sounding U2 and that wont help them on this album as far as sales go.

Correction: The last time Eno and Lanios were the primary producer on a U2 album was All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000. By the way, Lanios did not work on Zooropa, it was only Eno.

Again, 1.7 million sold worldwide in the first two weeks and its already the biggest seller of 2009 by a half a million copies!

U2 need not to worry about sales anymore and simply base success on artistic merit of the record although I know they will have a hard time doing that. The hardcores will always be around.

Since the band formed in the late 70s, they have always tried to produce the best music possible and then to sell it to as many people as possible.

 

[Yahweh]

Well let see:

Best Of 1980-1990: 17 million
Best OF 1990-2000: 6 million
U2 18: 4 million

27 million albums of compilations sold which is 20% of the total since March 1987 of 135 million. If anything, the total sales number is a little less than what they have actually sold. The sales figures come from the record company and are often a little out of date. The majority of Boy, October, War, Under A Blood Red Sky, and Unforgettable Fire's album sales came AFTER the Joshua Tree was released.

The record company puts total album sales at over 145 million, but I would put it at 155 million based on the confirmed sales figures that I have seen.



Thats just an assumption on your part since I suspect you were not actually there conducting an interview of each person. Also, you don't actually have to be born before a song is released to have actually heard it, or purchased the album it comes from.

Plus, your forgetting the second biggest selling album of 2005, HTDAAB, or is 4 years ago to long to count as well?

Now we have 2009, and the biggest selling album worldwide so far this year is "No Line On The Horizon", and there is a decent chance that it will still be the top seller for the year come December.



So why do they continue to have the top selling albums and tours of the year? Again, No Line On The Horizon will likely be the biggest selling album worldwide for 2009. By the way, U2 is Adam 49, Bono 48, Edge 47, Larry 47!



Correction: The last time Eno and Lanios were the primary producer on a U2 album was All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000. By the way, Lanios did not work on Zooropa, it was only Eno.

Again, 1.7 million sold worldwide in the first two weeks and its already the biggest seller of 2009 by a half a million copies!



Since the band formed in the late 70s, they have always tried to produce the best music possible and then to sell it to as many people as possible.

There is nothing wrong with that ideal in your head however U2 have to understand that they are not truely in the mainstream market anymore and are 20-25 years older then their counterparts, which I am affraid makes a huge perception difference. I will say also that "selling to many people" has never equaled quality. It is fine to want to sell records but the better goal that U2 should hold themselves to is not to be "The biggest band in the world" but to be "The best band in the world" at least to themselves and their fanbase and that is much harder to do then selling records.

I am well aware of what U2s exact age is and by anybodys count they are ancient as far as rock musicians go. This album at best will sell as much as POP did. Comparing U2 to 4 years ago is still not valid considering that CD sales have dropped 10 percent per year since then and will continue to do so. This is the reality.

I am happy with the album so I really dont care how much it sells but if U2 wanted this to be a blockbuster album that sells many copies and it doesnt they may think seriously about calling it a career which would be a shame.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

There is nothing wrong with that ideal in your head however U2 have to understand that they are not truely in the mainstream market anymore and are 20-25 years older then their counterparts, which I am affraid makes a huge perception difference. I will say also that "selling to many people" has never equaled quality. It is fine to want to sell records but the better goal that U2 should hold themselves to is not to be "The biggest band in the world" but to be "The best band in the world" at least to themselves and their fanbase and that is much harder to do then selling records.

Again, they have always set out to first be the best band in the world and then to sell their albums and tickets to as many people as possible. That has never changed.

What is the mainstream market? I would say in includes the top selling albums and concert tours. U2 have the best average of album sales and concert tickets sales of any artist in the world today.

I am well aware of what U2s exact age is and by anybodys count they are ancient as far as rock musicians go. This album at best will sell as much as POP did. Comparing U2 to 4 years ago is still not valid considering that CD sales have dropped 10 percent per year since then and will continue to do so. This is the reality.

POP was released 12 years ago in 1997 in a FAR different market environment. POP's worldwide sales in 1997 would be enough to place an artist album at the #1 position this year worldwide. In the USA, POP's sales in 1997 which got to #48 on the USA year end chart, would be good enough for the top 10 in 2009.

So comparing this albums sales to POP is not valid at all. You can do a chart comparison between the albums, but not an exact unit to unit sales comparison. "No Line On The Horizon" will finish the year in the top 10 in the USA, unlike POP which only finished at #48 in 1997.

"No Line On The Horizon" will essentially be as successful as any U2 album from the past this year, with the possible exception of Joshua Tree. When the year end sales come in, you'll see No Line On The Horizon charting just as well as Achtung, ATYCLB, HTDAAB did in their respective years.

I am happy with the album so I really dont care how much it sells but if U2 wanted this to be a blockbuster album that sells many copies and it doesnt they may think seriously about calling it a career which would be a shame.

Album sales today constitute only about 10% of what U2 actually makes. The revenue's from the tour's are massive. The new tour could gross 3/4 of a Billion dollars worldwide by the time it finishes in late 2010 or early 2011. At the very least, they are going for the 600 million mark for the tours total gross.

The album is selling very well considering where the market is, but in 5 to 10 years time, albums will probably only be selling half of what they do today. But for U2, that won't make any difference since the overwhelming amount of money they make is from other area's of the music business. Its a problem for new young artist, but not for U2.

 

[kellyahern]

on a more positive note, NLOTH back to #1 on amazon UK

It's currently at #2 on USA iTunes - ahead of Kelly Clarkson.

That last part made me happy