Week 32

[VALE69]

Originally posted by edge3
Germany :

Bomb : # 50 (53)
COBL : # 57 (40)

Not too bad: yesterday there has been the gig in Berlin, so we can expect an increase for the last week, and the same thing could happen the next month, when Vertigo Tour will reach Munich, I think.

[edge3]

Belgium :

Flanders -
Bomb : # 8 (# 6)
BO 80-90 : # 50 (# 32)
COBL : # 40 (# 29)

Wallonie -
Bomb : # 20 (# 13)

[LeafsNation]

Originally posted by fedeu2
Albums in America need constant and heavy promotion nowadays to keep selling well. This is not the case of HTDAAB whatsoever.
Apart from the sad state of music business in America, U2´s marketing team is to be blamed. Shame on them.

At this point, only a monster single or a sweep in the next grammy awards would make this album reach the 4 million mark. Neither of them are likely to happen

Exactly what should U2's marketing team be "blamed" for again?
Whereas in the 90s, triple platinum albums were a dime a dozen, that's not the case now. I just looked over the Billboard Top 50 albums...there are only TWO albums on that list that, like HTDAAB, have been RIIAA 3Million certified or more..50 Cent (4M) and Green Day (3M)...(Coldplay will likely be on that list shortly) Almost 3 million sold is no easy feat in today's US market. Just a short 5 years ago when ATYCLB was released it was a lot easier to hit the 3Million sold milestone. so comparing the two may be unfair.

HTDAAB was a huge commerical success for U2 in the US, and there are few who would dispute that...is JT or AB days? those numbers are almost never attained by anyone these days.

[fedeu2]

For not doing their best to promote the album.
With proper marketing of singles (Sometimes and City), this album would have sold half a million copies more by now in the US.

After all, it´s the band themselves who want to compete with the likes of Britney and hip-hop artists.

I say, get a new marketing team.

Originally posted by LeafsNation


Exactly what should U2's marketing team be "blamed" for again?
Whereas in the 90s, triple platinum albums were a dime a dozen, that's not the case now. I just looked over the Billboard Top 50 albums...there are only TWO albums on that list that, like HTDAAB, have been RIIAA 3Million certified or more..50 Cent (4M) and Green Day (3M)...(Coldplay will likely be on that list shortly) Almost 3 million sold is no easy feat in today's US market. Just a short 5 years ago when ATYCLB was released it was a lot easier to hit the 3Million sold milestone. so comparing the two may be unfair.

HTDAAB was a huge commerical success for U2 in the US, and there are few who would dispute that...is JT or AB days? those numbers are almost never attained by anyone these days.

[Yahweh]

They could market tthe hell out of it in the US and it wouldnt show much difference in sales. ATYCLB was U2s most marketed album in the US and it also had Grammy awards to boost its sales and it still didnt do that spectacular compaired to past albums.

There is a few things to blame for this....

1. Not as many people go out and buy commercial CDs anymore and that is a fact.

2. U2s fanbase in the US is smaller but still very dedicated.

3. It is harder for U2 to attract new fans these days due to their advanced age, comparitively to other artists that chart well.

[fedeu2]

I´m aware of everything you said.
However, consider that American Idiot, a mediocre album has sold nearly one million copies more than HTDAAB in the US
Do you think promotion has nothing to do with it?

Originally posted by Yahweh
They could market tthe hell out of it in the US and it wouldnt show much difference in sales. ATYCLB was U2s most marketed album in the US and it also had Grammy awards to boost its sales and it still didnt do that spectacular compaired to past albums.

There is a few things to blame for this....

1. Not as many people go out and buy commercial CDs anymore and that is a fact.

2. U2s fanbase in the US is smaller but still very dedicated.

3. It is harder for U2 to attract new fans these days due to their advanced age, comparitively to other artists that chart well.

[LeafsNation]

Originally posted by fedeu2
For not doing their best to promote the album.
With proper marketing of singles (Sometimes and City), this album would have sold half a million copies more by now in the US.

After all, it´s the band themselves who want to compete with the likes of Britney and hip-hop artists.

I say, get a new marketing team.

You still haven't addressed my point that the album was a huge success in a market where few bands hit triple platinum. Yes, there's always room for improvement, but you make it sound like the album bombed when it was in fact one of the better selling albums in the US this past year, and had an excellent run in the Top Ten.

[ybird3k]

But after the sales of the first few weeks bomb really has done poorly in the US. Coldplays X&Y looks as if it will do better and its a CRAP album

and Greendays american idiot has only been so succesful due to "boulevard of broken dreams"

[fedeu2]

Not at all. I´m not jick you know?
I consider the album a success in the US and a monster seller in Europe and ROW.
However, as you say below, there´s room for improvement, case in point, Green Day´s American Idiot. Like others said, a crap album from a kind of washed out artist, still a much greater success than the bomb, not quite in regards album sales (still nearly 1 million ahead of bomb) but clearly insofar singles´performance is concerned.

Promotion of HTDAAB has been similar to that of ATYCLB in fact.
People at PM and Intercope, etc, should realize not always one can relies on grammys or terrorist attacks (hopefully, won´t happen ever again) as bonus for commercial success, as in the case of ATYCLB.

Originally posted by LeafsNation



You still haven't addressed my point that the album was a huge success in a market where few bands hit triple platinum. Yes, there's always room for improvement, but you make it sound like the album bombed when it was in fact one of the better selling albums in the US this past year, and had an excellent run in the Top Ten.

[STING2]

Originally posted by VALE69
In the Mediatraffic WC, HTDAAB is at n. 34; I see Toby Keith is at n. 32 (with 60.570 copies sold only in USA) and Rascal Flatts is at n. 35, just behind HTDAAB, with 50.000 copies sold only in USA...
What does it means this?
Is it possible that HTDAAB has sold more than 50.000 copies last week (with 13.000+8.000 adding USA and UK, the major markets in the world...).
It sounds me quite strange...

The chart itself is actually based on the total number of "points" you get from charting on other countries album charts. Typically, album sales will usually be in line with "points", but sometimes there are albums that chart higher because of their "points" than their actual sales would normally allow. Because HTDAAB still charts in the upper reaches of many album charts around the world, it is likely that it sold less than Rascal Flatts, but charted higher because of more "points". Still, I think you would have to say that at a minimum the album sold around 40,000 copies.

[STING2]

Originally posted by Yahweh
They could market tthe hell out of it in the US and it wouldnt show much difference in sales. ATYCLB was U2s most marketed album in the US and it also had Grammy awards to boost its sales and it still didnt do that spectacular compaired to past albums.

There is a few things to blame for this....

1. Not as many people go out and buy commercial CDs anymore and that is a fact.

2. U2s fanbase in the US is smaller but still very dedicated.

3. It is harder for U2 to attract new fans these days due to their advanced age, comparitively to other artists that chart well.

Actually, ATYCLB was one of the stronger sellers back in 2000-2002 in the USA. U2's fan base in the USA is nearly as strong as it was during Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Remember that after two years of release, each of those albums had hit the 5 million mark. ATYCLB was at the 4 million mark within two years of release, and its likely that BOMB will hit a little over 3 million by the 2 year mark. On the concert scene, the band probably should have booked stadiums for this tour when one sees the massive demand for the arena shows.

[BigMacPhisto]

I'm not surprised by the poor success of the singles here and the album's quick fall from the charts.........

1 - The "Vertigo" ad annoyed the hell out of people who watch television all of the time, making them sick of a great song.

2 - In turn the ad led to those same tv viewers posting "U@ is SHITE!!" reviews on Amazon and have helped add to a negative image of the band. The iPod commercial was successful in that it mobilized the fans and told them that an album was coming, but these same people probably would've bought it anyway....instead, there were more buying it sooner.

3 - "All Because Of You" came far too soon....especially since it sounds most like "Vertigo"........they should've waited a tad for the former song to fade away as it was a huge airplay magnet for months.

4 - With such strict radio formats in the US, "Sometimes" and "City" just didn't have a chance on most stations.......no luck in becoming sizable hits.

5 - This band should've undoubtedly played a stadium tour from the onset as Sting2 pointed out.........there was enough demand for it and it really could've helped album sales.

6 - Piracy continues to grow in the United States, but I don't think it had too much of an impact on people that bought ATYCLB......most folks that did skewed older in age, so they're mostly not up on the whole CD burning thing, anyway........it's the new fans that have got into the band through "Vertigo" and such that have downloaded the album rather than bought it.....

7 - The US may have the smallest per capita fanbase of U2 fans........too many rock fans here are into the heavy metal scene, which isn't as big elsewhere....they think of U2 as a "wimp band".......it still shocks me that Bono is always thanking the US.......yes, we do the biggest part in making the band rich/famous, but we also have the lowest percentage of U2 fans......

[fitz]

Coldplay's XY in week 4 (media traffic): 451.000
Bomb week 4: 820.000

4:0 for the Bomb

[jimmmm]

Originally posted by STING2


Actually, ATYCLB was one of the stronger sellers back in 2000-2002 in the USA. U2's fan base in the USA is nearly as strong as it was during Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Remember that after two years of release, each of those albums had hit the 5 million mark. ATYCLB was at the 4 million mark within two years of release, and its likely that BOMB will hit a little over 3 million by the 2 year mark. On the concert scene, the band probably should have booked stadiums for this tour when one sees the massive demand for the arena shows.

another reason could be the amount of people on this message board, supposedly U2 fans, who've ripped the album to shreds, with their constant whinging,"U2 just aren't as good as they were, blah, blah, blah" Any non U2 fan who might be browsing through the pages would probably think, if hardcore U2 fans think the albums that bad i'll not bother with it, just a thought!

[STING2]

Originally posted by BigMacPhisto
I'm not surprised by the poor success of the singles here and the album's quick fall from the charts.........

1 - The "Vertigo" ad annoyed the hell out of people who watch television all of the time, making them sick of a great song.

2 - In turn the ad led to those same tv viewers posting "U@ is SHITE!!" reviews on Amazon and have helped add to a negative image of the band. The iPod commercial was successful in that it mobilized the fans and told them that an album was coming, but these same people probably would've bought it anyway....instead, there were more buying it sooner.

3 - "All Because Of You" came far too soon....especially since it sounds most like "Vertigo"........they should've waited a tad for the former song to fade away as it was a huge airplay magnet for months.

4 - With such strict radio formats in the US, "Sometimes" and "City" just didn't have a chance on most stations.......no luck in becoming sizable hits.

5 - This band should've undoubtedly played a stadium tour from the onset as Sting2 pointed out.........there was enough demand for it and it really could've helped album sales.

6 - Piracy continues to grow in the United States, but I don't think it had too much of an impact on people that bought ATYCLB......most folks that did skewed older in age, so they're mostly not up on the whole CD burning thing, anyway........it's the new fans that have got into the band through "Vertigo" and such that have downloaded the album rather than bought it.....

7 - The US may have the smallest per capita fanbase of U2 fans........too many rock fans here are into the heavy metal scene, which isn't as big elsewhere....they think of U2 as a "wimp band".......it still shocks me that Bono is always thanking the US.......yes, we do the biggest part in making the band rich/famous, but we also have the lowest percentage of U2 fans......

Actually, countries like Germany and Japan have lower percentage of U2 fans than the United States. But most European countries do tend to have a higher percentage. South America sort of goes up and down. So far U2's per capita sales of BOMB in the USA are higher than most South American countries.

[fedeu2]

That´s right Sting2, but remember that here, in South America, nearly all countries are poor, i.e., few people (in relative terms) are able to spend money on albums.
U2 are very popular at least in Argentina and Brazil, I would say they´re even more popular than the Stones for example, definitely in Brazil. Remember that back in 1998 during the Popmart tour, over half a million people saw U2 in South America in just seven concerts.

If per capita income in Brazil was similar to that of the States, we would see HTDAAB´s sales easily surpassing 1 million.

Originally posted by STING2


Actually, countries like Germany and Japan have lower percentage of U2 fans than the United States. But most European countries do tend to have a higher percentage. South America sort of goes up and down. So far U2's per capita sales of BOMB in the USA are higher than most South American countries.

[LeafsNation]

Originally posted by BigMacPhisto
I'm not surprised by the poor success of the singles here and the album's quick fall from the charts.........

1 - The "Vertigo" ad annoyed the hell out of people who watch television all of the time, making them sick of a great song.

2 - In turn the ad led to those same tv viewers posting "U@ is SHITE!!" reviews on Amazon and have helped add to a negative image of the band. The iPod commercial was successful in that it mobilized the fans and told them that an album was coming, but these same people probably would've bought it anyway....instead, there were more buying it sooner.

3 - "All Because Of You" came far too soon....especially since it sounds most like "Vertigo"........they should've waited a tad for the former song to fade away as it was a huge airplay magnet for months.

4 - With such strict radio formats in the US, "Sometimes" and "City" just didn't have a chance on most stations.......no luck in becoming sizable hits.

5 - This band should've undoubtedly played a stadium tour from the onset as Sting2 pointed out.........there was enough demand for it and it really could've helped album sales.

6 - Piracy continues to grow in the United States, but I don't think it had too much of an impact on people that bought ATYCLB......most folks that did skewed older in age, so they're mostly not up on the whole CD burning thing, anyway........it's the new fans that have got into the band through "Vertigo" and such that have downloaded the album rather than bought it.....

7 - The US may have the smallest per capita fanbase of U2 fans........too many rock fans here are into the heavy metal scene, which isn't as big elsewhere....they think of U2 as a "wimp band".......it still shocks me that Bono is always thanking the US.......yes, we do the biggest part in making the band rich/famous, but we also have the lowest percentage of U2 fans......

Agree with #6, disagree with # 7. It's the Pop and Hip Hop that dominates the US market not Metal right now. Morevoer, I live in Canada but there are similarities between our countries' music scenes (though we're still more like Europe). Most fans of "Rock" like myself like everything from Metallica, Audioslave, AIC, and LInkin Park to U2, the Clash and Coldplay.... On most Alternative and Mixed Rock radio formats (like here ine Ottawa, you can hear these bands together back to back.