What is U2 facing on October 14th

[womanfish]

Other than facing themselves, and having given the album away for free, they will also be facing:

Jesse J
Florida Georgia Line
Bob Seger
and The Game

I would say Jessie J easily takes the top spot having a huge hit single with Arianna G. and Nicki M.

Florida Georgia Line probably at number 2

Hoping our guys can pull a top 10... will be very interesting. I really am clueless though because this is unprecedented..


Thoughts?

 

[powerhour24]

U2 still skews to crowds that buy physical releases and like albums, Jesse J is a singles artist and people already have the singles you mentioned/are more into streaming than purchasing.

I think they'll be #1, though sadly Florida Georgia Line could give them a run for their money.

 

[prbiker15]

My prediction:

Florida Georgia Line
U2
Jessie J
The Game
Bob Seger

 

[womanfish]

My prediction:

Florida Georgia Line
U2
Jessie J
The Game
Bob Seger

Yikes, I just noticed that Florida Georgia Line still has an album charting highly from 2012!!

I hope you're right about Jessie J. Maybe they will just go for the single, but still feel like it could top our boys. That's a lot of teens to go up against. LOL

 

[womanfish]

U2 still skews to crowds that buy physical releases and like albums, Jesse J is a singles artist and people already have the singles you mentioned/are more into streaming than purchasing.

I think they'll be #1, though sadly Florida Georgia Line could give them a run for their money.

#1!! That's a bold prediction. I hope you are correct!

 

[ajax]

If Songs Of Innocence can get near 150,000 copies, i don't think will have any trouble at being #1.

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

I feel U2 have a #1 album on their hands. I can't stop playing it.
I can't wait until the physical release.

 

[phommel]

I guess u r talking about the US? Would be nice to add that info.

Cause in other countries nobody ever heard about Florida Georgia Line...

 

[womanfish]

Lol. True. But I guess I figured the date of October 14th would mean US

And you're lucky u don't know who they are.

I'm assuming Jessie J will trounce them in the UK

 

[patternshirt170]

It'd be the first album in almost 13years or so to be relying 100% on physical sales of a CD unless one was to count people currently living in a lead lined casket buying it digitally at Amazon MP3 and Google Play etc. Not holding out for a huge chart position.

 

[prbiker15]

Lol. True. But I guess I figured the date of October 14th would mean US

And you're lucky u don't know who they are.

I'm assuming Jessie J will trounce them in the UK

Jessie J isn't as popular in the U.S. as she is in the UK.

 

[BGD75]

I had to google Florida Georgia Line....never heard of them.

 

[womanfish]

It'd be the first album in almost 13years or so to be relying 100% on physical sales of a CD unless one was to count people currently living in a lead lined casket buying it digitally at Amazon MP3 and Google Play etc. Not holding out for a huge chart position.

It's not going to be relying completely on a physical CD. People will still be able to download digital copies from the usual online retailers, as well as get the physical disc/vinyl.

 

[macawaca]

Now up to 38 million downloads/streams, from the Time article, as of 18th Sept!!

TIME has been spending time with U2 in the studio, in London and Malibu and accompanied the band to the Apple launch in Cupertino. During the days that followed the launch, the band members maintained a semblance of cheer and they had reasons to feel good. Controversial as it was, the rollout of Songs of Innocence catapulted the band’s back catalogue into the charts again. By Sept. 18 Apple said that 38 million people had accessed Songs, downloading the album or streaming it. For every scathing tweet, U2 got positive feedback from a happy fan or a new listener. The band is—rightly—proud of its latest work, yet the backlash didn’t go unnoticed. “It’s like everyone’s vomiting whatever their first impression is,” said Clayton at one point, bemused rather than self-pitying.

 

[doctorwho]

U2 shouldn't worry so much. The same backlash would have occurred regardless of the artist. There are tons who would not want a free country, heavy metal, pop, dance, alternative, jazz, etc. album. People like to complain.

But I cannot help but wonder how much worse it would have been had a less liked artist did this, like Justin Beiber. Can you imagine the backlash then?

 

[womanfish]

U2 shouldn't worry so much. The same backlash would have occurred regardless of the artist. There are tons who would not want a free country, heavy metal, pop, dance, alternative, jazz, etc. album. People like to complain.

But I cannot help but wonder how much worse it would have been had a less liked artist did this, like Justin Beiber. Can you imagine the backlash then?

Hey! I have a question for ya.
Do regular and deluxe editions chart separately? Also, how does vinyl get tallied?

If regular and deluxe are separate, I have a feeling U2 are in for a bad chart showing

 

[patternshirt170]

It's not going to be relying completely on a physical CD. People will still be able to download digital copies from the usual online retailers, as well as get the physical disc/vinyl.

yeah I said that...

 

[doctorwho]

Hey! I have a question for ya.
Do regular and deluxe editions chart separately? Also, how does vinyl get tallied?

If regular and deluxe are separate, I have a feeling U2 are in for a bad chart showing

When the 80's Best Of was released, the single CD did chart separately from the double CD set.

However, many albums, not just U2's, have a deluxe set these days. HTDAAB and NLOTH both had them. And I did not see these chart separately from the main release. Nor did I read that they would.

 

[womanfish]

When the 80's Best Of was released, the single CD did chart separately from the double CD set.

However, many albums, not just U2's, have a deluxe set these days. HTDAAB and NLOTH both had them. And I did not see these chart separately from the main release. Nor did I read that they would.

Unfortunately I think this means they will chart separately. If it is a Deluxe version but with a single disc, then it would be counted together. I think a double disc deluxe package will most likely be counted separately.

That being said, I'm thinking maybe 30-50k of the regular version/vinyl

and 50-60k of the deluxe package. Probably making them both land around the 4 to 7 spot on the charts.

 

[doctorwho]

While iTunes may track them separately, Billboard may combine into one for chart placement. If you recall, the 80's Best Of was released separately - that is, the Double CD was released first, then I think the Single CD was released a week later.

 

[macawaca]

Not sure if posted before but here's a link with the releases for that week and their previous sales numbers:

HITS Daily Double: Upcoming Releases

 

[doctorwho]

Not sure if posted before but here's a link with the releases for that week and their previous sales numbers:

HITS Daily Double: Upcoming Releases

When I look at that list of upcoming releases and prior sales figures for the last release, I see that NLOTH sold 1.3M copies. There are just a handful of other artists that sold more on that list. Only one, Eminem, topped 2M, and bust barely with 2.1M.

So I cannot help but wonder why people keep referring to NLOTH as such a bomb. It still went Platinum, which seems to be quite an accomplishment these days. And while it did sell less than ATYCLB and HTDAAB, Pop and Zooropa did as well.

Ah well... media likes the negative spin, I guess.

With that information, I do think U2 will debut at #2 or #3. It will be the die-hards that drive the sales, not regular fans who already have the album. This may be the first original U2 release that does not go Platinum due to the free download.

 

[powerhour24]

Yeah I've never gotten that either. NLOTH certainly would have sold better with a better lead single, that would also have likely gotten them more play for subsequent singles. But it was released when sales had already fallen off a cliff, barely anything went platinum then, and even fewer albums do these days (like less than 5 a year). Pop barely scraping a platinum certification in 1997 was a lot worse than NLOTH doing so 12 years later.

 

[doctorwho]

My mistake on my post above - I missed Taylor Swift who sold 4M copies. But she is an exception. The next highest is Eminem at 2.1M. Still, there are only 6 artists on that last who had albums that sold more than U2's.

Ozzy Osbourne is releasing an album, so I now get Sharon Osbourne's rant. But trust me, Sharon, Ozzy's fans will buy it just as U2's fans will still buy SOI. Unless Ozzy breaks out with a hit, he may be lucky to get Platinum. U2's release has zero impact on what Ozzy does, but it helps get the word out that there's new U2 music and come see the tour! Years ago, the tour was to help support the album. Many times the tour lost $$. Now, the album is to support the tour, where the real $$ is.

 

[womanfish]

Ok, here's another problem for U2 on the 14th.

Not only will the regular and Deluxe version most likely be tallied independently, but iTunes won't be selling the deluxe edition until November (correct me if I'm wrong)

That means, the worlds largest source for purchasing music will not be selling the album that week.

It's sitting around #10 - 12, on Amazon for the last week or so, but that still puts them behind the likes of Tony Bennet/GAGA, Streisand, Jason Aldean, and Blake Shelton among others.

They are well ahead of Florida Georgia Line on Amazon, and WAY ahead of Jessie J. So Not really sure what to make of that. Will be very interesting to see what happens. Their chart position will be almost as big of a surprise as the release!! This is just so unprecedented.

Update - I just looked at Target and it doesn't even show up AT ALL on the top selling pre-orders. We're talking the top 250, nothing. That means they aren't selling as many as "Crystal Chakra Healing" at Target. Not sure if Target is punishing them or what. The only way you can find it, is to search for it, and they don't even have a track-listing or anything for it.

 

[CosmoKramer]

230k and that's my final offer!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[womanfish]

230k and that's my final offer!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

135k, and I'm stickin to it!

 

[CosmoKramer]

Ok, here's another problem for U2 on the 14th.



Not only will the regular and Deluxe version most likely be tallied independently, but iTunes won't be selling the deluxe edition until November (correct me if I'm wrong)



That means, the worlds largest source for purchasing music will not be selling the album that week.



It's sitting around #10 - 12, on Amazon for the last week or so, but that still puts them behind the likes of Tony Bennet/GAGA, Streisand, Jason Aldean, and Blake Shelton among others.



They are well ahead of Florida Georgia Line on Amazon, and WAY ahead of Jessie J. So Not really sure what to make of that. Will be very interesting to see what happens. Their chart position will be almost as big of a surprise as the release!! This is just so unprecedented.



Update - I just looked at Target and it doesn't even show up AT ALL on the top selling pre-orders. We're talking the top 250, nothing. That means they aren't selling as many as "Crystal Chakra Healing" at Target. Not sure if Target is punishing them or what. The only way you can find it, is to search for it, and they don't even have a track-listing or anything for it.

Keep in mind that all of these sales will count towards week 1, so if they are at number 11 from 10/1 to 10/19, that's 19 days of sales packed into week 1.

Where Gaga/Bennett will have 7 days of sales count from 10/13 to 10/19.

Also, as of 10/13, iTunes will be selling the album and those sales will count towards first week sales. I can't imagine them even cracking the top 100 in iTunes given it was free for 5 weeks BUT......if they do some heavy promotion (late night, GMA, walking Dead, etc....) it may alert iTunes users who didn't know the album was free (yes, there will be some) and they may purchase it.

You say 135k and I say 230k, let's see who is closer (no Price is Right rules where over bidding is an automatic loss!)


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[womanfish]

Keep in mind that all of these sales will count towards week 1, so if they are at number 11 from 10/1 to 10/19, that's 19 days of sales packed into week 1.

Where Gaga/Bennett will have 7 days of sales count from 10/13 to 10/19.

Also, as of 10/13, iTunes will be selling the album and those sales will count towards first week sales. I can't imagine them even cracking the top 100 in iTunes given it was free for 5 weeks BUT......if they do some heavy promotion (late night, GMA, walking Dead, etc....) it may alert iTunes users who didn't know the album was free (yes, there will be some) and they may purchase it.

You say 135k and I say 230k, let's see who is closer (no Price is Right rules where over bidding is an automatic loss!)

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Good point on the accumulated pre-sales. I have my fingers crossed. I just would love to see a number one album with around 200k in sales. That would really make the industry take notice, that even giving your album away for 5 WEEKS! they can still turn around and get some sales.

Now unless they get working really hard and pushing a new single big time, EBW please, ( I know it won't happen, but Crystal Ballroom would kill! )
They are going to drop off a cliff sales-wise.

We shall see!

No Price is right Rules - I accept.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Good point on the accumulated pre-sales. I have my fingers crossed. I just would love to see a number one album with around 200k in sales. That would really make the industry take notice, that even giving your album away for 5 WEEKS! they can still turn around and get some sales.



Now unless they get working really hard and pushing a new single big time, EBW please, ( I know it won't happen, but Crystal Ballroom would kill! )

They are going to drop off a cliff sales-wise.



We shall see!



No Price is right Rules - I accept.

So 70k on pre sales alone but I'm not sure how many "week of" sales there will be since a lot of people already have the album. Not to mention, NO announced promos in the US yet and half of next week they are in Europe promoting the album.

You might have me beat!!!! I might have to go online an order 100k copies from Amazon.


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