STING2 said:
How many of those Idol albums will still be on the charts in March of 2006? Take a guess where BOMB will be this time next year after the Grammy awards?
Well, with this year's Grammies - despite a 3 of 3 sweep, Bomb could only get to #20. Where was ATYCLB after the first Grammy wave (when BD won 3 of 3)? I bet better than #20. So next year, I don't see HTDAAB being pushed up by the Grammies as high as ATYCLB was pushed up.
Well, the average price on Green Day's current tour in the USA is $33 and the band are not selling seats behind the stage in the arena's they play. Despite this, there are several Green Day shows that have not soldout. U2 tickets on the other hand come in at an average price of $100 in the USA. U2 utilize all seats in the arena playing to a full house. All 28 shows for the first leg sold out in minutes! Most people who tried to get tickets for the first leg in the USA were unable to get them. U2 will likely have the highest Grossing North American tour in history by the end of 2005!
The first leg sales occured before the album started plummeting down the charts. U2 also brilliantly had a "fall back" option which was the ticket presale website members just in case the tour wouldn't sell. But the tour did and the presale people got burned. But that is another story. It's just that anticipation for the first leg was high. But my main concern was not the first leg but the third leg. Since you are the maestro of all U2 statistics, care to give me statistics about Popmart's third leg? Wasn't it correct that they were not selling out venues? Is it also correct to say that there were 3rd leg Elevation Tour arena venues that were not sold out? I have never expressed any concern about the first leg.
The American market while important is only 33% of the global market. U2 has always been a worldwide band, not a band that only toured and tried to push the album in just America, like "Journey" or the "Dave Matthews Band".
33% is a large chunk of the market. But the American market is bigger than that in terms of exposure and media mileage that will trickle in to other markets. Everyone knows U2 is a worldwide band - that goes without saying. But you can see from some quotes they made prior to HTDAAB that they gave particular importance to dominating the US charts again. It's not about what market is bigger. Its about U2's priorities and goals and whether or not they have achieved it. Languisihing outside the top 50 just two weeks after the Grammy 3 of 3 sweep isn't exactly what U2 had intended.
For the record, POP only sold 2 million copies in Europe, half of what ATYCLB sold. In the United Kingdom, POP sold 300,000 copies, after 15 weeks, BOMB has sold 1,008,000 copies! So this idea of Europeans being zombies purchasing anything with "U2" on it is not true.
Thanks for clearing the air. I guess POP was truly rejected by all races and religions around the world. But it is still safe to say I think that the Europeans are still "zombies" when it comes to going to see U2 live.
The marketing situation for BOMB is no different from most U2 albums. Most fans have not heard the entire album before they purchase it, I think thats rather obvious. But to some degree with technology, this is changing.
I agree with this statement that most purchase albums unheard. But when others start hearing it, if they like the musical quality then they will start buying it. This was the case with ATYCLB. Can you please provide me week 15 sales and chart positions for ATYCLB? With ATYCLB, as more people heard the music - they kept it afloat in the charts. With HTDAAB, after Vertigo -- ABOY and SYCMIOYO are failures in reviving the dying interest in U2. Now that people have heard the music, it seems they have made a decision to not buy it.
The fact remains that "BOMB" has outsold ATYCLB in the USA. Its difficult to predict where BOMB will be precisely 40 weeks from now, but never underestimate the greatest band in the world with the greatest management team.
I am not underestimating them. They have succeeding and persevered through all these years because they have done things outside of the norm. They have defied convention and done things no one else will ever do. If they consider recording a new album at this time, it would be outside the norm and something unheard of agai. So it would still be a great decision if they decide to pursue it.
In addition, can you name any album released after November 23rd, 2004 in the USA that has sold more than BOMB in the USA?
Once again, my premise is not raw sales figures because none of the November 23 releases had the marketing machine of U2. It is more about staying power and longevity on the charts which U2 seems to lack at this stage.
Thanks so much for contributing to this thread. Your knowledge of U2 sales statistics is very informative and valuable, and I look forward to using these figures in future posts. I look forward to your replies to my queries in some paragraphs above asking for clarifications on some figures.
Cheers,
J