N.A. Radio Play by Format, Billboard, & Video charts for Week 29

[beLIEve]

Several radio play only charts have updated, and so it's time for the first update this week.

Net Music Countdown

Pop/Hits Radio Top 20
Sometimes climbs 9 spots from 18 to 9

Hot AC Top 20
Sometimes slides from 10 to 12


mediabase.com

Hot AC Top 20
Sometimes hangs on this chart at 20

Mainstream Rock Top 30
COBL debuts on this chart at 23
Vertigo is at 28 when "recurrents" are included

Triple A Top 20
Sometimes slips 2 spots to 5


Mediaguide.com

AC Top 50
Sometimes down 1 spot to 47

Hot AC Top 50
Sometimes falls from 24 to 30

Mainstream Rock Top 50
COBL climbs from 37 to 29

Triple A Top
Sometimes slides from 3 to 6
47 27 BIGGEST MOVER U2
City Of Blinding Lights Interscope


Amazon.com
A week ago HTDAAB was at 53 on their album chart. As of this writing, it's up to 26, and it's been climbing steadily in the last 4-5 days. Not sure if this will impact the overall sales but something is pushing the album back up this sales chart.

As for COBL, these charts are not on the exact same timeline but they are close enough to give me good confidence that COBL should debut on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart this week. I have yet to see the COBL video, although I don't get to watch VH1 or MTV in the mornings anymore. Sometimes has dropped off both of these channels playlist and is even falling fast at Much Music & MMM. The only "official" release date for COBL in the U.S. is shown to be June 13...so maybe the video will debut soon or it has and I've yet to see it. I have heard the Album Cut on the radio one time.

More information to come soon...I hope COBL can catch fire here in the U.S. and keep HTDAAB in the Top 100 or so until the 3rd leg.

 

[bsp77]

COBL will not debut on Billboard's Mainstream Rock this week because Billboard combines both Mainstream and Active Rock together to comprise their Mainstream Rock chart. And if you check out the Active Rock charts at Mediaguide and Mediabase, you will see that COBL is doing very little. There are also more Active Rock stations around so unless COBL gets some Active Rock play or a HUGE amount of Mainstream Rock play, it will probably not show up on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

 

[Tallarico]

Believe,the single City was shipped in Canada?

 

[beLIEve]

Yes I agree

COBL will not debut on Billboard's Mainstream Rock this week because Billboard combines both Mainstream and Active Rock together to comprise their Mainstream Rock chart. And if you check out the Active Rock charts at Mediaguide and Mediabase, you will see that COBL is doing very little. There are also more Active Rock stations around so unless COBL gets some Active Rock play or a HUGE amount of Mainstream Rock play, it will probably not show up on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

Yeah, I forgot about all the radio formats here in the U.S., which outnumber the Billboard formats. If Active Rock + Mainstream Rock radio formats = Billboards Mainstream Rock, then I agree, it may not debut on Billboard for several weeks, if at all.

Do you know where Triple A radio fits into the Billboard charts? I don't see COBL doing too much on Active Rock, but it should be in the Top 10 on Triple A & Mainstream Rock (if the current momentum keeps going) in about 2-3 weeks. The song may not fit on Modern Rock/Alternative, either. It's probably ultimately destined for the Adult Top 40 after it's run on SOME rock radio stations. The only way the song can make it onto the Hot 100 is probably if Pop/Mainstream Radio picks it up. Oh well. Time will tell.

 

[ybird3k]

anyone think that COBL can chart higher than sometimes on the Hot 100?

 

[bsp77]

Re: Yes I agree

Yeah, I forgot about all the radio formats here in the U.S., which outnumber the Billboard formats. If Active Rock + Mainstream Rock radio formats = Billboards Mainstream Rock, then I agree, it may not debut on Billboard for several weeks, if at all.

Do you know where Triple A radio fits into the Billboard charts? I don't see COBL doing too much on Active Rock, but it should be in the Top 10 on Triple A & Mainstream Rock (if the current momentum keeps going) in about 2-3 weeks. The song may not fit on Modern Rock/Alternative, either. It's probably ultimately destined for the Adult Top 40 after it's run on SOME rock radio stations. The only way the song can make it onto the Hot 100 is probably if Pop/Mainstream Radio picks it up. Oh well. Time will tell.

I have never figured out where, if anywhere Triple A factors into Billboard. I think they ignore except for it making up a small percentage of the Top 100. Which really pisses me off because U2 rules on Triple A.

 

[Soldatti]

Soundscan/Billboard 200
Issue Date: June 25, 2005

Position/Artist/Album/This Week/%Chg/Last Week/Total
109 U2 HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOM 10,119 -22 13,025 2,772,808


Top 20:
1 COLDPLAY X&Y 737,294 999 1,491 738,966
2 BLACK EYED PEAS MONKEY BUSINESS 291,164 999 420 291,602
3 WHITE STRIPES GET BEHIND ME SATAN 188,989 999 435 189,448
4 SHAKIRA FIJACION ORAL 157,228 999 613 157,871
5 CAREY*MARIAH EMANCIPATION OF MIMI 151,440 -12 171,519 1,873,575
6 SYSTEM OF A DOWN MEZMERIZE 86,459 -27 117,886 827,261
7 KEITH*TOBY HONKYTONK UNIVERSITY 71,830 -16 85,307 569,167
8 STEFANI*GWEN LOVE.ANGEL.MUSIC.BABY 71,080 -15 83,350 2,328,895
9 CLARKSON*KELLY BREAKAWAY 66,128 -4 69,095 2,355,146
10 AUDIOSLAVE OUT OF EXILE 65,541 -34 98,985 428,520
11 50 CENT MASSACRE 64,824 -13 74,749 3,851,317
12 MATTHEWS*DAVE BAND STAND UP 60,650 -20 75,868 860,323
13 2005 WARPED TOUR COMPILATION 2005 WARPED TOUR COMPILATION 53,109 999 80 53,189
14 COMMON BE 50,980 -34 77,496 313,588
15 KILLERS HOT FUSS 49,655 3 48,083 2,009,551
16 RASCAL FLATTS FEELS LIKE TODAY 49,517 -15 57,932 1,967,084
17 GORILLAZ DEMON DAYS 44,449 -19 54,967 206,793
18 URBAN*KEITH BE HERE 44,413 9 40,930 1,148,997
19 IL DIVO IL DIVO 43,147 -37 69,000 575,309
20 LONGEST YARD SOUNDTRACK 41,714 -37 65,908 155,364


Others:
26 GREEN DAY AMERICAN IDIOT 35,753 -8 38,974 3,620,077
37 OASIS DON'T BELIEVE THE TRUTH 26,629 -59 65,440 92,518
38 NINE INCH NAILS WITH TEETH 26,426 -24 34,659 520,816
46 BECK GUERO 19,964 5 19,010 531,579
48 3 DOORS DOWN SEVENTEEN DAYS 19,388 -14 22,522 886,030
52 EMINEM ENCORE 18,909 8 17,451 4,620,503
169 ROLLING STONES BEST OF JUMP BACK 6,029 -9 6,608 473,522
191 COLDPLAY COLDPLAY LIVE 2003 5,071 137 2,137 585,846

 

[Soldatti]

US Summary to date:
from 15/11/2004 to 21/11/2004 - ISSUE DATE: 04/12/2004 - Week 00 - B200: -- / Sales: 3,206
from 22/11/2004 to 28/11/2004 - ISSUE DATE: 11/12/2004 - Week 01 - B200: 1 / Sales: 839,724
from 29/11/2004 to 05/12/2004 - ISSUE DATE: 18/12/2004 - Week 02 - B200: 2 / Sales: 288,466
from 06/12/2004 to 12/12/2004 - ISSUE DATE: 25/12/2004 - Week 03 - B200: 2 / Sales: 280,332
from 13/12/2004 to 19/12/2004 - ISSUE DATE: 01/01/2005 - Week 04 - B200: 5 / Sales: 299,645
from 20/12/2004 to 26/12/2004 - ISSUE DATE: 08/01/2005 - Week 05 - B200: 3 / Sales: 350,013
from 27/12/2004 to 02/01/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 15/01/2005 - Week 06 - B200: 14 / Sales: 94,815
from 03/01/2005 to 09/01/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 22/01/2005 - Week 07 - B200: 12 / Sales: 59,233
from 10/01/2005 to 16/01/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 29/01/2005 - Week 08 - B200: 13 / Sales: 48,557
from 17/01/2005 to 23/01/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 05/02/2005 - Week 09 - B200: 22 / Sales: 35,907
from 24/01/2005 to 30/01/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 12/02/2005 - Week 10 - B200: 28 / Sales: 34,370
from 31/01/2005 to 06/02/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 19/02/2005 - Week 11 - B200: 31 / Sales: 35,052
from 07/02/2005 to 13/02/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 26/02/2005 - Week 12 - B200: 34 / Sales: 39,648
from 14/02/2005 to 20/02/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 05/03/2005 - Week 13 - B200: 20 / Sales: 56,692
from 21/02/2005 to 27/02/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 12/03/2005 - Week 14 - B200: 41 / Sales: 26,532
from 28/02/2005 to 06/03/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 19/03/2005 - Week 15 - B200: 48 / Sales: 23,367
from 07/03/2005 to 13/03/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 26/03/2005 - Week 16 - B200: 54 / Sales: 18,882
from 14/03/2005 to 20/03/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 02/04/2005 - Week 17 - B200: 39 / Sales: 23,644
from 21/03/2005 to 27/03/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 09/04/2005 - Week 18 - B200: 34 / Sales: 34,227
from 28/03/2005 to 03/04/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 16/04/2005 - Week 19 - B200: 44 / Sales: 20,919
from 04/04/2005 to 10/04/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 23/04/2005 - Week 20 - B200: 39 / Sales: 19,386
from 11/04/2005 to 17/04/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 30/04/2005 - Week 21 - B200: 39 / Sales: 19,935
from 18/04/2005 to 24/04/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 07/05/2005 - Week 22 - B200: 44 / Sales: 18,856
from 25/04/2005 to 01/05/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 14/05/2005 - Week 23 - B200: 57 / Sales: 17,013
from 02/05/2005 to 08/05/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 21/05/2005 - Week 24 - B200: 66 / Sales: 17,601
from 09/05/2005 to 15/05/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 28/05/2005 - Week 25 - B200: 71 / Sales: 14,303
from 16/05/2005 to 22/05/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 04/06/2005 - Week 26 - B200: 73 / Sales: 14,861
from 23/05/2005 to 29/05/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 11/06/2005 - Week 27 - B200: 79 / Sales: 14,627
from 30/05/2005 to 05/06/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 18/06/2005 - Week 28 - B200: 91 / Sales: 13,025
from 06/06/2005 to 12/06/2005 - ISSUE DATE: 25/06/2005 - Week 29 - B200: 109 / Sales: 10,119

Total: 2,772,808

 

[STING2]

Thanks Soldatti for the new numbers for the Billboard 200!

This is a huge drop for the BOMB in the USA. Unless COBL gets going in the USA, the album could drop from the chart before the band return to the USA for the 3rd leg of the Vertigo Tour. It really is a surprise to see the album doing this poorly in only week 29. Right now, getting to the 3 million mark in soundscan sales is going to be rather difficult unless things change. But eventually, it will happen because there is only 228,000 copies to go.

Here is a comparison of where BOMB and ATYCLB were in their respective week 29's.


ATYCLB:

#50 25,000 copies sold TOTAL: 2,503,000


HTDAAB:


#109 10,119 copies sold TOTAL: 2,772,808

 

[ybird3k]

why is HTDAAB doing so badly in the US?

 

[Tallarico]

why is HTDAAB doing so badly in the US?

i think that without a smash single the bomb can't rise the chart in Usa....Usa is a particular market:they want to have always a fresh hit,a radio hit...like Gwen stefany,green day....u2 ,except vertigo ,haven't a radio single very important....I hope that in the 3 leg they will return to stay on radio,tv shows....like they are doing well (special on german tv,on bbc in uk.....) in Europe....and they will release Miracle drug,that for me is the right single for the radios!!!!!

But i don't understand why city isn't released for downloads in usa....


ps.SOMEONE CAN TELL ME IF IN CANADA, CITY WILL RELEASE LIKE A SINGLE FOR SELL?And when? thanx!!!!!

 

[beLIEve]

Radio & Records & Billboard for North America

Here is an update on Billboard and Radio & Records Airplay charts for this week. First, R&R:

For the U.S.

Hot AC Top 40
Sometimes falls from 17 to 20

Rock Top 30
COBL debuts at 23 on the chart
COBL is at #1 for most station adds, and #2 for most added plays

Alternative Top 30
COBL #3 for most station adds

Triple A Top 30
Sometimes drops from 3 to 4
COBL debuts at 30
COBL is #1 for most station adds, and #3 for most added plays

For Canada

Hot AC Top 30
Sometimes slides from 7 to 10

Rock Top 30
Sometimes down 5 to 18
COBL at #4 (or 34 on the chart) for most new and active

AC Top 30
Sometimes slips from 28 to 30


Billboard U.S.

HTDAAB drops from 91 to 109 on BB Top 200
B/O 1980-90 down 6 to 41 on Pop Catalog Chart

Adult Top 40
Sometimes slides from 15 to 20

Billboard Canada

Singles Sales Chart Top 30
Sometimes at 7, ABOY at 8, Vertigo single 18, Vertigo EP 20, Sometimes import 26

Album Chart
HTDAAB down from 51 to 60

Airplay Chart
Sometimes down 5 to 15


COBL seems to have been released primarily in Europe. Once again, no promotion at all in the U.S., and surprisingly, neither MTV or VH1 have the video listed on their updated playlists. We usually get a video at least, and Sometimes has been removed from both playlists. Has anyone seen the video on either of these channels in the U.S.?

Despite no promotion, the song has taken off on Mainstream Rock and Triple A. Unfortunately, Billboard wraps all Rock formats into "Mainstream Rock", and COBL is not showing up on any of the Active Rock formats, as it is more of a hard rock format. ABOY and Vertigo made it onto some Active Rock radio stations, but COBL may not. The Alternative format is the equivalent of BB's Modern Rock, and COBL was released for airplay on Modern Rock on June 13. It doesn't really fit that format, either, IMO. I am beginning to think that after the initial publicity push with the I-pod add and Vertigo overload, U2 have decided to back off completely and forget about marketing any more singles in the U.S. The tour and potential awards will lift the album this fall, and sales increase so much running up to Christmas that I suspect we'll get another single in the fall and maybe it will be promoted a bit. It will be interesting to see where HTDAAB sales in the U.S. are at after the Grammy's next March. Thankfully, Europe is taking up the slack on album sales right now.

 

[2Hearts]

It's official, U2 is not after sales. Otherwise, how do you explain their marketing? Plus, all of these so-called radio friendly songs on the Bomb don't look so radio friendly after all. There is really no format that COBL fits in too.

 

[ybird3k]

i dont understand any of this USA radio formats. cant see why they cant have radio stations which play ALL types of music, like in the UK.
also U2 do well on the triple A formats yet still fail to do well on BB. dont understand that.

 

[beLIEve]

Billboard is out of touch

i dont understand any of this USA radio formats. cant see why they cant have radio stations which play ALL types of music, like in the UK.
also U2 do well on the triple A formats yet still fail to do well on BB. dont understand that.

U.S. radio is in sad shape IMO. Billboard also has not changed fast enough to reflect just how unique these formats have become. Triple A charts come from some 50 selected radio stations that cover all the major markets in the U.S. Relative to Hip-Hop or Pop, there are not nearly as many stations, but there is a presence in just about every part of the U.S. BB doesn't look at Triple A, which loves U2.

U2's strategy in the U.S., though, is to release and promote the lead single heavily...and then that's it, really. In the R.O.W., they still release commercial singles and have them available for download...I can tell you I'd pay a $1 to get the b-sides from Sellafield. With 75% of HTDAAB sales coming from the R.O.W., and 2 Top 10 Global Hits based on singles success outside the U.S., I guess they don't care about singles here other than the lead-off song.

One other thing that this causes is radio DJ's end up playing album tracks before they become singles - as COBL has been charting regionally (Northeast U.S.) since February. When I look at playlists, Satellite and a few other stations have already picked up OOTS and dropped COBL. Again, there just is no real singles marketing strategy in the U.S., but U2 still gets modest radio airplay anyway. I'll keep posting the radio play charts as long as people seem interested.

 

[ybird3k]

cheers believe

 

[STING2]

I'm sure the band have tried to promote all the singles or songs released in the USA. But promotion does not automatically lead to radio airplay. If that were the case, it would be as simple as, pay for x promotion, have most played song next month.

I think the Billboard charts are very accurate and the HOT 100 Airplay chart covers all formats. We know that ABOY failed to get on this chart and it appears Sometimes may have only made it on there briefly. All in all, the amount of radio airplay U2 has recieved for the BOMB is less than what they recieved for ATYCLB, especially when you compare the songs released after Beautiful Day and Vertigo.

Despite the lack of relevant strong airplay, the BOMB has sold extremely well in the USA with over 3 million units shipped and over 2.8 million copies sold. Believe it or not, only Green Day and Linkin Park have had albums recently that have sold more in the USA as far as bands or groups go.

In the days of Achtung Baby and even sometimes with POP, U2 ruled the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and Modern Rock Tracks chart with every release. Even a Until The End of the World cracked the top 10 on both of those charts. Most songs went top 5. Since these smaller format charts cover each cover less radio, you need to be hitting the top 5 or even #1 with each song, in order for the song to do well on the HOT 100.

With BOMB, after Vertigo, the songs have simply been unsuccessful in getting the level of airplay that songs from previous albums in the 1980s and 1990s were able to get. Despite that, the albums has sold extremely well, at least early on.

Remember, the next time you have a second, call up your local radio station or stations and request COBL. I think that Miracle drug will be the last single from BOMB and will be released the last week in September in order for it to be eligible for the Grammy's in February 2006.

Hopefully, BOMB will remain charted on the Billboard 200 for months until Christmas and Grammy awards nods can help out. The tour I think can help it from falling further, but I'm not sure if it will actually boost sales. BOMB needs a successful single that can crack the top 20 of the HOT 100 Airplay chart in order to boost sales!

 

[STING2]

As far as Global sales go, it appears the album has shipped 9 million copies at this point. We know the album was at 8.5 million copies shipped at the end of December 2004. Since then, the only new increase in shippments, known through new certifications, have been in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The album has shipped a further 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom since the begining of the year and has shipped another 60,000 units in the Republic of Ireland as well. This adds 360,000 to the shipment total from the end of 2004 for a total of 8,860,000. Most other countries including the United States are still working on selling the initial shipments from 2004, but obviously some store chains may have soldout and re-order more which is why the album has shipped at a minimum, 9 million units worldwide.

Of the 9 million units shipped, a little over 8,100,000 units have been sold. With sales increasing in Europe now, the album should eventually cross the 9 million sales mark to consumers before the end of the year.

It appears getting to the 10 million mark, shipped or actual sales, might depend on the Grammy awards.

 

[edge3]

Hey Sting, Bomb also went 2xPlat in Spain after Dec 2004 - so that's another 100K shipped. Plus, I think it shipped another 2xPlat (that's 80K) in Portugal after Dec 2004.

 

[STING2]

Hey Sting, Bomb also went 2xPlat in Spain after Dec 2004 - so that's another 100K shipped. Plus, I think it shipped another 2xPlat (that's 80K) in Portugal after Dec 2004.

Were these January/February certifications or something more recent?

 

[Yahweh]

I think it comes down to the US having bad taste in music period.

Even the fans that showed up to the shows in the US the majority of them only knew 4 or 5 songs....ATYCLB only did OK in the US and thats exactly what Bomb will do just OK and thats all that U2 is capable of doing these days.

ATYCLB has sold slightly more only because it won some Grammys if Bomb does the same it will sell about the same.

The days of the 8-10 million selling album in the US for U2 at least are over. Id go as far to say that for any "rock" band. Coldplays sales after the first few weeks will also fade into nothingness as well.

 

[STING2]

I think it comes down to the US having bad taste in music period.

Even the fans that showed up to the shows in the US the majority of them only knew 4 or 5 songs....ATYCLB only did OK in the US and thats exactly what Bomb will do just OK and thats all that U2 is capable of doing these days.

ATYCLB has sold slightly more only because it won some Grammys if Bomb does the same it will sell about the same.

The days of the 8-10 million selling album in the US for U2 at least are over. Id go as far to say that for any "rock" band. Coldplays sales after the first few weeks will also fade into nothingness as well.

I would not say that ATYCLB sales in the USA were just OK, it sold 80% as well as the Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby did in the USA in their first two years of release. The album definitely put the band on top again in the USA where they had definitely slipped in the 1990s. ATYCLB sold nearly 3 times as many copies as POP did in the USA!

Fans from the first show that I have seen on this tour new the songs word for word, and the final with 40 was simply unbelievable! I have never heard a crowd with that volume and sing that song so perfectly!

Remember that it took Achtung Baby 6 years to sell 8 million copies and Joshua Tree 8 years to sell 10 million copies. Comparing just the first year or two of sales between the albums shows that ATYCLB and even BOMB are not that far behind Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree.

 

[Yahweh]

I think that the US in the 80s was the place for U2 to build their fanbase....throughout the 90s after Zooropa was released the fanbase actually erroded to the point of almost being non existant into the late 90s....ATYCLB while it did OK will not be selling many more albums in the US and I fear that Bomb will have the same fate....the difference with Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree is they always consistantly sell...not for just a short period but they have proven to sell over a number of years....and I fear the albums that have came out in the new decade wont do the same thing. Infact Id be willing to bet my life savings that ATYCLB never even comes close to the 8 million mark in the US...and the same for Bomb....4 million bought is pretty much the limit of what the US can handle these days and I dont think that will be changing anytime.

Most of the US thinks U2 is a passe retro type of act just because thats the way the music industry is right now...if you didnt come out within the last few years you are old news. Especially if you are not American....look at bands like Oasis and Radiohead, and even Coldplay after the first few weeks their numbers always take double digit drops every week in sales.

If U2 didnt tour the US their album would sell about 2 million and flop pretty much...that is the way I see it now. U2 has to tour the US just to get their album known and out there....thats not the way it used to be mostly due to shallow factors like the age of the band. That is the main reason why I think POP "failed" in the US because they thought a mature band like U2 should not be playing the "young persons" type of music.

Does U2 put a lot of weight into what the US thinks of them...yes and unfortunatly I think probably too much weight...are they making the music they really want to make...that is up for debate....but I think if they looked really deep inside themselves they would say both yes and no....In my mind they will always have "The Best Band In The World" honour whether they sell 1 more album in the US or not....is U2 concerned about US sales absolutely. U2 know damn well they are a tough sell as far as albums go there so they put a hell of a lot of work into trying to get their music heard there banging down doors talking to reviewers doing whatever they can to sell there music....and in the end does that affect the music on the albums themselves....I think wede have to ask the band that themselves under oath or a lie detector test...do I love the 2000 material yes its some of the best theyve made, but I truely believe that its "U2 made to sell to US consumers" music and not "U2 made to sell to U2 fans" music.

Will this change anytime soon I truely doubt it. We may see some heavier tracks on an upcomming album but will we ever see U2 doing another Passengers project just becauase they can...I dont see it happening.

 

[edge3]

Were these January/February certifications or something more recent?

Spain : Bomb was certified 2xPlat at end of Feb / beginning of March on the chart website - w.14 of Bomb's chart run.

Portugal : Squire reported that Bomb was certified 3xPlat (120K) in w.21 thread - so must have been some time in April.

 

[Squire]

Spain : Bomb was certified 2xPlat at end of Feb / beginning of March on the chart website - w.14 of Bomb's chart run.

Portugal : Squire reported that Bomb was certified 3xPlat (120K) in w.21 thread - so must have been some time in April.

that's correct

 

[STING2]

I think that the US in the 80s was the place for U2 to build their fanbase....throughout the 90s after Zooropa was released the fanbase actually erroded to the point of almost being non existant into the late 90s....ATYCLB while it did OK will not be selling many more albums in the US and I fear that Bomb will have the same fate....the difference with Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree is they always consistantly sell...not for just a short period but they have proven to sell over a number of years....and I fear the albums that have came out in the new decade wont do the same thing. Infact Id be willing to bet my life savings that ATYCLB never even comes close to the 8 million mark in the US...and the same for Bomb....4 million bought is pretty much the limit of what the US can handle these days and I dont think that will be changing anytime.

Most of the US thinks U2 is a passe retro type of act just because thats the way the music industry is right now...if you didnt come out within the last few years you are old news. Especially if you are not American....look at bands like Oasis and Radiohead, and even Coldplay after the first few weeks their numbers always take double digit drops every week in sales.

If U2 didnt tour the US their album would sell about 2 million and flop pretty much...that is the way I see it now. U2 has to tour the US just to get their album known and out there....thats not the way it used to be mostly due to shallow factors like the age of the band. That is the main reason why I think POP "failed" in the US because they thought a mature band like U2 should not be playing the "young persons" type of music.

Does U2 put a lot of weight into what the US thinks of them...yes and unfortunatly I think probably too much weight...are they making the music they really want to make...that is up for debate....but I think if they looked really deep inside themselves they would say both yes and no....In my mind they will always have "The Best Band In The World" honour whether they sell 1 more album in the US or not....is U2 concerned about US sales absolutely. U2 know damn well they are a tough sell as far as albums go there so they put a hell of a lot of work into trying to get their music heard there banging down doors talking to reviewers doing whatever they can to sell there music....and in the end does that affect the music on the albums themselves....I think wede have to ask the band that themselves under oath or a lie detector test...do I love the 2000 material yes its some of the best theyve made, but I truely believe that its "U2 made to sell to US consumers" music and not "U2 made to sell to U2 fans" music.

Will this change anytime soon I truely doubt it. We may see some heavier tracks on an upcomming album but will we ever see U2 doing another Passengers project just becauase they can...I dont see it happening.

#1 U2's fanbase was not "almost non-existent in the late 1990s" POPMART at the time was one of the highest GROSSING tours in the history of the USA and was the biggest tour of the year in the USA both in terms of GROSS and attendance with the exception of the Rolling Stones tour. Even the POP album, which only sold 1.5 million copies in the USA, sold enough in the USA in 1997 to be one of the top 50 biggest sellers of the year.

In addition, U2's worldwide popularity in the late 1990s was still massive. POP sold more than 6 million copies worldwide and was one of the 20 biggest selling albums of 1997. Worldwide, the POPMART tour GROSSED 171 million dollars and at the time was the second highest GROSSING tour ever!


Since when is selling 4 million copies in the USA only "OK". The number of albums that will sell 4 million copies in the USA by the end of 2005 will probably be less than 5! HTDAAB will likely be one of the 10 biggest selling albums of the year in the USA, in Billboards year end issue in December. Achtung Baby was the 5th biggest seller of the year in 1992, and BOMB could still potentially wind up being the 5th biggest selling album of the year in 2005 for the USA, which is huge shows that the level of current interest in U2 vs other artist is just as strong as it was back in 1992.



Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby were released in the late 80s and early 90s, a time when people started to replace their record and tape collections with Compact Disk. It was a time when record clubs with 1 cent offers accounted for nearly 20% of all album sales. Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby benifited from this market environment, just like many other artist did, including several from the 1970s who had their collections issued on compact disk for the first time.

Today, everything is on Compact Disk, so there is no driving urge to suddenly start replacing your collection with some superior music format. Most of the record clubs and wild deals are gone as well. If that wasn't enough, now there are things that actually are cutting into the sale of any album. The internet, File Sharing, and CD burning are cutting sales heavily. Just look at what the #20, #30 or #40 album sold in 2001 and compare it to what albums in those positions are currently selling in any given week in 2005 and you'll see an incredible difference.

Here is a question for ya, If you really think the USA considers U2 to be "old news" can you name a new band to come out after January 2000, that has released an album in the past 2 years that has sold as much as HTDAAB in the USA, with the exception of Linkin Park?

For your information, HTDAAB sold 2,369,000 copies before the tour was even officially announced! The album sold over 2.6 million before the first show was even played! Also, I don't know where you get the idea of selling 2 million copies in the USA as being a flop?!?! Thats absurd as there will probably be less than 25 albums this year that will sell 2 million plus copies in the USA.

Most artist in the USA would love to sell as many albums as U2 have in the USA with ATYCLB and HTDAAB, but few of them have. This idea that the albums are "hard sell" in the USA is a bit absurd in light of that fact. Its true that selling the albums in the USA for U2, may be more difficult than a place like Europe, but lets remember that ATYCLB had equal sales in the United States and Europe, both over 4 million for each.


The band write the best music they can. The bells and whistles may be added or taken out to influence things a little, but in the end, thats all they are. What the band does in creating new material is unchanged since the early days. I love what they have done since 2000 and consider HTDAAB their 3rd best album of their career.

 

[phanan]

Here is a question for ya, If you really think the USA considers U2 to be "old news" can you name a new band to come out after January 2000, that has released an album in the past 2 years that has sold as much as HTDAAB in the USA, with the exception of Linkin Park?

Evanescence
Maroon 5

That said, I agree with your main points. U2 are certainly not a flop in comparison to other bands in the US, even if they don't sell as many albums as they used to. One look at their album sales in comparison to all other bands speaks volumes.

 

[Tallarico]

i think that ,considering only the airplays, in Usa City can do much better than sometimes....

 

[STING2]

Evanescence
Maroon 5

That said, I agree with your main points. U2 are certainly not a flop in comparison to other bands in the US, even if they don't sell as many albums as they used to. One look at their album sales in comparison to all other bands speaks volumes.

Ahhh yes, how could I forget the two of them. Evanescence debut album sold about 6 million copies in the USA and I think Maroon 5 is close to getting to 4 million. Still, can one name any other bands besides these? Then, when it comes to selling concert tickets, Evanescence and Maroon 5 are well behind Coldplay which is only doing about 10% to 20% of the business that U2 will do or could do in the USA this year.

 

[beLIEve]

I agree

i think that ,considering only the airplays, in Usa City can do much better than sometimes....

Based on early success, I think you are right. I still don't know why there is no U.S. video.