Billboard 200 4/14/12 - Madonna #1 359K

[Deleted]

1 62 TITANIC SOUNDTRACK 2453 999 83 10149729


As expected - an update

only 6K higher than the prior update from last fall though

[HolidayGuy]

Thanks for posting, areyouready.

Roughly 62% of albums still sold on CD. Not bad.

I gather that the anniversary edition of Titanic- which includes the original two soundtracks and a new third disc- is being lumped with the original release?

[Rodze]

Apr 5, 2012 18:20:10 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

Those charts are from arab at UKMix. I always forget to credit him.

Those charts are not from him, although he has the work of copy-pasting them on UKMix form the original source.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2012 9:04:50 GMT -5 Rodze said:

Apr 5, 2012 18:20:10 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

Those charts are from arab at UKMix. I always forget to credit him.

Those charts are not from him, although he has the work of copy-pasting them on UKMix form the original source.

Yes - he gets them from another site

I asked him what his source was once - he would not tell me ;)

[areyoureadytojump]

Best sellers on the BB200 this week:

BODYGUARD SOUNDTRACK 11,995,897

EMINEM MARSHALL MATHERS LP 10,579,711

ADELE 21 8,490,379
JOURNEY GREATEST HITS 8,056,268

SWIFT*TAYLOR FEARLESS 6,525,778

EMINEM RECOVERY 4,234,760
SWIFT*TAYLOR SPEAK NOW 4,054,009

I don't have time to finish this right now. Does anyone want to post the others? Thanks.

[Ke$ha's Left Tittie]

Apr 5, 2012 21:08:50 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Like a Virgin back on the overall catalog 200 albums. :) It had been charting on the Catalog Physical Albums chart for several weeks now.

That's because Best Buy has it selling for $4.99.

[chartfreak]

Apr 6, 2012 8:55:00 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Thanks for posting, areyouready.

Roughly 62% of albums still sold on CD. Not bad.

I gather that the anniversary edition of Titanic- which includes the original two soundtracks and a new third disc- is being lumped with the original release?

Are you asking if that is why it increased?

[HolidayGuy]

^Well, if it's being lumped with the original, that would explain the increase, as the anniversary edition was released last week. :)

By the way, for those interested: MDNA's Internet Albums total was 180,406- that includes only physical albums/ So, the physical CDs that were redeemed were part of that total (along with sales from online retailers), while the digital copies redeemed would be represented on Digital Albums. So, between those two charts, that accounts for roughly 304,500 units- that leaves an estimated 55,000 from non-Internet physical outlets. Would a new Madonna album sell that small an amount at physical outlets, without a ticket/album promotion, big hit or not? More than likely, no.

So, a fair conclusion is that without the bundle, album sales may not have been as high as 359K- but without it, sales likely would have been higher than 179K. Perhaps they would have ended up somewhere in the middle. But, it is what it is. :)

[closeyoureyes]

Apr 6, 2012 16:40:06 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

^Well, if it's being lumped with the original, that would explain the increase, as the anniversary edition was released last week. :)

By the way, for those interested: MDNA's Internet Albums total was 180,406- that includes only physical albums/ So, the physical CDs that were redeemed were part of that total (along with sales from online retailers), while the digital copies redeemed would be represented on Digital Albums. So, between those two charts, that accounts for roughly 304,500 units- that leaves an estimated 55,000 from non-Internet physical outlets. Would a new Madonna album sell that small an amount at physical outlets, without a ticket/album promotion, big hit or not? More than likely, no.

So, a fair conclusion is that without the bundle, album sales may not have been as high as 359K- but without it, sales likely would have been higher than 179K. Perhaps they would have ended up somewhere in the middle. But, it is what it is. :)

Lol, careful, I was basically called a lunatic for figuring out the same thing...

[HolidayGuy]

^Can't imagine why, as it's a perfectly sensible conclusion, that *should* satisfy parties of all opinions. :)

[Deleted]

11,995,897 BODYGUARD SOUNDTRACK
11,008,546 MARLEY*BOB & THE WAILERS LEGEND
10,579,711 EMINEM MARSHALL MATHERS LP
*8,490,379 ADELE 21
*8,056,268 JOURNEY GREATEST HITS
*6,525,778 SWIFT*TAYLOR FEARLESS
*6,118,254 CCR VOL. 1-CHRONICLE-20
*4,234,760 EMINEM RECOVERY
*4,054,009 SWIFT*TAYLOR SPEAK NOW
*3,850,170 LADY ANTEBELLUM NEED YOU NOW
*3,536,108 EMINEM CURTAIN CALL
*3,117,723 BIEBER*JUSTIN MY WORLD
*2,878,371 BROWN*ZAC BAND FOUNDATION
*2,854,224 HOUSTON*WHITNEY MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE
*2,719,507 LYNYRD SKYNYRD BEST OF LYNYRD SKYNYRD
*2,479,082 ALDEAN*JASON MY KINDA PARTY
*2,432,924 HOUSTON*WHITNEY GREATEST HITS
*2,210,456 MUMFORD & SONS SIGH NO MORE
*2,195,854 LADY GAGA BORN THIS WAY
*2,141,016 PERRY*KATY TEENAGE DREAM
*2,108,632 ADELE 19
*2,100,349 LIL' WAYNE THA CARTER IV

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2012 21:27:21 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

^Can't imagine why, as it's a perfectly sensible conclusion, that *should* satisfy parties of all opinions. :)

That's what I think would have happened to. It's a completely sensible conclusion to come to, and is the exact same one I came to with Born This Way.

[HolidayGuy]

^Agreed.

Are the American Idol digital albums not allowed to chart on the BB 200? It reached top 5 on iTunes albums last week and is nowhere to be found in the top 200. I know digital album sales aren't all that high, but it only had to sell a few thousand to chart.

[HolidayGuy]

Nothing really new, but this is the Over the Counter article that appears in this week's Billboard:

Madonna, Lionel Richie Debut At Nos. 1 & 2

Madonna scores her eighth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the debut of her album, MDNA, while Lionel Richie’s all-star country collaborations set Tuskegee bows in the runner-up slot- his highest-charting album since 1986.

MDNA sold 359,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is her fifth straight studio album to debut at No. 1. It follows 2008’s Hard Candy, which moved 280,000 in its first week. MDNA’s opener is her best sales week since 2000’s Music shifted 420,000 units when it debuted at No. 1.

Madonna remains in second place among women with the most No. 1 albums. She now needs only one more to tie Barbra Streisand, the leader among women with nine chart-toppers.

Lady M has now released No. 1 albums in the ‘80s, ‘00s and ‘10s. She missed scoring a No. 1 in the ‘90s, instead notching five No. 2 releases with I’m Breathless, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica, the “Evita” soundtrack and Ray of Light.

MDNA’s sales were aided by a successful album sales promotion involving Madonna’s upcoming world tour. U.S. customers who bought a concert ticket had the option of receiving the album as part of their purchase. The only sales that count toward an album’s chart position are those where ticket buyers opted to receive MDNA.

This sort of ticket/album promotion has been used in the recent past by such acts as Bon Jovi and Tom Petty. The latter’s Mojo album debuted at No. 2 on July 3, 2010, with 125,000- thanks to a fair number of customers who got the album through a ticket purchase. (It also was Petty’s best sales week since Christmas of 1994.) The same goes for Bon Jovi’s 2007 No. 1 album, Lost Highway.

Source suggest that MDNA may have sold around 180,000 copies through the ticket/album offer- a handsome figure indeed. Certainly, based on Madonna’s previous debut sales weeks (she hasn’t had a studio set start with less than 240,000 since 1994), MDNA would’ve been No. 1 even without the ticket/album promotion.

Meanwhile, Richie’s Tuskegee starts with 199,000- his best sales frame since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991. His previous largest week in that span of time was when 2006’s Coming Home started with 75,000 at No. 6. Richie last charted higher on the Billboard 200 in 1986, when Dancing on the Ceiling spent two weeks at No. 1.

Like other veteran acts before him, Richie opted to reach consumers in a creative way. First, for Tuskegee, he covered his own material, but with a twist. That’s not far removed from a traditional covers set, which is usually the way a heritage artist reconnects with fans (e.g. Tony Bennett’s Duets and Duets II, Rod Stewart’s Songbook series). Richie also brought in A-list collaborators to sing with him (as did Bennett, as well as Santana for Supernatural) and crossed over to country (like Jewel and Darius Rucker have done before him). And he isn’t just covering old tunes- he’s covering his own familiar hits, but with a country slant. (While Richie has dabbled in country before, he has gone to great lengths to say he’s not “gone country.” But to the average person, one could argue this is a stylistic transition, albeit a natural one.)

Richie also was the focus of an hour-long concert special on HSN on March 16. Sales generated from the shopping channel broadcast amounted to about 20,000 sold, according to the artist’s label, Universal Music Nashville.

A traditional studio album from Richie would’ve likely never sold as well as Tuskegee, which targets multiple demographics. Case in point: in one week, Tuskegee moved more than twice what his last studio album did in total- 2009’s Just Go has sold 95,000.

In terms of release-week promotion, Madonna was off the radar, instead focusing on rehearsals for her upcoming world tour. Since headlining the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 5, her only significant media appearances have been a live Facebook chat with Jimmy Fallon on March 24 and a brief drop-in at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival the same night.

Richie, however, worked the TV circuit hard during the past week. He was the focus of multiple CMT specials and was interviewed on NBC’s “Weekend Today" (March 25), and made appearances on NBC’s “The Voice” (March 26, the album’s release date), "Today,” “Late Show With David Letterman” and CNN’s “Piers Morgan” (all on March 27). Then, on April 1, he performed on CBS’ telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards.

[Deleted]

Who has the most "Top 2" albums? Madonna has 13.

[HolidayGuy]

^Well, The Beatles have 19 No. 1 albums, so them by default. :) Looks likt the band had five No. 2 albums, so that makes 24 that reached the top 2.

The Rolling Stones have had six No. 2 albums- so with its nine No. 1 albums, that makes 15 top 2 albums.

Madonna, Barbra Streisand and Jay-Z all have 13 top 2 albums (Jay-Z just had one peak in the runner-up spot).

From my count, Elvis Presley had two No. 2 albums, so that gives him 12 top 2; Bruce Springsteen has had one, so that gives him 11. Garth Brooks also has 11 top 2, as does Paul McCartney (solo and with Wings).

[bat1990]

Apr 5, 2012 19:15:14 GMT -5 @dsulkers said:

8 5 3 4 BODYGUARD SOUNDTRACK 7163 -21 9087 11995897

I think this could finally pass 12,000,000 million next week. :) Only 4, 103 away.

It only took 20 years...

[jumpb4uthink]

Billboard
Source suggest that MDNA may have sold around 180,000 copies through the ticket/album offer- a handsome figure indeed. Certainly, based on Madonna’s previous debut sales weeks (she hasn’t had a studio set start with less than 240,000 since 1994), MDNA would’ve been No. 1 even without the ticket/album promotion.

[Deleted]

It is quite possible that many of those 180,000 have more than one copy of the album. Since these people are Madonna's biggest fans it is likely the case that they got the free album and then went to the store and bought another one

However Madonna is #1 on this chart so that should be all that matters

[HolidayGuy]

It's possible that some ticket buyers got the album- whose cost was worked into the price of the ticket- is the bundle and then went to the store and purchased another one. But, there is no way of knowing how many ticket buyers were her "biggest fans." As Billboard commented (in more than one article), she likely would have been No. 1 without the ticket/album promotion.

And, yes, the fact that the album came out at No. 1 is all that matters.

[silab]

I can't wait for the second week drop of MDNA. If it is true that the copies redeemed through the concert sales is only for the first week, then she will tumble a lot on the second week.

Even if she debuts at #1, she still manipulated the chart by using this strategy. She is indeed a smart businesswoman but she knows she had to do this after failing to score a hit (despite having the biggest promotion by a celebrity in the past 12 years at least)

[Enigma.]

Apr 7, 2012 23:41:08 GMT -5 silab said:

(despite having the biggest promotion by a celebrity in the past 12 years at least)

Someone's being delusional.

[HolidayGuy]

^I know, right? Yes, she's the only act who's played the Super Bowl halftime show over the last decade-plus. But, the source has made its intent quite clear in the pattern of posts, so can't expect anything less. Plus, talking as if it's not a known that the album will tumble a lot in the second week. Someone must not be keeping up with the projections...

It's great that those paying such high amounts of money to see Madonna live, get both the ticket and album copy (if they redeem). I am not one of the ticket buyers, as I got my copies the traditional way, at iTunes and Best Buy. I count myself among her biggest fans, yet I don't rush to buy concert tickets- can't justify the amount, really.

Madonna likely would have topped 250K in sales without the promo (an in-the-middle figure)- I know some may not want to believe that, but it's a likely scenario, given the openings of her last five studio albums. She's an act who doesn't need a big hit single to sell well out of the gate- that's been established. The follow-up weeks, another matter.

[jumpb4uthink]

^ Amen

[reidster]

Apr 8, 2012 7:15:31 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Plus, talking as if it's not a known that the album will tumble a lot in the second week. Someone must not be keeping up with the projections..

This line irritates me. You are trying to somehow compensate for how bad her second week sales will be by merely noting it before it happens. Doesn't make the fall in sales any less embarrassing.

[HolidayGuy]

What are you talkin' about? The projections clearly stated the big fall- it was expected- it's not a surprise. Just as with box office, it's the opening numbers that generate the biggest buzz, so they accomplished a lot in that regard, without a major hit single or mega promo. The woman is rehearsing for her tour- if she were out promoting the heck out of the album in week two (or even week one), and it had a big radio hit and was plunging as it is, then, yeah, it would be a surprise and more of an embarrassment. But, otherwise, what does anyone expect?

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Apr 8, 2012 6:06:05 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Apr 7, 2012 23:41:08 GMT -5 silab said:

(despite having the biggest promotion by a celebrity in the past 12 years at least)

Someone's being delusional.

No kidding. Must be new.

Apr 8, 2012 7:15:31 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Madonna likely would have topped 250K in sales without the promo (an in-the-middle figure)-

I know a lot of people have been going the "most likely" route but it is a dangerous way to look at things because if you use it for one scenario, you really have to use it for every other one.
I agree that she'd most likely sell more copies outside of the ticket sales if there were no redemptions with tickets. But I also think that BTW would have sold more than 700k in its first week without the Amazon sale. I think that's about the number of copies the non-Amazon numbers brought in. Or 650k or something. But when it comes to being absolutely fair, you can't really use speculation or else the people you debate with for whatever the discussion is over can use speculation too. And that's where the biggest arguments are formed in my opinion because people can and will shoot back with reasons why your argument is faulty. Then you'll have to agree to disagree which doesn't happen at this board outside of the Rock forum.

[areyoureadytojump]

Thanks, lightup!

[reidster]

Apr 8, 2012 8:59:36 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

What are you talkin' about? The projections clearly stated the big fall- it was expected- it's not a surprise. Just as with box office, it's the opening numbers that generate the biggest buzz, so they accomplished a lot in that regard, without a major hit single or mega promo. The woman is rehearsing for her tour- if she were out promoting the heck out of the album in week two (or even week one), and it had a big radio hit and was plunging as it is, then, yeah, it would be a surprise and more of an embarrassment. But, otherwise, what does anyone expect?

I agree that the projections are saying that it will be a steep decline, but some Madonna fans seem to use it as a debating tool.
Example:
Person 1: Madonna will have a steep decline in her second week.
Madonna Fan: "Yeah, that isn't news, we all know that already"
Person 1: "I never said you didn't know it, or that it's news, I'm just mentioning that her sales will drop significantly in her second week (more so than an albums regular decline in its second week)"
Madonna Fan: "So I already knew that"

Yes she had a good first week (thanks largely in part to the ticket sales). Her second week will be down significantly. You responding, "Well that is nothing we didn't know" doesn't diminish how steep of a drop the album will have, and how unsuccessful it will be it that week. Basically what I'm saying is, people shouldn't use the idea of already knowing something as an excuse or defense to an argument.

[HolidayGuy]

^I agree- that particular poster, though, posted as if he was making some big prediction/observation that was an unknown. (if you've seen his other Madonna-related posts, you'd see what I mean) :) It's not an excuse for anything- the huge second-week decline is what it is, and it's expected/understandable for reasons stated.