HITS FINAL: #1 BTS 188k; #4 Ariana 70k; #7 Ozuna 47k

[Naos]

Aug 29, 2018 16:41:32 GMT -5 brady47 said:

Aug 27, 2018 15:30:48 GMT -5 ddlz said:

Billboard's 200 formula is obviously flawed and needs to be updated. It gives way too much power to one hot song when it should reflect streaming consumption and people's interest in the whole album.

Agreed. There's no line between album and singles artists anymore because 1 mega streaming single makes you an albums artist by default (and on the contrary, having no streaming hits makes your album seem like a flop too)

Every rock album (except for Metallica), becomes a flop.

[brady47]

Aug 29, 2018 16:50:48 GMT -5 Naos said:

Aug 29, 2018 16:41:32 GMT -5 brady47 said:

Agreed. There's no line between album and singles artists anymore because 1 mega streaming single makes you an albums artist by default (and on the contrary, having no streaming hits makes your album seem like a flop too)

Every rock album (except for Metallica), becomes a flop.

And P!nk's "Beautiful Trauma" - top 40 on album sales, and #168 on the Billboard 200...while Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" is not in the top 100 selling albums (sold 1-2k), yet top 10 on the Billboard 200

[Me. I Am l!nk!nfan815...]

Aug 27, 2018 14:45:34 GMT -5 @swella said:

Aug 27, 2018 12:28:30 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

So you're saying she can't do it alone and has to guest on others' projects?

Degeneres queen doesn't mind sacrificing a position to help the lessers.

She sure didn’t act like it.

[do u know da wae]

Album sales are so high rn it’s insane. 54k would’ve been #1 a year ago but it’s #9 rn

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Aug 29, 2018 16:41:32 GMT -5 brady47 said:

Aug 27, 2018 15:30:48 GMT -5 ddlz said:

Billboard's 200 formula is obviously flawed and needs to be updated. It gives way too much power to one hot song when it should reflect streaming consumption and people's interest in the whole album.

Agreed. There's no line between album and singles artists anymore because 1 mega streaming single makes you an albums artist by default (and on the contrary, having no streaming hits makes your album seem like a flop too)

How did you make that distinction in the early 2000s when labels would make big singles album only on iTunes so you couldn't get it without buying the whole album?

[chartfreak]

Eminem just dropped a new album!

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

CHART STORY: LOVE CONQUERS

Friday, August 31, 2018

Back in May, BTS celebrated having the first K-Pop album to go #1 in the U.S. Well, they’ve done it again, this time with Love Yourself: Answer (Bighit/Columbia), which dominates the HITS Top 50 Chart this week with approximately 188k. What’s Korean for “Fuck, yeah!?” Ask Ron Perry.

Cactus Jack/Grand Hustle/Epic’s Travis Scott and YMCMB/Republic’s Drake continue to flaunt their streaming stamina. Scott’s Astroworld—down a mere 3% in week four—holds at #2, tacking on 108k. Meanwhile, Scorpion—down 11% in week nine—stays at #3, adding 82k to its total.

As for the remaining debuts, noteworthy bows come from Ozuna’s Aura (VP/Dimelo VI), which enters at #7 with 48k, and Alice in Chains’ Rainier Fog (BMG) appears at #11 with 30k.

When it comes to marketshare, UMG is #1 with 46%, SME follows with 27% and WMG is #3 with 24%, while the indies claim 3%.

Streeting this week is, of course, Eminem’s tenth studio album, Kamikaze, which the team over at Shady/Aftermath/Interscope expertly managed to keep secret up until its drop. This Labor Day Weekend, listeners can also indulge in new sets from Capitol’s Troye Sivan, Signature Entertainment/Atlantic’s Why Don’t We, Dualtone’s Amos Lee and Epitaph’s Alkaline Trio.

Speaking of indulgences, our vape pens are locked and loaded, pizza is on the way and the HITS 32nd Anniversary Special has almost been put to bed. Please excuse us while we freakin’ run amok.

[HolidayGuy]

I've said from the start that the multi-metric chart is flawed, given how one or two tracks can boost an album's placement so much. While album sales continue to lag, a ranking is still a ranking. And as nearly all acts still release albums, whether physically or digitally, it's the Album Sales chart I continue to pay more attention to.

Whenever I use Billboard info for articles or briefs in the newspaper, I use Album Sales peaks for recent years, and use the general "Billboard's album sales chart" when referring to peaks, hits counts, etc.

keke- I gather you're looking at the multi-metric chart, as No. 8 on HITS' sales chart sold ~11,000. (Though HITS' chart, in recent times, looks to have lower overall numbers than the Nielsen/Billboard chart).

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

^Personally, I'm rooting for the the Hits prediction to be wrong. I'd like Alice in Chains to be in the top 10 SPS. I mean, it'll be among stronger recent #2s in Top Album Sales and it would be a shame that it would won't just because the songs from it are barely streamed.

[iHype.]

Aug 31, 2018 16:35:59 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

I've said from the start that the multi-metric chart is flawed, given how one or two tracks can boost an album's placement so much. 

How is that any different from one-two hits boosting albums during 1995-2005 before iTunes took off? We don't discredit those numbers. 

Baha Men's 2000 album sold 3 million copies just off being a one-hit wonder with 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. More than any album has sold pure in nearly 3 years, and it peaked top 5. 

Do you think it sold that much because the public was just dying to have a quality, state-of-the-art album by Baha Men? Or because one song boosted its numbers entirely?


The argument against streaming's inclusion to album totals being 'albums with hits get undeserved boosts' will never make sense to me, as hits are always what have driven album numbers 95% of the time. There's a reason 95% of artists biggest selling albums... are the ones with the biggest hits. There's a reason when singers release albums 30 years after their peak with no hits in decades they do terrible numbers. 

The album has always lived off the hit. 

[Naos]

Aug 31, 2018 18:02:42 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Aug 31, 2018 16:35:59 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

I've said from the start that the multi-metric chart is flawed, given how one or two tracks can boost an album's placement so much. 

How is that any different from one-two hits boosting albums during 1995-2005 before iTunes took off? We don't discredit those numbers. 

Baha Men's 2000 album sold 3 million copies just off being a one-hit wonder with 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. More than any album has sold pure in nearly 3 years, and it peaked top 5. 

Do you think it sold that much because the public was just dying to have a quality, state-of-the-art album by Baha Men? Or because one song boosted its numbers entirely?


The argument against streaming's inclusion to album totals being 'albums with hits get undeserved boosts' will never make sense to me, as hits are always what have driven album numbers 95% of the time. There's a reason 95% of artists biggest selling albums... are the ones with the biggest hits. There's a reason when singers release albums 30 years after their peak with no hits in decades they do terrible numbers. 

The album has always lived off the hit. 

Except the units of "Who Let The Dogs Out?" weren't counted towards the album. People actually went out of their way to get it. And you don't always need hits to do decently on the charts. On the current Billboard 200 though, if you have miniscule streaming numbers, you'll be out of the charts in a few weeks. It leads to unfair advantages for the hip-hop genre. Pop has a little presence, but country and rock are at clear disadvantages despite them having some decent album sales.

[HolidayGuy]

I hear what you're saying, iHype- an album is an album. Streaming and TEA contribute to the songs/singles chart, which makes sense. Heck, why doesn't Billboard add album sales to the singles chart while we're at it?

I maintain that the Billboard 200 was turned into a multi-metric chart to plump up figures for the albums-oriented chart that Billboard pays the most mind to. On that end, it has accomplished that goal.

[iHype.]

Aug 31, 2018 19:01:40 GMT -5 Naos said:

Aug 31, 2018 18:02:42 GMT -5 iHype. said:

How is that any different from one-two hits boosting albums during 1995-2005 before iTunes took off? We don't discredit those numbers. 

Baha Men's 2000 album sold 3 million copies just off being a one-hit wonder with 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. More than any album has sold pure in nearly 3 years, and it peaked top 5. 

Do you think it sold that much because the public was just dying to have a quality, state-of-the-art album by Baha Men? Or because one song boosted its numbers entirely?


The argument against streaming's inclusion to album totals being 'albums with hits get undeserved boosts' will never make sense to me, as hits are always what have driven album numbers 95% of the time. There's a reason 95% of artists biggest selling albums... are the ones with the biggest hits. There's a reason when singers release albums 30 years after their peak with no hits in decades they do terrible numbers. 

The album has always lived off the hit. 

Except the units of "Who Let The Dogs Out?" weren't counted towards the album. People actually went out of their way to get it. And you don't always need hits to do decently on the charts. On the current Billboard 200 though, if you have miniscule streaming numbers, you'll be out of the charts in a few weeks. It leads to unfair advantages for the hip-hop genre. Pop has a little presence, but country and rock are at clear disadvantages despite them having some decent album sales.

Who Let the Dogs Out was NOT available for sale as a single. That was the point. If you wanted that song, the only way to legally obtain it was to buy the entire album. As I said, majority albums from 1995-2005 didn't have their singles commercially available. Hence hit singles drove up their album sales like crazy.


There's no logic to count the public being forced to buy one-hit wonder albums in 2000 as 'legitimate sales', then saying streams factored into one-hit wonders album figures today is just manipulation and unfair. All those one-hit wonders (and there were plenty) going platinum/multi-platinum off their sole hit not being available individually is no different than if it happened today because their one hit automatically counts towards album activity. 

"And you don't always need hits to do decently on the charts."
Sure, this applies to both streaming and sales. Some acts sell a notable amount without hits, and some stream a notable amount without hits. There's been plenty of big names (Drake himself) who've dropped projects with no hits released prior and did amazing on streaming. However for the most part, boosting a project's numbers overall -- whether streams or sales will always be reliant on hits.

Aug 31, 2018 19:07:17 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

I hear what you're saying, iHype- an album is an album. Streaming and TEA contribute to the songs/singles chart, which makes sense. Heck, why doesn't Billboard add album sales to the singles chart while we're at it?

I maintain that the Billboard 200 was turned into a multi-metric chart to plump up figures for the albums-oriented chart that Billboard pays the most mind to. On that end, it has accomplished that goal.

The way of consumption has changed. Albums are no longer used by the public as a whole one-time transaction, so obviously the chart measuring album popularity should no longer solely be based on that. 

Perfect example being again, Drake. 

His first weeks in the sales era:
Thank Me Later - 450K~ (2010)
Take Care - 625K~ (2011)
Nothing Was the Same - 650K~ (2013)
Views - 850K~ (2016)

His sales in the stream era:
Scorpion - 160K

Are you really going to just argue suddenly Drake lost 80% of his fanbase randomly? While having 3 #1 hits this year? Or are you going to realize that his fanbase now consumes his albums in a different form, and therefore, when acknowledging that form, you have an accurate representation of how popular his album is.

[Naos]

I like that point - let's count album sales as an individual sale for each single. If we're using what is essentially the Hot 100 to count towards the Billboard 200, why not do it vice versa? If an album sells 100,000 copies, each song sells 100,000 copies.

Aug 31, 2018 19:21:21 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Sure, this applies to both streaming and sales. Some acts sell a notable amount without hits, and some stream a notable amount without hits. There's been plenty of big names (Drake himself) who've dropped projects with no hits released prior and did amazing on streaming. However for the most part, boosting a project's numbers overall -- whether streams or sales will always be reliant on hits.

But this rule makes most pure sales albums look like a flop because they didn't do well on streaming. This doesn't work the other way around.

[HolidayGuy]

No disagreement there, iHype- but his album still hit No. 1 in sales- a ranking is a ranking. ;) Until most acts don't release albums - which, who knows, may happen one day down the road- the sales chart is viable, and good to look at for acts' feats/milestones that do not register on the multi-metric chart. See my ongoing thread. :)

Just think of the day albums actually no longer get released. Only tracks charts will remain.

[Naos]

Aug 31, 2018 19:40:28 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

No disagreement there, iHype- but his album still hit No. 1 in sales- a ranking is a ranking. ;) Until most acts don't release albums - which, who knows, may happen one day down the road- the sales chart is viable, and good to look at for acts' feats/milestones that do not register on the multi-metric chart. See my ongoing thread. :)

Just think of the day albums actually no longer get released. Only tracks charts will remain.

We will still have Japan for a while. I hope the album as a format doesn't go away entirely.

Over on the Billboard comments, I post the best-selling albums per week. Sure, I post SPS as well, but I always hold more stock in sales. It's pathetic to see an album in the Top 10 and sell 500 copies.

[iHype.]

Aug 31, 2018 19:37:22 GMT -5 Naos said:

Aug 31, 2018 19:21:21 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Sure, this applies to both streaming and sales. Some acts sell a notable amount without hits, and some stream a notable amount without hits. There's been plenty of big names (Drake himself) who've dropped projects with no hits released prior and did amazing on streaming. However for the most part, boosting a project's numbers overall -- whether streams or sales will always be reliant on hits.

But this rule makes most pure sales albums look like a flop because they didn't do well on streaming. This doesn't work the other way around.

Maybe because they are a flop? Lol. 

Only 1 album has sold over 500k this year, and that's Greatest Showman. It's nice pure sales run has been represented on Billboard 200, over 25+ weeks top 10 & multiple weeks #1. 

You want albums that have sold 200k~ and have non-existent streaming to have good chart runs as if they are having good popularity? When that's pretty far from the truth...

Aug 31, 2018 19:40:28 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

No disagreement there, iHype- but his album still hit No. 1 in sales- a ranking is a ranking. Until most acts don't release albums - which, who knows, may happen one day down the road- the sales chart is viable, and good to look at for acts' feats/milestones that do not register on the multi-metric chart. See my ongoing thread.

Just think of the day albums actually no longer get released. Only tracks charts will remain.

There's no reason the industry would abandon releasing albums. They just wouldn't release them on sales formats, as nobody would care about those formats anymore. 

However contrary to your thought, the album's only way of validity is not from sales formats. Labels are generating a large, and constantly growing revenue from albums on streaming. And they wouldn't consistently be putting the biggest releases of the year on streaming first, and following with CDs weeks later if they believed the album's validity was foremost in sales.

[areyoureadytojump]

SPS

hitsdailydouble.com/sales_plus_streaming

LW TW ARTIST | TITLE |
LABEL
TOTAL CHANGE ALBUMS TEA SEA

-- 1 BTS | LOVE YOURSELF 'ANSWER'
BIGHIT/COLUMBIA
188,314 -- 145,373 18,808 24,133

2 2 TRAVIS SCOTT | ASTROWORLD
CACTUS JACK/GRAND HUSTLE/EPIC
107,864 -3% 19,957 1,976 85,931
3 3 DRAKE | SCORPION
YMCMB/REPUBLIC
81,889 -11% 4,312 4,911 72,666
1 4 ARIANA GRANDE | SWEETENER
REPUBLIC
70,409 -69% 15,506 4,484 50,419
4 5 NICKI MINAJ | QUEEN
YMCMB/REPUBLIC
62,594 -30% 10,872 2,351 49,371
5 6 POST MALONE | BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS
REPUBLIC
53,853 -3% 4,551 4,476 44,826
-- 7 OZUNA | AURA
VP/DIMELO VI
47,775 -- 7,271 1,781 38,723
24 8 XXXTENTACION | 17
BAD VIBES FOREVER/EMPIRE
39,339 134% 22,942 462 15,935
9 9 JUICE WRLD | GOODBYE & GOOD RIDDANCE
GRADE A/INTERSCOPE
37,718 -8% 844 1,997 34,877
11 10 CARDI B | INVASION OF PRIVACY
ATLANTIC
30,434 -8% 1,357 4,237 24,840

-- 11 ALICE IN CHAINS | RAINIER FOG
BMG
30,079 -- 28,378 370 1,331
12 12 XXXTENTACION | ?
BAD VIBES FOREVER
30,044 -7% 1,087 1,218 27,739
10 13 TRIPPIE REDD | LIFE'S A TRIP
TENTHOUSAND
23,188 -32% 312 231 22,645
13 14 THE GREATEST SHOWMAN | SOUNDTRACK
ATLANTIC
22,861 -5% 12,865 1,844 8,152
16 15 LIL BABY | HARDER THAN EVER
QUALITY CONTROL/MOTOWN/CAPITOL
19,911 -7% 138 623 19,150
15 16 LUKE COMBS | THIS ONE'S FOR YOU TOO
RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE
19,309 -18% 4,176 2,609 12,524
18 17 POST MALONE | STONEY
REPUBLIC
19,009 -7% 1,114 951 16,944
19 18 ED SHEERAN | DIVIDE
ATLANTIC
17,224 -13% 3,515 2,479 11,230
-- 19 YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN | 4 RESPECT - EP
NEVER BROKE AGAIN
17,008 -- 2,002 343 14,663
23 20 MAROON 5 | RED PILL BLUES
222/INTERSCOPE
15,706 -14% 1,173 3,274 11,259
-- 21 INTERPOL | MARAUDER
MATADOR
15,428 -- 13,462 186 1,780
25 22 MIGOS | CULTURE II
QUALITY CONTROL/MOTOWN/CAPITOL
14,915 -11% 463 708 13,744
21 23 YG | STAY DANGEROUS
DEF JAM
14,869 -21% 337 660 13,872
22 24 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN | SOUNDTRACK
CAPITOL
14,733 -19% 9,135 646 4,952
30 25 JASON ALDEAN | REARVIEW TOWN
BROKEN BOW/BMG
14,083 -4% 7,126 1,637 5,320
28 26 PANIC! AT THE DISCO | PRAY FOR THE WICKED
CRUSH/FUELED BY RAMEN
13,958 -12% 4,548 1,743 7,667
26 27 IMAGINE DRAGONS | EVOLVE
KIDINAKORNER/INTERSCOPE
13,940 -17% 3,806 2,356 7,778
29 28 YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN | UNTIL DEATH CALL MY NAME
ATLANTIC
13,669 -8% 236 335 13,098
-- 29 BAS | MILKY WAY
DREAMVILLE/INTERSCOPE
13,150 -- 1,825 356 10,968
32 30 MICHAEL JACKSON | ESSENTIAL MICHAEL JACKSON
EPIC/LEGACY
12,962 -7% 1,412 1,676 9,874
20 31 TAYLOR SWIFT | REPUTATION
BIG MACHINE/BMLG
12,428 -36% 2,931 1,272 8,225
37 32 BAZZI | COSMIC
IAMCOSMIC/ATLANTIC
12,387 -7% 361 963 11,063
40 33 HAMILTON | ORIGINAL BROADWAY MUSICAL
UPTOWN/ATLANTIC
12,218 -6% 4,208 304 7,706
31 34 KHALID | AMERICAN TEEN
RIGHT HAND MUSIC/RCA
12,050 -14% 702 394 10,954
34 35 WIZ KHALIFA | ROLLING PAPERS 2
ATLANTIC
11,951 -12% 221 259 11,471
7 36 COLE SWINDELL | ALL OF IT
WARNER BROS. NASHVILLE
11,822 -76% 6,783 1,170 3,869
41 37 J. COLE | KOD
DREAMVILLE/ROC NATION/INTERSCOPE
11,475 -12% 840 203 10,432
35 38 THE CARTERS | EVERYTHING IS LOVE
ROC NATION/PARKWOOD/COLUMBIA
11,424 -15% 1,878 578 8,968
45 39 LIL UZI VERT | LUV IS RAGE 2
GENERATION NOW/ATLANTIC
11,155 -5% 139 220 10,796
36 40 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER | YOUNGBLOOD
CAPITOL
11,122 -16% 1,527 2,147 7,448
42 41 KENDRICK LAMAR | DAMN.
TDE/AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE
11,098 -14% 877 388 9,833
-- 42 YOUNG THUG & YOUNG STONER LIFE RECORDS | SLIME LANGUAGE
YOUNG STONER LIFE RECORDS/ATLANTIC
10,822 -- 266 77 10,479
38 43 CAMILA CABELLO | CAMILA
SYCO/EPIC
10,543 -20% 1,321 1,592 7,630
39 44 DAN + SHAY | DAN + SHAY
WARNER BROS./WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE
10,541 -20% 1,668 1,667 7,206
33 45 MAC MILLER | SWIMMING
WARNER BROS.
10,362 -24% 1,647 95 8,620
43 46 BILLIE EILISH | DONT SMILE AT ME
DARKROOM/INTERSCOPE
10,254 -16% 804 601 8,849
-- 47 EAGLES | THEIR GREATEST HITS 1971-1975
ELEKTRA
10,176 -- 2,806 1,036 6,334
-- 48 LIL SKIES | LIFE OF A DARK ROSE
ATLANTIC
9,654 -- 158 263 9,233
6 49 ARETHA FRANKLIN | 30 GREATEST HITS
RHINO/ATLANTIC
9,629 -81% 3,101 2,540 3,988
44 50 BEBE REXHA | EXPECTATIONS
WARNER BROS.
9,481 -21% 896 1,602 6,983

[areyoureadytojump]

Sales

hitsdailydouble.com/building_album_chart

-- 1
BTS
LOVE YOURSELF 'ANSWER'
BIGHIT/COLUMBIA 145,373 --

-- 2
ALICE IN CHAINS
RAINIER FOG
BMG 28,378 --
-- 3
XXXTENTACION
17
BAD VIBES FOREVER/EMPIRE 22,942 --
9 4
TRAVIS SCOTT
ASTROWORLD
CACTUS JACK/GRAND HUSTLE/EPIC 19,957 76%
1 5
ARIANA GRANDE
SWEETENER
REPUBLIC 15,506 -88%
-- 6 INTERPOL
MARAUDER
MATADOR 13,462 --
8 7 THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
SOUNDTRACK
ATLANTIC 12,865 5%
3 8 NICKI MINAJ
QUEEN
YMCMB/REPUBLIC 10,872 -49%
10 9 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN
SOUNDTRACK
CAPITOL 9,135 -14%
-- 10 OZUNA
AURA
VP/DIMELO VI 7,271 --

11 11 JASON ALDEAN
REARVIEW TOWN
BROKEN BOW/BMG 7,126 17%
46 12 BTS
LOVE YOURSELF 'TEAR'
BIGHIT 6,820 44%
2 13 COLE SWINDELL
ALL OF IT
WARNER BROS. NASHVILLE 6,783 -83%
-- 14 NOW 67
VARIOUS ARTISTS
NOW 5,173 --
18 15 POST MALONE
BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS
REPUBLIC 4,551 -12%
14 16 PANIC! AT THE DISCO
PRAY FOR THE WICKED
CRUSH/FUELED BY RAMEN 4,548 -22%
12 17 KENNY CHESNEY
SONGS FOR THE SAINTS
BLUE CHAIR/WARNER BROS. NASHVILLE 4,345 -33%
17 18 DRAKE
SCORPION
YMCMB/REPUBLIC 4,312 -22%
30 19 HAMILTON
ORIGINAL BROADWAY MUSICAL
UPTOWN/ATLANTIC 4,208 37%
19 20 LUKE COMBS
THIS ONE'S FOR YOU TOO
RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 4,176 -15%
-- 21 ELVIS PRESLEY
WHERE NO ONE STANDS ALONE
LEGACY 3,964 --
23 22 IMAGINE DRAGONS
EVOLVE
KIDINAKORNER/INTERSCOPE 3,806 -8%
5 23 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
THANK YOU FOR TODAY
ATLANTIC 3,540 -81%
25 24 ED SHEERAN
DIVIDE
ATLANTIC 3,515 -3%
20 25 ABBA
GREATEST HITS
CAPITOL 3,338 -32%
26 26 BOB SEGER
GREATEST HITS
CAPITOL 3,144 -6%
6 27 ARETHA FRANKLIN
30 GREATEST HITS
RHINO/ATLANTIC 3,101 -83%
-- 28 LIAM PAYNE
FIRST TIME - EP
CAPITOL 3,095 --
11 29 TAYLOR SWIFT
REPUTATION
BIG MACHINE/BMLG 2,931 -60%
-- 30 MERCYME
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE - THE VERY
FAIR TRADE 2,898 --
27 31 CHRIS STAPLETON
TRAVELLER
MERCURY NASHVILLE 2,897 -13%
-- 32 EAGLES
THEIR GREATEST HITS 1971-1975
ELEKTRA 2,806 --
22 33 JASON MRAZ
KNOW.
ATLANTIC 2,741 -41%
28 34 METALLICA
METALLICA
BLACKENED 2,688 -19%
43 35 KANE BROWN
KANE BROWN
RCA NASHVILLE/ZONE 4 2,337 -6%
-- 36 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
AND JUSTICE FOR NONE
PROSPECT PARK 2,333 --
36 37 MAMMA MIA!
SOUNDTRACK
CAPITOL 2,323 -15%
-- 38 FRANK SINATRA
ULTIMATE SINATRA
CAPITOL 2,259 --
-- 39 SIMON & GARFUNKEL
GREATEST HITS
COLUMBIA/LEGACY 2,200 --
45 40 CHRIS STAPLETON
FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 1
MERCURY NASHVILLE 2,062 -15%
-- 41 YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN
4 RESPECT - EP
NEVER BROKE AGAIN 2,002 --
-- 42 LINKIN PARK
HYBRID THEORY
WARNER BROS. 1,983 --
42 43 BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
LEGEND
ISLAND 1,960 -22%
-- 44 LAUREN DAIGLE
HOW CAN IT BE
CENTRICITY 1,905 --
40 45 THE CARTERS
EVERYTHING IS LOVE
ROC NATION/PARKWOOD/COLUMBIA 1,878 -28%
35 46 IMAGINE DRAGONS
NIGHT VISIONS
KIDINAKORNER/INTERSCOPE 1,876 -32%
-- 47 BLOOD ORANGE
NEGRO SWAN
DOMINO 1,845 --
-- 48 BAS
MILKY WAY
DREAMVILLE/INTERSCOPE 1,825 --
-- 49 P!NK
BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA
RCA 1,789 --
-- 50 SHAWN MENDES
SHAWN MENDES
ISLAND 1,769 --

[Deleted]

Aug 31, 2018 18:02:42 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Aug 31, 2018 16:35:59 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

I've said from the start that the multi-metric chart is flawed, given how one or two tracks can boost an album's placement so much. 

How is that any different from one-two hits boosting albums during 1995-2005 before iTunes took off? We don't discredit those numbers. 

Baha Men's 2000 album sold 3 million copies just off being a one-hit wonder with 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. More than any album has sold pure in nearly 3 years, and it peaked top 5. 

Do you think it sold that much because the public was just dying to have a quality, state-of-the-art album by Baha Men? Or because one song boosted its numbers entirely?


The argument against streaming's inclusion to album totals being 'albums with hits get undeserved boosts' will never make sense to me, as hits are always what have driven album numbers 95% of the time. There's a reason 95% of artists biggest selling albums... are the ones with the biggest hits. There's a reason when singers release albums 30 years after their peak with no hits in decades they do terrible numbers. 

The album has always lived off the hit. 

The 95 to 98 period underscores your point even more - the industry had started withholding songs from physical release to boost album sales. The main tradeoff of urban singles charting so strongly on the Hot 100 at the time is that those artists' album sales were often less than that of artists whose labels either withheld the radio hits, or played the Columbia game of limited pressings/deleting singles. By the time BB finally ditched that rule about needing a physical release for a single to chart, labels were on their way to phasing out physical singles altogether.

I think it seems off to some now bc the streams are being counted twice, on both the album chart and the Hot 100, and they think that's unfair. But personally I view the current iteration of the BB200 less as an albums chart and more as an overall artist consumption (ie, profit) chart that breaks down the consumption per album "era." The Hot 100 then breaks this information down even further, to consumption per song. If one is still viewing the charts under a traditional light, none of this is going to sit well. It mixes too many individual components in an attempt to measure something that most chart watchers couldn't give two shits about, to be frank.

It used to irk the crap out of me in the beginning too, bc I wasn't acknowledging that we can't look at a new industry climate in an old way. Now that I understand that this is just where the market is, I am cool with it...I think I might prefer it in some ways. I don't mind ticket or merchandise bundles for the same reason; that is a very accurate representation of artist consumption now (while at the same time recognizing that in those cases, the consumption is not really about any one particular song and maybe not even about the album itself).

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

^While I see the logic of what mention, the place where it fails is for songs which are not part of albums or whose parent album hasn't been released. In particular I agree on the last point you mention in parenthesis, in the cases where a song's popularity shouldn't be equated with the album being liked.

[Naos]

Aug 31, 2018 20:57:20 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Maybe because they are a flop? Lol. 

Only 1 album has sold over 500k this year, and that's Greatest Showman. It's nice pure sales run has been represented on Billboard 200, over 25+ weeks top 10 & multiple weeks #1. 

You want albums that have sold 200k~ and have non-existent streaming to have good chart runs as if they are having good popularity? When that's pretty far from the truth...

Yes, because the same people streaming the album every week is sure a good indication of popularity among the general public. If you really want it to be about popularity, you would only count unique users, not people who stream the same album constantly.

And yeah... Sorry, I wouldn't call 'Hardwired... To Self Destruct', or 'Beautiful Trauma' or even 'Man of the Woods' less popular than 'Harder Than Ever' or 'Goodbye & Good Riddance'.

But as I said, if you want the charts to be truly reflective of popularity... An album purchase should count as a purchase of each individual song.

[Mike]

Ozuna 😳

[iHype.]

Aug 31, 2018 22:59:22 GMT -5 Naos said:

Aug 31, 2018 20:57:20 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Maybe because they are a flop? Lol. 

Only 1 album has sold over 500k this year, and that's Greatest Showman. It's nice pure sales run has been represented on Billboard 200, over 25+ weeks top 10 & multiple weeks #1. 

You want albums that have sold 200k~ and have non-existent streaming to have good chart runs as if they are having good popularity? When that's pretty far from the truth...

Yes, because the same people streaming the album every week is sure a good indication of popularity among the general public. If you really want it to be about popularity, you would only count unique users, not people who stream the same album constantly.

And yeah... Sorry, I wouldn't call 'Hardwired... To Self Destruct', or 'Beautiful Trauma' or even 'Man of the Woods' less popular than 'Harder Than Ever' or 'Goodbye & Good Riddance'.

But as I said, if you want the charts to be truly reflective of popularity... An album purchase should count as a purchase of each individual song.

People continually visiting an album every week... means an album is continuing to be popular each week.

How is this a concept that works for songs on Hot 100, but can't work with albums? People don't stop listening to things after 1 week. Popularity is more accurate when focusing closely on listening habits.

And your analogy makes no sense so why you have brought it up multiple times is confusing. Song consumption counts towards albums, because the song is apart of the album.

Counting 100k album sales into 100k song sales would make no sense as you're counting entirely different songs into a specific song.

Aug 31, 2018 22:59:14 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

^While I see the logic of what mention, the place where it fails is for songs which are not part of albums or whose parent album hasn't been released. In particular I agree on the last point you mention in parenthesis, in the cases where a song's popularity shouldn't be equated with the album being liked.

Songs consumption prior to an album release is counted towards the total. Which makes sense. It's apart of the total consumption of a project. 

And well charts ofcourse aren't meant to measure what is 'liked' the most. Charts measure consumption and listening, not approval ratings. 

[👑 Eloquent ™]

You know what should count toward album sales? Someone actually buying an entire album. It will never look or be right to me to have an album certified three million when people only bought 250k copies of it. Yeah, album sales are dying: let them if figures are just going to become disingenuous. If streaming simply has to become a metric for album sales at least make sure an individual streams a certain percentage of the album (say 65%) before it counts toward units "sold".

[Enigma.]

I think Scorpion is yet to increase week-on-week? Can't see it returning to #1 but could he invent a bundle of a sort (selling his used underwear or sth) and get a 300k+ week haha?

[Naos]

Sept 1, 2018 0:09:45 GMT -5 iHype. said:

People continually visiting an album every week... means an album is continuing to be popular each week.

How is this a concept that works for songs on Hot 100, but can't work with albums? People don't stop listening to things after 1 week. Popularity is more accurate when focusing closely on listening habits.

And your analogy makes no sense so why you have brought it up multiple times is confusing. Song consumption counts towards albums, because the song is apart of the album.

Counting 100k album sales into 100k song sales would make no sense as you're counting entirely different songs into a specific song.

It makes perfect sense. If 100,000 people buy an album, 100,000 people own each individual song. If these aren't counted, the Hot 100 is not about what is popular since these popular songs are not being counted. For example, to say 'reputation' sold 1.2 million copies, but only had a few songs on the Hot 100 is asinine since it obviously had the most popular songs in the country.

People consuming it multiple times is NOT an accurate description of popularity among the public. Only among the fanbase. You can only purchase so many times - with streams this isn't the case. People who download, their listens aren't counted - therefore, you cannot have a true telling of popularity.

Sept 1, 2018 1:01:26 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

You know what should count toward album sales? Someone actually buying an entire album. It will never look or be right to me to have an album certified three million when people only bought 250k copies of it. Yeah, album sales are dying: let them if figures are just going to become disingenuous. If streaming simply has to become a metric for album sales at least make sure an individual streams a certain percentage of the album (say 65%) before it counts toward units "sold".

Or don't count singles (to show actual consumption of the album). Or only count them after the album release.

[iHype.]

Sept 1, 2018 1:32:31 GMT -5 Naos said:

Sept 1, 2018 0:09:45 GMT -5 iHype. said:

People continually visiting an album every week... means an album is continuing to be popular each week.

How is this a concept that works for songs on Hot 100, but can't work with albums? People don't stop listening to things after 1 week. Popularity is more accurate when focusing closely on listening habits.

And your analogy makes no sense so why you have brought it up multiple times is confusing. Song consumption counts towards albums, because the song is apart of the album.

Counting 100k album sales into 100k song sales would make no sense as you're counting entirely different songs into a specific song.

It makes perfect sense. If 100,000 people buy an album, 100,000 people own each individual song. If these aren't counted, the Hot 100 is not about what is popular since these popular songs are not being counted. For example, to say 'reputation' sold 1.2 million copies, but only had a few songs on the Hot 100 is asinine since it obviously had the most popular songs in the country.

People consuming it multiple times is NOT an accurate description of popularity among the public. Only among the fanbase. You can only purchase so many times - with streams this isn't the case. People who download, their listens aren't counted - therefore, you cannot have a true telling of popularity.

Sept 1, 2018 1:01:26 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

You know what should count toward album sales? Someone actually buying an entire album. It will never look or be right to me to have an album certified three million when people only bought 250k copies of it. Yeah, album sales are dying: let them if figures are just going to become disingenuous. If streaming simply has to become a metric for album sales at least make sure an individual streams a certain percentage of the album (say 65%) before it counts toward units "sold".

Or don't count singles (to show actual consumption of the album). Or only count them after the album release.

Buying an album does not mean they individually consumed each song. As said, many people buy an album because hits. If you consume a song, it's confirmed you consumed part of the album to an extent. If you buy an album, it's not confirmed as to what was consumed. 


I actually do think if there was a way to track buyer's consumption then that would be factored. However there isn't. 

"People who download, their listens aren't counted - therefore, you cannot have a true telling of popularity."
They're literally counted much more lol. 

On Hot 100 one sale is equal to like 200 streams.
On Billboard 200 one sale is equal to 1,250/3,750 streams. 

99% of people don't listen to one song 200 times, or one album 1,250+ times. Therefore 99% of the time one buyer's consumption is counted more than one streamer's. I can listen to an album 1,199 times for all songs collective plays and that'd be less than 1 person buying. 

It's just that so much of the public now streams music that even with a weighing like that, streams still dominate. It's not Billboard's fault sales are irrelevant with the vast majority of the public. 

[ddlz]

9 4 TRAVIS SCOTT ASTROWORLD 19,957 +76%

[HolidayGuy]

I think all understand that streaming is the source from which the major revenue is coming nowadays- which is fine and dandy. But the bottom line is, people who like the multi-metric chart will pay more mind to that, and those who like the pure sales charts will look at that one. Neither is "wrong" in observing chart performance.

For me, the albums chart always measured one component (whatever the methodology) and that is what I'm still interested in. There's no denying that for some albums, it's one or two tracks that's driving performance on the multi-metric chart- we see the numbers- there's no arguing the facts. One or two tracks may have driven an album in he past, but we could only speculate, as there was no hard evidence to show that's why consumers purchased an album. It may be hard to fathom nowadays, but people actually may have liked one song and been curious to hear the whole album, hence purchasing the album :)