People really aren't buying albums

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,100
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I hadn't realized how bad it was. Fantasia's album entered at #2 on the Hot 200 with first week sales of 91k, which isn't too bad for an RnB album, but #2?!

will.i.am entered at number 9, but with first week sales of 29k, which is absolutely horrendous for a pop album especially with all the features he has, but somehow that is a top 10 selling album. That's bananas.
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  • Hav_mor91Hav_mor91 Posts: 17,183
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    In the UK you need only 5,000 or so to make the top ten its so difficult to go Gold (100,000) let alone Platinum (300,000) really cant see how they can turn it round.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,100
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    That's crazy. It's not even like it's impossible, though. People just have to like you and your music and it is clear that out of most acts today, people just don't like them enough. JT went double platinum here(2m) in just two months. Bieber went platinum in a month, but then the majority of his sales stopped after a month. People just don't like Will it seems. His last album opened with 21k and peaked at 38 on the chart and this was six years ago. If you look at the pop artists to release this year so far and the end of last year, the numbers aren't great at all. Kesha is a main example.
  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    Will.I.Am's past solo albums haven't really been big sellers. He does catchy singles, but he is one of those artists where you really can't bear a whole album of hearing the same churned out songs. For an album that was originally meant to be out well over a year ago and was delayed several times, I know it has disappointed a lot of music fans and has not been worth the wait.

    91k for Fantasia, who is an R&B/Soul artist is incredible, especially as that genre does not sell at all these days.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,100
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    I wonder how Britney's next album will do since it is being executive produced by Wll. Maybe it will sell on name?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,304
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    If an album is good enough... people will buy it.


    The problem with most albums is they have one big single on it and then the rest is just filler.

    Adele's album is a perfect example. There was numerous hits on it... Set Fire To The Rain, Rumour Has It, Rolling In The Deep, Someone Like You etc.


    Personally I think most artists are now lazy and think people should just buy any crap they put out. The industry has failed to up it's game. Years ago, I bought albums without a clue how they would sound... there was no internet for people and then later I would possibly regret buying one or two. Now (2013), I can listen to the album before buying it.

    I'm not sure why this is such a touchy subject. People refuse to believe that todays artists in reality are crap compared to those of the past.
  • CloudbusterCloudbuster Posts: 688
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    I am not surprised at Will.I.Am's low return. His music is the most banal plingly plongy material I have heard in the last 20 years.

    Albums are too rushed these days hence the drivel that fills them
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,058
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    91k is fine for a #2 album. I remember a band called Cake or something like that going #1 on Billboard in January 2011 with 30k copies sold. Now THAT is embarassing.

    Now, Will.I.Am's embarassment is not surprising. He's in the Flo Rida/ Jason Derulo lane, where they can get moderately successful singles, the odd smash hit, but low album sales regardless of the promo they do. Didn't Jason Derulo sell 14k in first week sales with his sophomore album?
  • Zack06Zack06 Posts: 28,304
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    Rihanna got a UK #1 album with sales of just 9k. I don't think single sales have really taken that much of a hit, but I've noticed that album sales have dramatically decreased in just a few years.

    It seems a lot harder to get a platinum album in the UK now than it was just 2 or 3 years ago.
  • Eric_BlobEric_Blob Posts: 7,756
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    Zack06 wrote: »
    Rihanna got a UK #1 album with sales of just 9k. I don't think single sales have really taken that much of a hit, but I've noticed that album sales have dramatically decreased in just a few years.

    It seems a lot harder to get a platinum album in the UK now than it was just 2 or 3 years ago.

    Single sales haven't taken any sort of "hit" at all. They're higher than they've ever been. They're higher now than they were in the 70's and 80's.

    Album sales, on the other hand, are at an all time low.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 24,080
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    Pop music now is in a confusing state of affairs...I mean we have Madonna playing it low key, MJ has passed away and indeed many "big gun" artists have taken a back seat and/or passed away in recent years....we also in 2008/2009/2010 saw a massive peak of interest in the likes of Lady gaga, Lily Allen, RIhanna, Katy Perry, Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas....and its like 2011 brought it all to a bit of a standstill with Adele a reigning commercial/critical force over many releases across 2011 and indeed last year too with very few competing albums....2013 despite the likes of Bowie returning and Justin Timberlake...Pop music has been very very dull and low key compared to a few years ago let alone 5 or 6 years ago!

    We really do need something more exciting to happen, newer ways of branching out and marketing and promoting....so many overlooked and underrated musicians, performers and artists aregetting left by the wayside whereas a lot of the more mainstream acts seem to have peaked already/lost interest....we need the big guns back and we need a massive injection!

    Right now i have my eyes set on Daft Punk to have a massive first month!
  • mysty211mysty211 Posts: 4,935
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    We seem to be stuck in a dance/mainstream phase at the moment most of the tracks/albums that are doing well seem to be in those genres otherwise you need to be a really well known singer/band to get away with it.

    Like Blue are back their new album is great one of the best and they are a brilliant band and they have the vocals they started off well early in the week in the charts and now have dropped down. And there's others like Leona who's one of the best singers she doesn't chart as well as she used to either. It seems much harder to sell albums nowadays and tv does influence the sales in terms of promotion.
  • mgvsmithmgvsmith Posts: 16,452
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    Pop music now is in a confusing state of affairs...I mean we have Madonna playing it low key, MJ has passed away and indeed many "big gun" artists have taken a back seat and/or passed away in recent years....we also in 2008/2009/2010 saw a massive peak of interest in the likes of Lady gaga, Lily Allen, RIhanna, Katy Perry, Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas....and its like 2011 brought it all to a bit of a standstill with Adele a reigning commercial/critical force over many releases across 2011 and indeed last year too with very few competing albums....2013 despite the likes of Bowie returning and Justin Timberlake...Pop music has been very very dull and low key compared to a few years ago let alone 5 or 6 years ago! U

    We really do need something more exciting to happen, newer ways of branching out and marketing and promoting....so many overlooked and underrated musicians, performers and artists aregetting left by the wayside whereas a lot of the more mainstream acts seem to have peaked already/lost interest....we need the big guns back and we need a massive injection!

    Right now i have my eyes set on Daft Punk to have a massive first month!

    What you are kindda saying is that Pop Music isn't as popular as it used to be. There are so many diversions not least those associated with celebrity culture.

    So there is no critical mass for the kind of change you suggest. That's partly because of the fragmentation in listening tastes that exists with the emergence of downloadable music. Listeners are more conservative in their tastes. The golden age of the album is over.

    Indeed, the only mass movement these days is the one that gets Justin Beiber trending on Twitter.
  • StratusSphereStratusSphere Posts: 2,813
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    The comment that artists arent as likeable is very true I think.

    Its just a very different market to how it was before. Industry people have lost a lot of the control they once had now that with the internet information and privacy are harder to come by, press and publicity has hit a ridiculous high, etc.

    Especially with Adele's album last year people will compare the state of things nowadays to that. Gotye and Emeli Sande sold well last year as well, didnt they.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,474
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    Eric_Blob wrote: »
    Single sales haven't taken any sort of "hit" at all. They're higher than they've ever been. They're higher now than they were in the 70's and 80's.

    Album sales, on the other hand, are at an all time low.

    Fans of particular artists always feel the need to purchase singles but many download albums illegally and I'm not surprised! I often do feel a bit ripped off at paying £10.99 for a 12 song album :mad: 99p is much more affordably but £11 can mean a lot more to people than one album.
  • Hav_mor91Hav_mor91 Posts: 17,183
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    I think also music is more easily accessible. Talking even 5 years ago if you liked a single and a few album tracks as the album tracks were not really that readily available you'd buy the album. Now you can DL any song you want and not have to fork over a tenner for something that may gather dust. And now more mainstream artists tend to tailor that trend by ptting on ready singles and the rest filler so only the hardcore and odd casual will DL the entire album. Adele and Emeli ahve been able to sell on a momentum of hype and being shoved in peoples faces and in the case of Emeli numerous re-releases which is another trend people ahve cottoned on to. PEople now wait as they know 6 months down the line the super triple mega deluxe with three new songs and a DVD will be released :p
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,143
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    I think I'm one of the rare few that still buys physical albums. I have no problem with technology but I've never liked buying albums digitally. I like something I can actually hold.

    It's quite sad that album sales have decreased so drastically but not really surprising either. People can easily just download the tracks they like from an album or even get the whole album illegally if they want to these days.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,904
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    O.Michel wrote: »
    91k is fine for a #2 album. I remember a band called Cake or something like that going #1 on Billboard in January 2011

    The fact that Cake got to number one was also a big surprise to most Cake fans. I think 31K is about the normal sales figures for one of their albums.

    I think part of the cause is the streaming services like Deezer and Spotify meaning people don't need to buy albums.

    I presume the artist gets some money from these each time their music is streamed?
  • Deep PurpleDeep Purple Posts: 63,255
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    I buy albums. I don't like downloading music.

    Got Deep Purples new one yesterday. It is superb.:)
  • rebellionrebellion Posts: 851
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    sjp07 wrote: »
    I wonder how Britney's next album will do since it is being executive produced by Wll. Maybe it will sell on name?

    In America she can still sell by name, not in the UK though. She will need to promote this time around.
  • AdzPowerAdzPower Posts: 4,861
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    What's funny is that it's really only in the west that this has happened, I'm a huge follower of k-pop, and sales in Asia are still massive for albums.
  • len112len112 Posts: 4,156
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    sjp07 wrote: »
    I hadn't realized how bad it was. Fantasia's album entered at #2 on the Hot 200 with first week sales of 91k, which isn't too bad for an RnB album, but #2?!

    will.i.am entered at number 9, but with first week sales of 29k, which is absolutely horrendous for a pop album especially with all the features he has, but somehow that is a top 10 selling album. That's bananas.

    How do they measure total sales , are they counting international sales as Fantasia's album has had zero promotion outside of the US it seems and she hardly has Will.Iam's profie so how are international sales worked out ?
  • PJ1893PJ1893 Posts: 1,669
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    If an album is good enough... people will buy it

    The problem with most albums is they have one big single on it and then the rest is just filler.

    Personally I think most artists are now lazy and think people should just buy any crap they put out. The industry has failed to up it's game. Years ago, I bought albums without a clue how they would sound... there was no internet for people and then later I would possibly regret buying one or two. Now (2013), I can listen to the album before buying it.

    I'm not sure why this is such a touchy subject. People refuse to believe that todays artists in reality are crap compared to those of the past.

    I agree with you.

    I've bought so many rubbish albums based on a good lead single in the past.

    When I was a kid in the 90s it used to be anywhere between £1.99-3.99 to buy a CD single so sometimes you were better off buying the album if you liked a few singles, but now-a-days it's so easy and cheaper to buy a single song from itunes/amazon.

    There are good albums out there. And I think the fact that Adele and Emeli (I know it's all subjective whether they're good or not) do sell extremely well shows that people are still interested in buying albums if the quality is there.
  • ElectraElectra Posts: 55,660
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    I buy albums. I don't like downloading music.

    Got Deep Purples new one yesterday. It is superb.:)

    I'll be buying it too :)

    My latest album purchase just arrived this morning. I suspect it may just be kids who aren't buying albums. Older people seem to still prefer a physical CD.
  • NewWorldManNewWorldMan Posts: 4,890
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    mmeister2 wrote: »
    I think I'm one of the rare few that still buys physical albums. I have no problem with technology but I've never liked buying albums digitally. I like something I can actually hold.

    Lol, I'm like that too, even though I then mostly listen to the MP3. :)

    Bought my first digital albums just a few days ago. I will probably buy more music that way but not exclusively.
  • NewWorldManNewWorldMan Posts: 4,890
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    Electra wrote: »
    Older people seem to still prefer a physical CD.

    Also, if your tastes are mainly outside the mainstream then a body of work rather than the odd few singles is the more standard way that you consume their music. So there is more value in buying the CD than the odd song here and there.
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