first week sales

[earl grey]

something tells me 'antics' might do pretty well in the billboard charts this week. i've heard of it being sold out in 3 places this week, which i can't remember ever happening before. of course, there are also forces like nelly in the mix.

what's the highest a matador album has ever charted? was it a liz phair album?

[Gerard]

yeah, it was Liz. I think she got to 27. Hard to remember.

We're expecting healthy week 1 sales for 'Antics', but we're also hopeful that the album continues to generate attention for a long stretch afterwards.

[Paul Davis]

Antics has entered the Billboard charts at #15 on sales of 62,500! WOW!!!

[johansen smith]

holy wow!

[interrust]

gee whiz!

[9000]

has a matador record ever gone gold?

[Patrick]

Yup, the first two Liz Phair albums (before we surrendered them to Capitol).

Patrick

[9000]

thanks for that tidbit. a few months back, the ny times ran a piece saying that exile sold 400K+ units. i figured that was as close as you got.

[Patrick]

The press doesn't really understand music sales figures. It Soundscanned something like 400K, but the sales were much larger, due partly to record club sales (which are not counted by Soundscan) and indie sales (which at the time were drastically undercounted by Soundscan).

Also, what record labels really care about is net ship to stores -- the sales over time minus returns. That's what we're paid on. And that's what RIAA certifications are based on.

Patrick

[earl grey]

Originally posted by Patrick
The press doesn't really understand music sales figures. It Soundscanned something like 400K, but the sales were much larger, due partly to record club sales (which are not counted by Soundscan) and indie sales (which at the time were drastically undercounted by Soundscan).

Also, what record labels really care about is net ship to stores -- the sales over time minus returns. That's what we're paid on. And that's what RIAA certifications are based on.

Patrick

wow, i never realized that record club sales didn't count. i haven't been in one in ages, but a pretty large chunk of my early CD collection was all columbia house and BMG. if labels are only paid on net ship, how do the clubs fit in? is it a licensing deal?

[Patrick]

Direct TV sales aren't counted by SoundScan either, I've told (though there are conflicting opinions on this). Neither are military (PX) sales. But SoundScan divulges very little about their sources or methods.

Record labels are paid a fraction of normal prices for record club sales. This could be one reason for not including them in SoundScan.

In any case, record clubs have been on the downswing for years now and no longer count for anywhere near the sales volume they used to.

Patrick