hmm i dont really see sales as an indication of how well a record does
rather 4 people buy my music who get it and are moved by it
than 4 million who only bought it cuz they heard they should
its a decent album from that perspective

p is one of the greats
but he's not an innovator anymore
and i think he realises that
why else would he settle in vegas and showcase new talent?

reality is
his face is an icon
but his private life is a shambles
mayb he can just be thankful that music has always been there for him
cuz guys like that are born alone
live alone
and die alone

his ego is what it is
utterly transparent to anyone with sense
it used to offend me greatly but not anymore
i cant even take it seriously
the only thing that kinda irks me slightly
is his deliberate exploitation of women
and he knows he's doing it

the whole pimp thing is kinda tired old and sad
most of the rest of the smart folk in this world have moved beyond it
if anyone thinks there's nothing tasteless about it
then i guess their gunna get washed away with everyone else
who wont embrace true dignity
i dont see it as a ploy he uses to sell records
he's prince for christs sake
he doesnt need to
and if he thinks he does
then thats kinda sad

bottom line for me is he's just a goofball at heart
with a wicked gift
thats past its use by date
mayb vegas is the place for him
its gotta be lonely though
i hope he has sincere friends around him when he gets old and ugly
and sits there mumbling about that time when ..

lol

when Stevie appeared on AI,did it really help his CD 'A Time 2 Love'?

You risk your credibility and reputation for a lousy 16,000 sold?

45 million watch the show and Prince sells 16,000.

I'm sorry but that really is utterly shite.

Was it worth it? I think not.

tane1976 said:

It has sold over 1.1 million copies worldwide, so effectively it is already platinum.

You have to consider that Prince is a worldwide artist.

If he bothered with Europe just a little bit more (than one single performance), worked the media, chat-shows and magazines here, he could sell a TON of records. He toured here very regularly and sold here very well in the early 90's when the USA couldn't give a fuck about him.

I'm sure he'll go Gold in the USA, but he's already gone platinum with sales outside the US.

DavidEye said:

Stevie Wonders sales for his current album jumped from about 4,000 to 6,000 copies sold. Again not so much but comparable to P's numbers on a smaller scale.

Which brings us to this ..... for longtime legendary acts like a Stevie Wonder or a Prince I think the audience that is watching AI isnt going to run out and buy their new album of songs they dont know. Rather they will go to their back catalog of familar hits if they are going to buy anything.

Barry Manillow took a huge jump on the charts becuase his current album is an album of him singing FAMILAR 50's standards.

To expect the AI audience to run out and buy 3121 in droves because they were impressed by his AI performance I think is unfounded. Unless they were totally blown away by the actual songs he performed (Lolita & Satisifed). People will tend to buy the classics that are familar to them because they were impressed by him as an overall artist. I dont have the numbers but i would think he saw larger gains on the Pop Catalog chart with his Best of and Hits sets

just my 2 cents on the subject

Well just like i said a week ago, i knew there would be the let down on the numbers. Who really cares, ok the cd sold an extra % of copies, well next week it will fall again, so what. It amazes me after all these years that people still dont get PRINCE. He is an artist who does what comes to him, sometimes he will be everywhere, on every show, but he always does it his way. I truly think that Prince did not want to do American Idol, but saw it as a chance to bring something a little fresh to the show, he did his thing and then left, because thats the way he does things, If he stood there and got interviewed by Paula or Simon, do you realize how pathetic that would have been.

It must also be said that in the case of Manilow and his sales off of American Idol, Manilow had already had a few weeks in the top 10, he also debuted at number 1. But sure the show helped kick the CD back up the charts because mainly the AI audience, though a large one, is very much an older audience, and geared towards the Adult Contemp artists. Im actually surprised Prince had that kind of jump to be honest. It should also be noted that alot of artists that have done the show, dont really like the show either. I saw an interview with Manilow and he did not wanna do it, he actually is friends with Randy Jackson and does know Simon too, but Manilow said he doesnt really care for the way show works because its just a popularity contest, nobody is teaching anyone how to be an artist there and how to survive. Manilow did the show only because they let him work with the performers and show them how to work songs and arrange them. Manilow also said that even though he knows Simon and does think he knows his music, he doesnt think his comments and insults are what these people need.

Howdee,

What's 5600 copies add up to in $? Just curious. 5600 x 18(average)$ = 100,800$ minus taxes, distribution, marketing, artists, rent, payroll, overhead etc... = 20,000$?

in any case not bad for 180 seconds of hard work

Your views are appreciated.

just to clarify, there is no such thing as 'platinum worldwide' - there is no worldwide numbers organisation like Soundscan for the US and BPI etc in the UK. you have European platinum awards but they've only come in in the past couple of years.

3121 will already be eligible for gold, as its sold nearly 500k and you only need to SHIP 500k to go gold. Heck, considering how big they wanted the release to be it could go platinum while still only selling 400k. As an example, Aerosmiths Get A Grip album is 7x platinum but it only sold about 4.5 million copies.

Trickology said:

let's not leave out the fact that for some idiotic reason, he only promoted it 1 month before and 2 months after its release, and not in between.

Oh I thought that was the Universal/Prince marketing plan.

Release a slow mid tempo ballad with a spanish title in december, follow it up with a funk track which has potential but then right when it could catch on, Go on SNL play a song that no one knows but is rockstar then stop everything.

Watch cd hit number 1. Then stop all promotion.

Then see the cd fall down the charts like an elephant for two months.

Then come on AI play 2 more songs that the masses have yet to hear or really care bout.

Then watch the cd rocket to the top of the charts and remain there for 32 weeks.


Sounds like a plan to me.

Oh I forgot to mention the point where you stop caring bout your own release and try to make everything bout your new "protege".