I can't seem to find a statistic for how many albums he has sold in the US and worldwide. Anyone have any idea? All I know is that Purple Rain went diamond in the US and sold 15 million worldwide, around the world in a day sold 3 million in the US, and sign o the times went platinum, musicology sold/gave away 2 million.

January 17, 2006 , 2:40 PM ET




PRINCE'S TRUST

Hello Keith,

I believe you are the only person who can help me. I've been a huge Prince fan since the "Purple Rain" days and I've always had a big curiosity regarding record sales in general and of Prince's albums in particular.

I would like so much to know how much Prince's catalog albums from the 1980s have sold in the last 15 years. Would it be possible to know the SoundScan-era sales of all of Prince's albums from "1999" through the 1992 "Symbol" album?

I think many of his albums would deserve an upgrade in their certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. (But I'm unsure) if Warner Bros. (Prince's former record label) is willing to do it.

I really hope you can help me on this many-years-old curiosity!

Eduardo Sousa
Coimbra, Portugal

Hello Eduardo,

While some albums clearly needs some upgrading in their gold and platinum status (like the "Grease" soundtrack as noted here last week), it's doubtful that Prince's catalog is lacking in the certification department.

I'm going to provide even more information than you asked for, just to be thorough.

Below is a list of all of Prince's albums that were commercially released, beginning with his 1978 debut "For You." I've provided the U.S. sales of each album during the SoundScan era (the company began tracking sales data in 1991).

Additionally, I've indicated what the release's current gold or platinum status is according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). For further information on about the gold and platinum certification program, please visit the organization's Web site at riaa.com.

Gold indicates 500,000 units shipped to U.S. retailers (minus returns), platinum equals 1 million units shipped. Also, multi-disc or "double albums" abide by different standards for certification, about which RIAA.com has more information.

Also, Prince's new album, "3121," is due out this spring through Universal Records. You can check out the first single and video, "Te Amo Corazon," at his official Web site npgmusicclub.com.

Title (Year of Release; Units Sold Since 1991; Gold/Platinum Certification)

"For You" (1978; 88,000; no certification)
"Prince" (1979; 183,000; platinum)
"Dirty Mind" (1980; 125,000; gold)
"Controversy" (1981; 200,000; platinum)
"1999" (1982; 641,000; 4x platinum)
"Purple Rain" (1984; 2.3 million; 13x platinum)
"Around the World in a Day" (1985; 162,000; 2x platinum)
"Parade" (1986; 230,000; platinum)
"Sign 'O' the Times" (1987; 271,000; platinum)
"Lovesexy" (1988; 68,000; gold)
"Batman" (1989; 111,000; 2x platinum)
"Graffiti Bridge" (1990; 145,000; gold)
"Diamonds and Pearls" (1991; 2.5 million; 2x platinum)
"Symbol Album" (1992; 1.1 million; platinum)
"The Hits/The B-Sides" (1993; 630,000; platinum)
"The Hits 1" (1993; 1.4 million; platinum)
"The Hits 2" (1993; 1.6 million; platinum)
"Come" (1994; 310,000; gold)
"The Black Album" (1994; 261,000; no certification)
"The Gold Experience" (1995; 423,000; gold)
"Chaos and Disorder" (1996; 131,000; no certification)
"Emancipation" (1996; 628,000; 2x platinum)
"Crystal Ball" (1998; 113,000; no certification)
"Newpower Soul" (1998; 214,000; no certification)
"The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale" (1999; 113,000; no certification)
"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" (1999; 487,000; gold)
"The Very Best of Prince" (2001; 1.2 million; platinum)
"The Rainbow Children" (2001; 157,000; no certification)
"N.E.W.S." (2003; 29,000; no certification)
"Musicology" (2004; 2 million; 2x platinum)


This has been posted before but I'm not going to look for the post.
I don't have figures for Planet Earth and 21 Nights.

You'd think that those figures would change, because tomorrow someone could buy "For You," and raise the number.
I guess "For You," sold 88,000 copies in 1978...well, in 1979 it was 88,001...at least.

Tame said:

Article says:


As for the thread:
http://www.worldwidealbums.net/ says:

Prince For You S 1978 100000
Prince Prince S 1979 200000 +
Prince Dirty Mind S 1980 200000 +
Prince Controversy S 1981 2500000
Prince 1999 S 1982 600000
Prince Purple Rain S 1984 2100000
Prince Around the World in a Day S 1985 500000
Prince Parade S 1986 4500000 +
Prince Sign "O" the Times S 1987 4500000
Prince Lovesexy S 1988 3500000
Prince Batman S 1989 600000 +
Prince Graffiti Bridge S 1990 200000 +
Prince Diamonds and Pearls S 1991 700000
Prince Love Symbol S 1992 3500000
Prince Come S 1994 200000
Prince The Black Album S 1994 100000 -
Prince The Gold Experience S 1995 100000 +
Prince Emancipation S 1996 200000 -
Prince Chaos And Disorder S 1996 750000
Prince The Truth S 1997 300000
Prince Newpower Soul S 1998 500000 +
Prince Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic S 1999 100000
Prince The Rainbow Children S 2001 500000 -
Prince Musicology S 2004 3500000
Prince The Hits 1 C 1993 400000 +
Prince The Hits 2 C 1993 400000 +
Prince The Hits/The B-Sides C 1993 2500000
Prince The Beautiful Experience C 1994 750000
Prince Crystal Ball C 1997 300000
Prince The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale C 1999 300000 -
Prince The Very Best Of Prince C 2001 3500000
Prince One Nite Alone... Live! C 2002 100000

+
Prince 3121 1373180
Prince Planet Earth 715900

Everything about Prince sales that is known can be found here:

http://www.ukmix.org/foru...hp?t=37099

and in more deepth (including worldwide estimates) here:

http://www.ukmix.org/foru...hp?t=34161

Prince sold somewhere between 80 and 90 million albums worldwide, with "Purple Rain" being (naturally) its biggest album at around 20 million copies sold around the world (including more than 14 million in US, with 2.5 million of those since 1991).

By the way, the last news is that "1999" (the album) was certified Platinum in the UK last 17 October for 300,000 sales since 1984.
[Edited 10/29/08 16:58pm]