How many units has Planet Earth sold?

1 mil?

I dunno

Has it been close to 3121 or Musicology?

Ironically Prince is selling about the same today as he always has. HIs albums susually sell between 2&6 million. Purple Rain being the rare exception selling around 20 million.

fluid said:

It was a #3 album in its first week in the US. Musicology was #3 and 3121 was #1 in their first week respectively (which from memory was around 200,000 copies sold). Not sure of the current totals.

I highly doubt it would have sold many copies in the UK given that over 3 million copies were given away for free in a newspaper and at the shows! Musicology on the other hand appeared to sell a truck load because at the time they counted concert give-aways towards album sales.

Thibaut said:

He can still do it

toejam said:

Planet Earth was not released in the UK. The distributor (I believe it was Sony) said there was no point after the giveaway was announced. I think they were pretty annoyed about that.

given the lack of [visible] promotion and the omission of the uk market
my guess would be 700,000 copies worldwide max.

also consider that as a release, for non hardcore fans it had little or
no meaning. there wasn't even a tracklist or any info on the actual cd,
the cover was so ugly it didn't invite anyone to consciously pick it up
and there were no videos on tv for it.

prince's promotion of the whole project boiled down to the uk newspaper
gimmick and the O2 concerts where he played only a couple of songs from
the album to a crowd that had a free copy of it.

albums without any promotion like TRC sold only around 300,000 copies up
to today didn't they?

so with his sort of "newfound" spotlight in the media these days after
the succes of musicology and 3121 he probably sold half a million copies
just because of that but i'd doubt if the album broke 1 mil worldwide by
now.

hence probably his reluctance to release a new album since there is no
money in it for him anymore.
[Edited 11/13/08 3:26am]

Who cares, I got mine.

the question should b, how many threw it in the garbage or took it back 2 the stores 2 get their money back

I bought several copiez.

3121 - about 600,000

Planet Earth - about 400,000

Too many

It's shite

Is it available in jewel case yet? (hard plastic cover not shitty cardboard)

optimus said:

Shitty cardboard makes it easier to burn....

oops, i luv you prince

sexxydancer said:

Did it get any better on the 2nd buy?

He sold 3 million just in the UK newspaper deal I believe.

Not sure how much in excess to that.


He's not selling half bad since Musicology. I just wish he was releasing the brilliant stuff he did back in the 80's with these larger crowds.

FlamingRaindrop said:

I actually bought a dozen copiez on the day of release.Loved it on 1st listen.

I actually listened to it all the way through the other day. I was DIYing.

For an album that I didn't think much of on release I thought it was okay. I was forced to skip through All The Midnights and (especially) Lion of Judah. They get my vote not only as two of Prince's worst songs but also two of the dullest songs by any artist I have yet to hear. Utter toss and aural dross.

No lyrics either. I know lots of people who don't have, or seldom use, the internet.

One has to ask how much value a person will place on an item given away as a free gift with a (shit) newspaper. The word 'coaster' springs to mind.

sexxydancer said:

So you're all set for coasters if you have a bunch of friends around then...

IstenSzek said:

the promotion in Amsterdam was really visible. street posters and a release party in Fame music.

FlamingRaindrop said:

IstenSzek said:

I count the UK promotion as sales, even though he made his money from the contract and not the actual sale of the newspapers. That makes 3 million units.
It's sneaky--and doesn't necessarily denote interest in the item on the owners part, but sales none-the-less.
There were retailers who promoted this based on the fact that it was the only way to get the new Prince CD. And it created a controversial buzz in the UK and the US.

Moreover, he had just performed what well received Superbowl performance. The Superbowl here is huge. It reached more people worldwide in his 10 minute performance than he's reached in ages, if ever.

My guess is that he sold roughly 500,000 in the states, 3 million in the UK, and possibly a couple hundred thousand elsewhere.

I would imagine that he made far more than the average dollar on a CD that most musicians make, coupled with the advance he was given for the UK distribution deal, that Prince made quite a bit of money from that.

And of course, his London shows sold very well.

But I don't think Prince cares much for just making the money. At this point, he's probably making a decent living just doing whatever he wants to do.

However, I *do* believe that he's holding back on new material until he can find an optimal way of releasing his current music, and that his profit margin is the reason why he's holding off. Apparently, according to stuff I've been reading here, he's recorded new material that's supposedly top rate, but he's looking for a distributor again on his own terms.



Personally, it irritates me that Prince wants to be a musician and his own manager at the same time. It slows everything down, and we get shoddy music.
If you'd ask me if Prince would be releasing albums every 2 or 3 years with inconsistent quality, back in the 80's I'd laugh at you.

the Daily Mail so called 'give away' cannot be dismissed at all. Just bear in mind that people bought it in their droves on the back of this promotion and made it the 2nd best selling edition in its history [next to the princess Diana edition]. In 1 move P really showed up the music industries traditional model as flawed and did in 1 morning what Sony would have taken 12 months + to do.

funkyhead said:

That's stretching the facts a little.

If Planet Earth had been sold in the shops at a normal retail price, it probably would've shifted 40-70k in the UK...

Paying £1.50 for a free CD in a newspaper hardly constitutes a "sale" by industry standards.

Well Madonna's entire back catalogue up to Evita (except U Can Dance & Immaculate Collection) are given away in Greece with a TV magazine & 8.50 euros lol. So Prince is not alone there

Imago said:

So true. Jack of all trades, master of none. I would love to hear a Prince album which has been "produced" by a proven master. Would let Prince concentrate on creating a masterpiece that we all know he is capable of.

sermwanderer said:

and so are the glesga celtic big man, cum on gonna geez sum money fur the bus wee man, pure dead brilliant an oh that.

SPOOKYGAS said:

haw spookygas ya wank

i'll cut you up

Oh Please, Why do people always say this? its just bloody stupid, why in the hell if he had such top rate material would he not release it by now? it dosent make any fucking sense at all, I cant believe people fall for this bullshit! and how would any1 know that he had such brilliant material? P never lets us know anything!...oh wait let me guess i know sum crackpot on the org who "happens" 2 work at paisley Musicology and 3121 were excellent IMO and I seriously dought (as much as i respect and adore his music) he can shock and amaze us anymore...he has nothing else 2 prove, hes already an immortal legend
[Edited 11/14/08 15:41pm]