Next up, Prince arrives with the first of his two debuts in the top 10: Art Official Age, which bows at No. 5 with 51,000. He also enters at No. 8 with Plectrumelectrum (with the band 3rdEyeGirl; 26,000). Prince is the first act to achieve two simultaneous top 10 debuts in a little more than 10 years.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6274279/blake-shelton-scores-second-no-1-album-billboard-200

Better than expected, combined sales as good as albums that debuted higher, but without any real promotion. Makes you wonder how well he could have done with a real promo push.

drhodes777 said:

Better than expected, combined sales as good as albums that debuted higher, but without any real promotion. Makes you wonder how well he could have done with a real promo push.

Prince simply tries to make sure his albums sell as little as possible. He failed, since they hit the top ten, but since he wants hits and wants tons of sales, his counter-productive thoughts on what PROMOTION actually means...he hurt the sales. Unless the bumbling Maya whats-her-name party made people rush out and buy it..

stillwaiting said:

drhodes777 said:

Better than expected, combined sales as good as albums that debuted higher, but without any real promotion. Makes you wonder how well he could have done with a real promo push.

Prince simply tries to make sure his albums sell as little as possible. He failed, since they hit the top ten, but since he wants hits and wants tons of sales, his counter-productive thoughts on what PROMOTION actually means...he hurt the sales. Unless the bumbling Maya whats-her-name party made people rush out and buy it..

i agree with everything

bashraka said:

Next up, Prince arrives with the first of his two debuts in the top 10: Art Official Age, which bows at No. 5 with 51,000. He also enters at No. 8 with Plectrumelectrum (with the band 3rdEyeGirl; 26,000). Prince is the first act to achieve two simultaneous top 10 debuts in a little more than 10 years.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6274279/blake-shelton-scores-second-no-1-album-billboard-200

*

Okay, so since I'm one of those people who rarely check for Prince's chart position, especially since I'm just glad to be able to access the music, what does this mean? I like both albums, but I don't think that charting equates to quality. But, how does this relate to those folks who constantly say that Prince has lost it and will never be relevant again. Of course, I'll be surprised if the albums remain on the charts for more than a couple of weeks, but is this not just a little crow to eat for the folks who've being saying that Prince can no longer do this or that, especially since Prince accomplished this with as little promotion as possible?

Does it occur to any of you that the structure of Prince's contract with Warner Bros. might not give THE RECORD COMPANY little if any incentive to promote the albums?

EnDoRpHn said:

Does it occur to any of you that the structure of Prince's contract with Warner Bros. might not give THE RECORD COMPANY little if any incentive to promote the albums?

Exactly no one knows what is in Prince's deal with Warners now except for HIM and THEM. There might be a plan that this is how they wanted to do it, get the albums out and maybe then ride on some Purple Rain re-issue and get some extra traffic for these albums "free promo". I know people DONT like to accept this but PURPLE RAIN is the calling card for Prince, now sure we as dedicated fans know every piece of music, BUT the general public knows Purple Rain and a few songs here and there, and had it nOT been for PR he would never have been able to create what he did after he just wouldnt have.

stillwaiting said:

The record sales are at an ALL TIME LOW. 2014 is the year of the lowest record sales in the music industry.

With the two albums AOA and PE sold a total of 77,000 copies in the U.S. alone.

I think people aren't understand that the majority of artists now a days with exception of a few ex: (Beyonce, Eminem, Taylor Swift, One Direction...) Barely make Platinum status anymore.

36 years after his first record, I say it's a pretty good showing, especially putting two albums without any phsyical promotion from Prince himself.

laurarichardson said:

stillwaiting said:

Prince simply tries to make sure his albums sell as little as possible. He failed, since they hit the top ten, but since he wants hits and wants tons of sales, his counter-productive thoughts on what PROMOTION actually means...he hurt the sales. Unless the bumbling Maya whats-her-name party made people rush out and buy it..

What planet are you living on. Sales of music are at an all time low. He could help by jumping on a couple of T.V shows but without radio airplay I doubt it would make a difference. Is radio refusing to play the signals ? Did WB send any to radio? If radio is refusing to play his music all the promotion in the e World will not help.

I get what you are saying, but I don't believe that radio refused to play the singles, because i heard Breakfast can Wait plenty of times, but that was months ago. I don't know if Warners actually sent any new singles to radio, but I don't see radio not playing U Know, or Clouds,even, if they did. All I know is that when he tries even a little (3121, Lotusflower for example) people still tend to respond to his new product, even without a lot of Radio play.

And in case I was misunderstood, I am happy for him with the sales that he got first week, I just know(feel?) that he could have done better. I believe that a lot of people out there still want to hear Prince, even at this late stage in his career.

I'll wait and see what second week numbers look like BUT I've seen a few fans combine the sales for both albums in order to puff up the numbers... I think that's just a tad bit misguided. They didn't sell to 77000 different people, AOA would not have sold 77000 if it were the only album released, etc... In fact, I'd think very few people who bought Plectrum didn't also buy AOA.

Well the numbers don't lie. Prince should ditch the wanna be rock and stick to R&B. His R&B album sold 2 to 1 and I am sure that it was only the die hards that bought the rock bullshit that he makes. He should stick to making R&B.

I think that people are just sick of buying everything celebs peddle, including music, clothes, movies, etc., and may be tired of the seeing the rich get richer while they're getting poorer.

trax said:

Well the numbers don't lie. Prince should ditch the wanna be rock and stick to R&B. His R&B album sold 2 to 1 and I am sure that it was only the die hards that bought the rock bullshit that he makes. He should stick to making R&B.

*

So, should he have not made those rock songs/records thirty years ago?

Prince needs to create his own model for releases like Garth Brooks. For two albums with little promotion or airplay that's pretty damn good.

Darn Org!

[Edited 10/8/14 20:11pm]

it is remarkable for an artist to have two albums in the Top 10.This doesn't happen very often.

jtfolden said:

I'll wait and see what second week numbers look like BUT I've seen a few fans combine the sales for both albums in order to puff up the numbers... I think that's just a tad bit misguided. They didn't sell to 77000 different people, AOA would not have sold 77000 if it were the only album released, etc... In fact, I'd think very few people who bought Plectrum didn't also buy AOA.

Without radio play and limited promotion not to bad in the age where people don't buy albums. Maybe he will do a 3 album thing like LF and charge 11.99 to increase sales. I think he may benefit more by putting 3 discs out at the same time increasing his sales (x3) and guarantee a number one album.

The debut is fine. The probelm is it's going to drop like a rock without any promotion/airplay. AOA has fallen from #4 to #65 on iTunes. PE has dropped to #142.

Prince has enough fans to do better than that. The problem is most people who would have bought it have no idea it's even out and will likely never find out. I wouldn't know myself if I didn't constantly check prince.org. It's baffling that there are no videos (didn't they film one a month or so ago) and no airplay.

The music is too good to just get forgotten in a week.

[Edited 10/8/14 20:13pm]

alandail said:

The debut is fine. The probelm is it's going to drop like a rock without any promotion/airplay. AOA has fallen from #4 to #65 on iTunes. PE has dropped to #142.

Prince has enough fans to do better than that. The problem is most people who would have bought it have no idea it's even out and will likely never find out. I wouldn't know myself if I didn't constantly check prince.org. It's baffling that there are no videos (didn't they film one a month or so ago) and no airplay.

The music is too good to just get forgotten in a week.

Yeah the albums are gonna tumble down the charts next week,unless Prince does some major promotion now.A few high-profile TV appearances this week would do the trick.

Once upon a time when i was younger, I would have bought anything Prince put out, whether I liked it or not, let's just say now I'm older, and a lot wiser.

[Edited 10/8/14 21:41pm]

70,000? Basically, thats the size of his fan base these days that are prepared to buy his new music! How small a group we have become...

Oh dear, his empire is crumbling fast. If he is not prepared to promote his stuff and try and capture new fans, then 70,000 (and falling) is pretty much it for him these days. Why even get out of bed for that kind of return? Back to touring the Hits it is then to earn a crust.....

Its a shame because AOA is an album that a larger audience should hear. Alas, it will remain another secret amongst his fans. And we are a fanbase so small now that it becomes an amazing coincidence when we happen to bump into each other. Thats how rare we are in the grand scheme of things.

The decline of Prince. A facinating story and completely self inflicted. This will end up being the focus of his legacy in the end. the music will be secondary.

Rebeljuice said:

70,000? Basically, thats the size of his fan base these days that are prepared to buy his new music! How small a group we have become...

Oh dear, his empire is crumbling fast. If he is not prepared to promote his stuff and try and capture new fans, then 70,000 (and falling) is pretty much it for him these days. Why even get out of bed for that kind of return? Back to touring the Hits it is then to earn a crust.....

Its a shame because AOA is an album that a larger audience should hear. Alas, it will remain another secret amongst his fans. And we are a fanbase so small now that it becomes an amazing coincidence when we happen to bump into each other. Thats how rare we are in the grand scheme of things.

The decline of Prince. A facinating story and completely self inflicted. This will end up being the focus of his legacy in the end. the music will be secondary.

That's not the size of his fanbase, that's the size of the subset of the fanbase who follows his every move. The actual fanbase is quite a bit larger than that (see the numbers he draws when he does tour). Too many of them have no idea there's anything new.

I know people who know I'm a Prince fan who typically tell me when they hear he has a new release. Not one of them has told me he has anything new out. If not for prince.org I'd still not know. I haven't seen one thing about it that I would have saw if not for here. I haven't seen any displays in any stores, I haven't seen anything on TV, I haven't seen anything on any other site I visit, not even an ad. I've only seen posts on here and sites referenced to from posts on here.

I did see it listed on the iTunes store home page, but only because I went to the page looking for it. I saw the Yahoo show, but only because I saw it mentioned on here.

I'm actually surprised the albums charted as high as they did. I'm sure Warner Bros helped with that. Prince should be thankful actually. Except for hardcore fans, nobody's checking for 3rdeyegirl.

alandail said:

Rebeljuice said:

70,000? Basically, thats the size of his fan base these days that are prepared to buy his new music! How small a group we have become...

Oh dear, his empire is crumbling fast. If he is not prepared to promote his stuff and try and capture new fans, then 70,000 (and falling) is pretty much it for him these days. Why even get out of bed for that kind of return? Back to touring the Hits it is then to earn a crust.....

Its a shame because AOA is an album that a larger audience should hear. Alas, it will remain another secret amongst his fans. And we are a fanbase so small now that it becomes an amazing coincidence when we happen to bump into each other. Thats how rare we are in the grand scheme of things.

The decline of Prince. A facinating story and completely self inflicted. This will end up being the focus of his legacy in the end. the music will be secondary.

That's not the size of his fanbase, that's the size of the subset of the fanbase who follows his every move. The actual fanbase is quite a bit larger than that (see the numbers he draws when he does tour). Too many of them have no idea there's anything new.

I know people who know I'm a Prince fan who typically tell me when they hear he has a new release. Not one of them has told me he has anything new out. If not for prince.org I'd still not know. I haven't seen one thing about it that I would have saw if not for here. I haven't seen any displays in any stores, I haven't seen anything on TV, I haven't seen anything on any other site I visit, not even an ad. I've only seen posts on here and sites referenced to from posts on here.

I did see it listed on the iTunes store home page, but only because I went to the page looking for it. I saw the Yahoo show, but only because I saw it mentioned on here.

When I say fanbase I am referring to those that follow him, like a fan does. In other words, the likes of you and me. Those are the fans that bought the albums on or before the day of release. Those that go to his concerts are not neccesarily fans. They just want to see him live and, by all accounts, hear him play Kiss etc. Hence the hits packed shows Prince does these days. Im no fan of Springsteen, but if I heard he was in town and tickets were available, I would go and see him. I still wouldnt buy his albums or follow his fan web pages etc.

It is a lot easier and cheaper to market a live tour. You just have to market it locally wherever you are going. A simple mention on the local radio is often enough to get the not-a-fan-but-loved-purple-rain-crowd to buy tickets. His fans on the other hand jump on planes and scramble to get front row seats, but they wouldnt fill out an arena tour on their own for example.

What does the sales say? Prince off of really one month of internet based promotion and one month of releasing songs that weren't released to radio accoring to my friend that works for Emmis communications in NY, they were only given Breakfast Can Wait and that was months ago by NPG records not Warners, debuted two records in the top 10 after not releasing a single record in the US since 2009 and not having a 'hit' single since 2004's 'Musicology.' Lady Antebellum, sold 167,000 copies in their first week of sales in 2013 and a year later they sold 74,000. Lady Antebellum is by far a more popular band than Prince is currently with this audience that purchases music and has had more hit songs than Prince. The music industry as a whole has sold 4.35M album units this week. Prince was 70K plus of those sales off of little to no promotion.

Whatever his deal is and whatever the promo budget is no one knows but it's safe to say that it is MUCH smarter to use your money to promote a tour behind the album than to promote the actual album in hopes of some sort of record breaking sales that aren't available. 3rdeyegirl a top 10 slot with 26k record sold. I mean come on people, we are not buying music any more, it isn't happening at all. When the next two years are over and Prince doesn't have a top grossing tour, then you can bash him all you want. But calling him out for not promoting an album that would have generated this much sales anyway is silly. Prince and Warners got exactly what they wanted with this record. They released the singles free, they made sure every online outfit reviewed the albums. It was simple, low budget, promotion that was straightforward and easy to understand. Prince is back with two albums! Simple.

People on here stating that this shows Prince isn't marketable, well Forbes lists him as the top live earnings performer on the planet. Who needs a hit record when you can do that without one? Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton had commercials, radio spots, singles etc and spent tons of cash for 101k and 74k of record sales. Think about it for a second, this was smart business not a epic failure to sell more records. If Prince spent more money what would have sold? 10k more units? Is that worth 2-5M? I really just don't understand the expectations in this forum of a 56 year old man who is still the greatest performer of his generation. You want him to be what he cannot be not what he failing at attempting to be. The epic failure is us expecting Prince to be the number one artist on the planet and have a Purple Rain like success again. Prince isn't stupid he knows he's not on that level anymore but guess what his catalog is that level and yet we complain when he defends it like a tyrant but it holds breakout monetary value for him.

Top earning performer - nobody gives a fuck about. Can he make decent music anymore? Nope. But hey, as long as he is happy playing the hits over and over again. He may as well be Lionel Richie at this point.

Rebeljuice said:

70,000? Basically, thats the size of his fan base these days that are prepared to buy his new music! How small a group we have become...

Oh dear, his empire is crumbling fast. If he is not prepared to promote his stuff and try and capture new fans, then 70,000 (and falling) is pretty much it for him these days. Why even get out of bed for that kind of return? Back to touring the Hits it is then to earn a crust.....

Its a shame because AOA is an album that a larger audience should hear. Alas, it will remain another secret amongst his fans. And we are a fanbase so small now that it becomes an amazing coincidence when we happen to bump into each other. Thats how rare we are in the grand scheme of things.

The decline of Prince. A facinating story and completely self inflicted. This will end up being the focus of his legacy in the end. the music will be secondary.

He still has a larger fanbase than that. Why do you think he has had such a large fanbase that buys every single thing he releases on the day of it's release without even hearing any tracks first in a world that has been dominated by shit hop for decades? Because even though funk is dead in the mainstream, there are still some funk lovers out there who crave new funk and Prince is the only artist left that has continued to deliver the funk in all these years without having to "search" all over the underground for some funk. With the exception of "The Gold Standard", the "Fart Official Age" album is a complete sellout to the type of sound that a large portion of his older fanbase despises and the reason they continued buying new music from Prince throughout the years, was to continue to get their funk fix that they crave and escape the type of sound that is all over the radio which is a sound that keeps funk off the radio in the first place. Prince has been the only remaining funk cow throughout the years and when the milk from the funk cow dries up except for one little drop which was "The Gold Standard", you drop the cow because it's no longer giving milk.

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The album did exactly what I thought it was going to do, which was sell a lot of copies in the first week or two after the fams and fans bought it because he still has a large fanbase, and then flop once it made those sales and has to depend on the sales of the real world and the general public who has either grown up on shit hop their entires lives (because it has dominated for that long) or has just simply given in, lowered their standards, and accepted the fact that shit hop is what's going to dominate the music scene from now on and have either learned to like it or have just simply stopped listening to new music altogether and pulled out their old music to listen to. Then there's the down home blues crowd which consists of a lot of people my age or older, who used to listen to R&B but when shit hop took over, they switched entirely to blues which is another form of R&B that is still being made but that's mostly a regional things since most of those artists live, record, and perform locally.

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Where Prince screwed up saleswise this time, is he let so many tracks be heard prior to the release of the album. This time, he ran away some of his actual fanbase because they heard the sellout flavor of it prior to it's release and didn't even bother to buy it. Hell, I know I would have bought it if I had never heard any of the tracks first and would have been expecting a Prince album, as usual, like the other recent ones....a few funk tracks, a few rock tracks, a slow jam or two, and also one or two sellout tracks since he seems so hellbount on trying to get fans that don't even like him, so I would have expected those and would have shit on them also after hearing them as usual. But when the entire album is a sellout album, why would anyone buy it when that's the sound they can't stand in the first place? If I had actually bought this one, I would have been so pissed on my money contributing to that mess that I probably wouldn't even buy his next one, even if I did like it, out of spite. At least this way, he has a chance of gaining my sale with the next album because I was warned beforehand and didn't get screwed with this one. He ran some of his own fanbase away with this one and he's not going to gain enough new fans with his sellout material. Even if they do like it, they aren't going to buy it because to them, he's "that fag from the 80s who ain't no real 'nigga'".

3rdeyedude said:

Top earning performer - nobody gives a fuck about. Can he make decent music anymore? Nope. But hey, as long as he is happy playing the hits over and over again. He may as well be Lionel Richie at this point.

Top earning performer nobody gives a fuck about that? Then what the fuck is the point? I just gave you proof that not only is Prince viable but he's still paid as THE best in the business RIGHT NOW! and you don't give a fuck about that because he supposedly can't make decent music anymore which is patently untrue and because he'll be happy playing his hits? Well what artist with history and a cache doesn't play their hits? And also tell me what artist today is producing hit music that could even stand up to Prince's hits on record or on stage? And then tell me what artist recording today and making hits today who has a catalog worth more than Prince? If you're gonna make an argument stand on something and not just a simple minded opinion or a ridiculous expectation for Prince to be some sort of commercial power at 56 that is equal to what he was in the 80's. No one gives a fuck about being the top earning performer? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL holy shit this place is filled with twisted brains.