Previous topic here :
https://prince.org/msg/7/...?&pg=1

Best selling albums in the US in 2021, as of week 22 :

#1 Evermore - Taylor Swift (318.000 from which :
-CD : 159.000
-Vinyl : 102.000
- Digital + audio cassette : 57.000)

#24 Purple Rain - Prince ( 75.000)

Thank you, as always.

Any number about the rerelease of The Truth LP?

Yes, thank you.

I was wondering if you could post sales of other old albums for comparison. Are Purple Rain's numbers such an anomaly? Is Purple Rain like the new Dark Side of the Moon?

NoSwan said:

Thanks!
The Truth LP has been printed at 13.000 copies worldwide.
Since the release is supposed to be spread in two dates (12th june amd 12th july IIRC), I highly doubt it will sell enough copies to make some impact on the charts.

Anyway, it s too soon now, we ll see that not before next week.

PJMcGee said:

Thanks, yes I will do that for the next year-to- date charts.
I just stopped to do that because people were complaining here it was just a Prince thread.

Purple Rain is not an exception ( Thriller sold a little better this year, 85.000 copies), but it s still great.

In 2018, Purple Rain wasn't even in the top 200 selling album of the year in the US!
Now, it seems it will jump in the top 30 of 2021.

But its streaming " Equivalent sales " Is very, very, very low, and I ll show you that compared to other old albums.

A new incredible week for Purple Rain in the last Billboard charts, dated 19/06/2021. Prince anniversary effect?

Billboard 200 ( sales + streaming) : #138 (+16)
Top album sales : #14 (!) (+5)
Catalog albums ( sales + streaming) : #45 ( re-entry)
Soundtracks : #2 (-)
Vinyl sales : #6 (+1)

So, when the charts are solely based on sales, Purple Rain rocks. Charts-wise, it s maybe an even better year than it was in 2016 for the album.
Sadly, TVBOP, or any best of, has completely disappeared from every charts since the release of FOREVER.
I predicted exactly that five years ago : the new best of cannibalized sales of TVBOP, that were easy to track, since it was a huge catalog seller, that used to sell more than 100/150.000 a year before Prince'death. Now, I would be amazed if it sells 20.000 in 2021.

Since TVBOP is not released on vinyl format, it hampers its sales.

When the charts are also based on streaming, we can see that Purple Rain is hampered in the charts. Its streaming numbers are very low.

The streaming makes it lose no less than 124 ranks on the BB 200 this week!

Best selling albums in the US in 2021 so far, as of week 23

Rank Estimated 2021 Sales TITLE Artist Total Sales since march 1991
1 339,000 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 622,000
16 92,000 GREATEST HITS Queen 8,216,000
18 90,000 THRILLER Michael Jackson 6,325,000
21 87,000 LEGEND Bob Marley & the Wailers 12,882,000
Bob Marley & the Wailers 12,882,000
22 85,000 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 4,292,000
23 80,000 PURPLE RAIN Prince & the Revolution 4,125,000
24 79,000 METALLICA Metallica 17,217,000
25 77,000 CHRONICLE:THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 7,442,000
28 69,000 BACK IN BLACK AC/DC 7,963,000
30 67,000 ABBEY ROAD Beatles 6,153,000
40 60,000 DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Pink Floyd 10,675,000
77 44,000 KIND OF BLUE Miles Davis 3,848,000
80 42,000 1 Beatles 13,161,000
100 37,000 AND JUSTICE FOR ALL Metallica 6,306,000

Thanks for the context! Cool to see that Purple Rain has joined the pantheon of classic rock albums.

...that are perennial sellers.

I let you imagine what these numbers would be if there was a Bohemian Rapsody movie for Prince, the release of the 1983 First avenue, or just a Netflix documentary series.
Purple Rain would be in the top ten of the year for sure.

Last year, at week 23 of 2020, Purple Rain sold "only" 37.000 copies, compared to the current 80.000 in 2021, more than doubling its sales.

Since it sold 115k in 2020, it is currently going to sell 257k in 2021.

RODSERLING said:

Right! If only they're was a movie that could possibly promote Purple Rain. I can't imagine what that would be like!

OMFG, another incredible, if not even almost historical week for Prince in the new Billboard charts, and some (good) surprises.



US Billboard Charts dated 26/06/2021

That was the week of the record store day.

Record Store Day 2021’s first drop, held on June 12, helped sell 1.546 million vinyl albums in the U.S. in the week ending June 17, according to MRC Data. That’s a record for a Record Store Day week and the second-largest week for vinyl album sales since MRC Data began electronically tracking sales in 1991. The only larger week for vinyl album sales since 1991 came in the week ending Dec. 24, 2020, with 1.841 million sold.

Further, with 1.209 million vinyl albums sold at independent record stores in the week ending June 17, that marks the largest week ever for the format at the indie sector in MRC Data history. It surpasses the previous MRC Data-era high for weekly vinyl LP sales at indies: 733,000 sold in the week ending Dec. 24, 2020.

Vinyl album sales: 1.546 million -- up 121.6% compared to previous week (698,000). That’s the second-largest week for vinyl album sales since MRC Data began tracking sales in 1991. The only larger week for vinyl album sales came in week ending Dec. 24, 2020, with 1.841 million sold.

And guess who's number one now?

Top Record Store Day Exclusive Albums at Independent Record Stores

Rank, Artist, Title

1. Prince, The Truth
2. Rage Against the Machine, The Battle of Mexico City
3. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Angel Dream: Songs and Music From the Motion Picture ‘She’s the One’
4. Ariana Grande, k bye for now (swt live)
5. Lady Gaga, Chromatica
6. Linkin Park, Meteora
7. The Doors, Morrison Hotel Sessions
8. Twenty One Pilots, Location Sessions
9. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Pinata
10. Elton John, Regimental Sgt. Zipp

'The Truth' did really well this week. #1 on Top Vinyl Albums, #10 on Top Album Sales, and #64 on the Billboard 200 (which combines Sales and Streaming). Very respectable for a limited vinyl release of one of his more obscure late 90s projects.

Encouraging for future RSD projects.

[Edited 6/22/21 18:12pm]

So there wont be a CD release?

billymeade said:

Like release it again with the movie outtakes

Interesting to see that THE TRUTH is considered a new entry on the Billboard 200 album (#71).
Seems logical since it never charted solely on its own.

What's not, is that it s also considered by the Billboard as a catalog album!

It charted originally with CRYSTAL BALL, peaking at a better #62, for 5 weeks.


THE TRUTH tops 3 albums charts :

Vinyl albums : #1
Tastemaker albums : #1
Catalog Album Sales Rankings : #1 ( Purple Rain at #10)

Top rnb albums sales : #7 ( Purple Rain at #12)
Top rnb/hip hop albums : #37


Billboard didn't give a statement about it, but THE TRUTH broke a new record in the charts.
It s the 29th entry from Prince in the catalog sales charts.
It s one more entry than any other artists ever had in this very charts!

Previous record was tied between Prince, Sinatra and the Beatles, each owning 28 albums.

Prince is now the lonely #2 of the artist with the most top ten catalog sales charts, The Truth becoming Prince' #16th album.

The Beatles : 19
Prince : 16
Sinatra : 15

Interesting to see now in the context, the replies #1 and #3 of the original thread :
https://prince.org/msg/7/...?&pg=1

UK charts and sales for the Truth:

Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40 : #2
Vinyl Albums Chart : #13
Record store charts : #15
Physical albums charts : #27
Albums sales : #29

Scottish albums : #73

UK Soundtrack albums : #33 ( Purple Rain

Compares the #15 ranking for the RCS, to its #1 counterpart in the US!

I'm guessing it sold somewhere in the range of 100,000 in the U.S.?

RODSERLING said:

Wow. Seems inevitable that Prince will pass Beatles.

PJMcGee said:

No, like I said The Truth was printed at 13 000 copies worldwide.
It sold like 6 000 in the US.

I don't know if it is scheduled again for the next month for the second RSD.
[Edited 6/24/21 14:23pm]

Duh. I was thinking of Purple Rain's cumulative number.

jfenster said:

No.

The Truth Worldwide charts :

Netherlands : # 31 ( Vinyl charts : #4)
Danmark : #24
Portugal : #26

Best selling albums in the US in 2021 so far, as of week 24 :

Rank Estimated 2021 Sales TITLE Artist Estimated Total Sales

1 354,000 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 637,000
18 95,000 THRILLER Michael Jackson 7,330,000
23 85,000 PURPLE RAIN Prince & the Revolution 4,130,000
172 23,000 THE ESSENTIAL Michael Jackson 2,854,000
[Edited 6/25/21 13:47pm]

Billboard Magazine just reported Prince new charts record :

Catalog Albums/Billboard 200 Chart Update – June 26, 2021

Prince’s Obscure “The Truth” Hits #1 in RSD Drop 1 Aftermath

Prince’s The Truth debuts on the Top Album Sales chart at #10, and is the week’s highest ranked catalog album. Originally available in January 1998 as part of the Crystal Ball box set, a vinyl edition was made available for the June 12 Record Store Day drop, making the album Prince’s fourth to top catalog sales, along with The Very Best Of Prince, Purple Rain (Soundtrack) (with The Revolution), and Sign ‘O’ The Times. The Truth is Prince’s 29th charting catalog sales album, putting him into sole possession of first place for most charting albums, one ahead of The Beatles and Frank Sinatra. Only six of those 29 albums charted prior to Prince’s death in 2016.

Prince, The Truth – #11 Cat, #71 BB200, #1 CS (#10 TAS) – Originally released as a component of the Crystal Ball box set in 1998, this 21st studio album by Prince debuts on the BB200, Catalog chart and catalog sales this week, the last at the top spot (#10 Top Album Sales). With this entry, Prince breaks a tie with The Beatles and Frank Sinatra and moves into sole possession of first place with 29 charting catalog sales albums, and also breaks a tie with Sinatra to move into second place with 16 top 10 catalog sales titles (The Beatles have 19).

RODSERLING said:

jfenster said:

So there wont be a CD release?

No.

Maybe when they rerelease Crystal ball set on disc? They might do a stand alone rerekease with it or add it to the Crystall ball set and just charge more-what sounds like a better plan (fiscally speaking).

kewlschool said:

When will they re-elease Crystal Ball ? Not before 2002, if they do.
I doubt they will : the last reissue was announced in February 2020.
Crystal Ball was rumoured to be released on November/December 2020, to accompany and complete the SOTT SDE. It was the best moment to release it, and they didn't.


The vinyl manufacturing crisis doesn't make things easy to release a 5/6 vinyl boxset ( with such a bad artwork) and doesn't really justify it financially or an obscure album.

You can be sure they will do now limited release such as the Thruth. They sold it more in a day than the ONA vinyls in a year. No stocks for the stores. That's a win-win situation. That's the future for Sony.

Personally I didn't buy The Truth on vinyl, and I don't have Crystal Ball on CD, so I m all for it to be re-released on CD.
There was numerous topics here about it, orgers are clearly not interested in a CB CD re-release.

If I saw the Truth at 20/25 euros on stores I would have bought it.
But I hate running after an album, to be charged 35/40 euros or more just because it s an import of a limited release.
[Edited 6/27/21 21:48pm]
[Edited 6/27/21 21:52pm]

The Truth always lies in charts and sales :

6/26/21 Billboard charts:

https://www.billboard.com...les-chart/

"TWICE's 'Taste of Love' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales Chart
By Keith Caulfield
6/23/2021

Prince closes out the top 10, as his Record Store Day-exclusive title, the first vinyl pressing of the rare album The Truth, debuts at No. 10 with 13,000 copies sold"

Ok, these numbers are good, but raises too many questions, and I suspect a bit of deception from the estate.

The estate said The Truth was a 13.000 limited release worldwide.
So how come it sold that exact same amount in the US alone ?

1) Is there something left of The Truth to sell for the second RCS next month?

2) Was that supposed to be 13k for the US/13k worldwide, and the official announcement was in fact ambiguous?

3) There was in fact 13k copies worldwide, but 100% charted as import in the US for some reasons?
But then how come The Truth charted in other European countries ?

So, in conclusion : Where is The Truth?

Billboard Magazine doesn't compile a year like us, from the 1st January to the 31th December.
Originally, to compile year end lists and publish it in the december issue, before the Internet era, a Billboard year begins in fact in early November.

So these dushes are already at week #33 while we are in fact at week #24 of a "real" Year.

This compilation chart below contains sales+ streaming equivalent sales.

BILLBOARD YEAR WEEK 33: BB200

Rank Estimated EAS TITLE Artist
1 2,038,000 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen
21 657,000 GREATEST HITS Queen
44 472,000 DIAMONDS Elton John
76 345,000 THRILLER Michael Jackson
80 340,000 1 Beatles
95 306,000 ABBEY ROAD Beatles
168 182,000 THE VERY BEST OF Daryl Hall & John Oates
173 169,000 HOTEL CALIFORNIA Eagles
199 140,000 THE ESSENTIAL Michael Jackson
200 140,000 PURPLE RAIN Prince & the Revolution

According to my estimation, by the way Billboard is compiling a year, Purple Rain has 125k pure sales + only 15k equivalent streaming sales!
Which is very, very weak in term of streaming. An unbalanced ratio at 89% sales/ 11% streaming.

The very best of Hall and Oates has like 30k sales + 150k streaming!

Thriller has more than 200k streaming sales already... 20 times more than Purple Rain
[Edited 6/29/21 9:37am]
[Edited 6/29/21 9:38am]