W2A this week in UK :

Top album sales : #31 (-17)
Top rnb/ hiphop album : #3 (-)

Neitherlands
W2A 3rd week : #29 (-17)

By this time Piano/Mic and Originals were already out of the top 100, without even entering the top 10 the 1st week.

Remarkably it’s still no 5 of physical sales in Sweden.
https://www.sverigetoppli...mp;dspp=33
[Edited 8/21/21 2:45am]

Blondies1973 said:

Haha thanks for this unknown chart to me!

Its chartrun is : 3-9-5.

When it hit #3 in physical sales, it was only #53 in the official charts!

That shows the discrepancy between what is sold in stores and what is charting just because of streaming.
[Edited 8/21/21 2:51am]

Good results from Belgium 's 3rd week

Flanders : #10 (-7)
Wallonia : #25 (-2)

W2A is now #55 of the best viewed ever Prince video on the Official Vevo channel, with 923k.
The big increase on this tracks continues, maybe there is some documentary about it broadcasting somewhere.

RODSERLING said:

Why would you include Ireland when talking about UK sales?

EmmaMcG said:

Cause it s out on the same time and on the same site, that is called the UK Official Chart Company.
I also coupled many other countries together, that wasn't part of the Great Britain.

Thanks for this smart remark 9 days after ut was posted, though.
[Edited 8/22/21 4:27am]

RODSERLING said:

Sorry, I didn't realise there was a time limit on correcting geographic errors.

EmmaMcG said:

Of course not, but there is absolutely no geographic errors.
Every country has its separate charts- sometimes two for Belgium!

UK charts compiles UK, Scotland and Ireland. That's all.

Myself here I compiled Australia, Belgium, and other countries in one post.

RODSERLING said:

Hey relax, it was a joke. Jesus.

EmmaMcG said:

This is a serious place here!

966,000 views for W2A on YouTube.
Le million, le million!
It took 100,000 views in 36 hours. I never saw such a jump on the Prince Vevo channel, not even for When Doves Cry
I hope it's not an artificial jump created by an estate bot!

RODSERLING said:

I seen a reaction video pop up in my "recommendations" on YouTube. I didn't watch the actual video itself but it had a few thousand views. Could be that people who are subscribed to these reaction videos who otherwise would not listen to Prince are hearing this stuff for the first time and then going back to check it out themselves without the reactors commentary.

EmmaMcG said:

Maybe... I think it happened too with Holly Rock video 2 years ago.
100.000 views a day, and then all of a sudden, nothing more.

But, why now, 3 weeks after the release of the album ?

Because you need to reach a certain level ( the million mark?) To be eligible at some awards list?
And now they're in a hurry to get it on time?

W2A 3rd week :

France (sales+ streaming) : #68 (-29) (1, 100 copies. Total :7, 500)
Switzerland : #13 (-9)

W2A 3rd week US sales :

TOP ALBUM SALES

TW LW 2W WOC Title Artist ( Peak )
16 7 2 3 Welcome 2 America - Prince ( 2 )
31 25 26 172 Purple Rain (Soundtrack) ( 2 )

For its 4th week in Japanese charts, W2A is now out of the top 100...but still charting in the top 300 at an unknown rank.

I expect it to reenter the top 100 next week, since the SDE just went to be released there.

Best selling albums in the US in 2021 so far, as of week 33

Rank Estimated 2021 Sales TITLE Artist Estimated Total Sales
20 118,000 PURPLE RAIN Prince & the Revolution 4,163,000
73 64,000 WELCOME 2 AMERICA Prince 64,000
??? 13,000 The TRUTH

So, even at #16 on the top sales album charts, W2A takes only 5,000 sales, while Purple Rain at only #31 takes 4,000.
I suspect next week PR will outsell W2A.

It is worth noting that in 2020 PR sold 115,000 copies.
This year, in only 8 months it has already outsells this number.
I m still sure it will reach the 200k mark by the end of the year.
It will be hard for W2A to reach the 100k though, if no more promotion is done about it.

And I mean true promotion, not the cheating Sony is currently doing with W2A.
W2A, the track, is now #50 on the best viewed song ever on the Prince Vevo Channel, with 1,150,000 views.
My Name Is Prince is #49.

W2A took 300k views in the last week, whereas it was at only 6k views a day and was dying. Then all of a sudden, it works as if the track was newly released. Still stuck at 2,200 commentaries, which proves the views are actually bought.

Huge fall on the Netherlands charts for W2A. For its 4th week, it ranks at #96 (-67!)
Chartrun : 2-12-29-96.

But it's #22 (-14) on the Vinyl charts.
Chartrun : 2-4-8-22

In the UK huge fall too in the top album sales (physical + dl) chart : #81 (-50).
Top physical sales : #73 (-42)
Chartrun : 3-14-31-73

Germany : #60 (-43)
Chartrun : 3-15-17-60
[Edited 8/27/21 15:22pm]
[Edited 8/27/21 15:22pm]

Hi Rod, brilliant info as always & much appreciated. Do you have a rough idea of how the global sales are faring ? - be interested to know what the figures are for the SD edition are too...asking out of sheer laziness to do my own research !

Initial impressions are that it ain't too shabby overall !

RODSERLING said:

W2A 3rd week US sales : TOP ALBUM SALES TW LW 2W WOC Title Artist ( Peak ) 16 7 2 3 Welcome 2 America - Prince ( 2 ) 31 25 26 172 Purple Rain (Soundtrack) ( 2 )

Where does it fall on the Billboard 200 this week?

sro100 said:

It spent only the week of release in the BB200.
Since it a streaming-based charts, and that Prince has low streamings, then it's not a reliable charts for us to enjoy.

If Sony/The estate doesn't make something more next week to promote the album( new video, single, tv special event, a tour etc.), then you can consider it dead soon, even on the sales charts.
All they're doing now is to buy views on YouTube for Hot Summer and the eponym track...

What they did with Germany to promote W2A with Rolling Stone Magazine worked though, and it has a decent chartrun there - even if their official chart combines sales+ streaming!

RODSERLING said:

W2A spent 2 weeks in the Billboard 200. In the previous one it was in the 113rd place.

-

They are really waiting too long for a new single release with a proper video.

The should do that every two.three weeks in a row for at least three up to four singles pushed to radiostations.

Radio (and the internet) can still help a lot.

It is not dead and forgotten yet.

-

They can easily addone/twoa unreleased b-side track(s) to it, or even an extended version (if that excist, which i'm sure it does).

Or,

they shoudl get some new remixes made by contemporary artists, with a love for or related to Prince.

Why the hell not ?!!!

-

[Edited 8/30/21 3:46am]

Vannormal said:

In term of b-sides, Cause and Effect was supposed to be on the album, since it was on one the 3 CD-R of W2A. But Morris Hayes vetoed it ( because Prince told him it was for 20TEN.

There are also of course the first mixes of the song, before Morris Hayes touched them.

They really should go on tour with all the talents ( Liv Warfield, Hayes, Tal Wikendeld, etc.) To promote the album.

That would be the best way to promote the album, amd make money out of it.

4th week for W2A in some European countries :

Switzerland : #31. Chartrun : 2-4-13-31
Belgium (Flanders) : #21. Chartrun : 2-3-10-21
Belgium ( Wallonia) : #35. Chartrun :2-23-25-35
France : #81. Chartrun : 4-39-68-81

Next for an update of the initial post!

Worldwide charts and sales for Welcome 2 America :


Australia : 5-37-out!
Physical album sales : 2-7-8

Austria : 3-17-36
Belgium ( Flanders) : 2-3-10-21
Belgium : (Wallonia) : 2-23-25-35
Canada : 26-out
Top sales : 2-19

Czech : 92-out
Denmark : 12
Vinyl charts : 2-7-14

Netherlands : 2-12-29-96
Finland : 27
France : 4 (4,900)-39 (1,500+)-68(1, 100)-81
Deutschland : 3-15-17-60
Ireland : 25-out!
Italy : 26-out!
Physical : 9-9-49

Japan : 10 (6,373)-31 (1, 539)~55 (1700)-? (Still top 300)
Norway : 39-out
Poland : 42-out
Portugal : 2
Scotland : 3 -17
Spain : 7
Vinyls charts : 2-4-16
Swedien : 53
Switzerland : 2-4-13-31
UK Albums : 5 (6,034)- out!
UK album physical sales : 3-14-31-73
US Billboard 200 : 4 (57k) -113
US Top sales : 2 (50k)-7 (9k)-16 (5k)
Wales : 2-18-39

Worlwide sales :
1st week : 107,000
2nd week : 25,000
3rd week : 15,000
[Edited 8/30/21 5:46am]

NoSwan said:

Oh yes, I forgot that!
I m more focused on the sales charts.

I was expecting a logical drop for W2A this week in the US, but that's quite the opposite : it gains 4 ranks in the sales charts.
It has legs after all, despite complete lack of promotion.
It s really good business for the estate and the wreckastores.

US TOP ALBUM SALES
The week of September 4, 2021
TW LW 2W WOC Title Artist ( Peak ) Imprint | label
12 16 7 4 Welcome 2 America - Prince ( 2 ) NPG
32 31 25 173 Purple Rain (Soundtrack) - Prince And The Revolution ( 2 ) Warner, NPG

So basically this album is going to sit somewhere around 200-250k but prob the lower end of that estimate .

That's largely from physical sales of a product with a high average selling point.

Seems a decent result given the zero promotion.

If a prince product was promoted he could easily still be selling half a million albums but the benefits of promotion go beyond the immediate release and also translate into even higher legacy sales.