lets see the musicial eggheads among us predict the chart entry for musicology on the billboard top 200 album chart. the high profile of prince in the us recently plus the concerts of course all bode well for a good placing i think the free cds handed out will in the long run affect the total sales but i predict a TOP TEN placing for prince (in the first week anyway) i will go for number 6 which would be his highest since the gold experience nine years ago.
...
...the uk chart is much harder to predict because the hype has not reached the uk (yet) so unless something happens in the next two weeks, a top twenty placing is the best he will get i think, so lets hear your predictions.

Where did the last "publicized" release enter the charts? He hasn't had a high profile (single disc) release in almost a decade. Anticipation for "Rave" didn't exactly light the world on fire. And how many copies of Emanicpation or Crystal Ball would he reasonably sell? This could go any number of ways.

Unfortunately, he will only enter the chart if the kids (the TRL crowd) are buying the album, too.
[This message was edited Tue Apr 6 15:14:35 2004 by thewar]

blackboab said:

Well it's already #1 on my stereo-does that count? Seriously I am a serious cynic about how the charts reflect anything and I believe that can be manipulated with a phone call. So I have no idea how it'll chart I could see it breaking top 10 but I could see it not doing anything.

thewar said:

Keep in mind that the Isley Brothers last album debuted at number one without even a big single. It's not jus the keeds that are buying albums anymore. If last year proved anything, it's that the charts are a good place for a comeback and are run slightly more by older audiences lately. Last year Cher's "Best Of" was in the Top Ten for months. And that was without a hop single to attract the kids. I definatley see a Top Ten debut and if the single hits (which I'm doubting, it could be as high as number one if nothing else is out that week).

i don't think it will chart too high. not because interest won't be there but because he is giving it away at the shows. most people will wait to get it at the show if they know they are getting it for free. there needs to be a few extra tracks on the official version to warrant most people buying it after having it for free. either that or one of the best tracks needs to be released as a single to market to people who would have been otherwise uninterested. dear mr. man, illusion coma pimp and circumstance or reflection could all work on different formats. sony needs to saturate the market with this stuff. it can't possibly hurt sales since the record was given away to hundreds of thousands of people.

33
just cuz

11

i believe he will reaches number 1 .

I think, now is the right time! Everybody speak about Prince, in germany u can watch or read everyday something new about Prince. It´s like a rebirth of PRINCE!!

Like Carlos Santana with his album Supernatural, it was suddenly a very big succes!

timur said:

I think we all want him to reach #1 (well...except for evilwhitemale maybe.. ), but realistically i think somewhere below that in the top ten-fifteen is more likely to happen.

How about 17?

I think 2. They will never let us get no.1. Dem damn TRL chullun are massive.

interesting question.

on the one hand, Prince is getting more good press right now than maybe at any time in his career. he's made highly regarded appearances at the Grammys, and was just inducted into the Rock n Roll hall of fame. His new single seems to be doing OK, and is getting airplay on the video music channels, for the first time in years.

on the other hand: Prince is an artist driven by the die-hard fans more than the casual fans, and 99.9% of die-hard fans will already have copies of Musicology by the time it hits stores, either from the website or the shows.. (mostly from the website). It's hard to say what percentage will buy the store version - It may depend on whether or not there is any extra stuff.

Looking at the release schedule that week, there is nothing really dominant coming out. With all the positive press, and assuming Sony really stays behind the project (which from all appearances, they will), i'm going to guess that most core fans will go ahead and buy the store version. Some more casual fans will pick it up on hype factor alone.

I'm guessing a debut of #5.

If it doesn't debut at #1, I'll be very surprised!!!!

I will say either number 2 or number 3. The only half way major releases are Drowning Pool & Marilyn Manson. And the way Usher has been selling, he could still be number 1. I work for a major music retailer, and we are ordering 90 of the CD. In all my 15 years in music retail, I've never seen more than 10 new release Prince CD's come in...and that was "Diamonds & Pearls"!! (A number 2 album.) Plus with all the great press and with "Musicology" being as great as it is, it's sure to debut in the top 3.

I believe that it will reach # 1, but it depends on how much Sony is willing to promote the album (radio, tv, magazines)