folks, i'm just blown away by the sales numbers for the album...

in that, i haven't bought the retail version of the album although i already
have 2 promo copies from P's "giveaways" at concerts, etc. but because
of when this happened, it wouldn't have counted toward the sales number.

given that the diehard fans usually create the firstweek push, did you folks
buy the retail version as well? or is all the Prince press getting new, more casual
fans to buy the album?

also, do the downloads count toward the sales number?

A lot goes to the albums sold with the concert tickets and the rest is good promotion. Unfortunately underneath it all is a shit album.

whatsurname said:

i bought the official release because i like the whole package. my guess is a lot of diehards did the same. even still, usually diehards only give prince about 80,000 sales in the first week. factor in another 17,000 from the concert that was included and it is still only 97,000. therecord sold 191,000 so i think a lot of casual fans are hearing about it from the media and buying it based on the reviews/hype.
[This message was edited Wed Apr 28 10:26:57 2004 by SassyBritches]

The main reason is the attention at the grammys led to the hype
of the tour.

The Tour added to the hype of the album.

Sony has tried to market it. Sony has a new boss who isnt a industry veteran and when they profiled him one of the first things they said was that he signed on prince that means he put his priorities rite.

Sony knows if they do a good job with this album he will stay out with sony.

Good promotion, People just seem ready for Prince, the CD isn't overblown - its nice and safe and catchy, a coast to coast tour and Prince actually , on the face of it, cooperating with Sony. The lead single being backed with a good video and getting heavy rotation must help and its also damn funky. For the record screw the fact that 17k were added onto the sales figures, 171k were still bought. Lets not forget that this sets a trend that will inevitably be followed by many others. Prince and Sony have really stole a march in this move. Time for Bart to now chip in and say that alt rock band 'Bing Bong Boomski' from Russia did the giveaways first in 1958 and did it much better!!!.

Have you seen what else is in the charts? I mean, wouldn't you buy Prince?

infinitetrio said:

It doesn't make sense to buy Musicology just cuz there's nothing else on the charts worth buying. Why spend money on crap?

EvilWhiteMale said:

..the same reason you spend time talkin' about crap...

roodboi said:

roodboi said:

Ha!

EvilWhiteMale said:

Prince on his worse day is better than Usher and Mario Winans on their best.

all in fun, EWM....

VinnyM27 said:

Fans of Usher and Mario would disagree. Does that mean you're right and they're wrong?

EvilWhiteMale said:

Yes, they are wrong, as would be the fans of Anna Kournikova if they said she was a better tennis player that Serena Williams.

i bought marios album
returned it the next day
ushers
the song writing iratated me
Musicology is actually the best crap out now
unless u wana buy an outcast C.D.

Stax said:

There's a difference between sports and music. Sports are competitions where the winner is the better player. Good music is in the ear of the beholder. You must be joking if you think people are "wrong" for liking what they like. Gotta be a joke.

What about this Michael Buble dude ?????

He's fucking everywhere

EvilWhiteMale said:

technically speaking Prince is better. He is technically a better musician. Taking Prince in the studio or on stage for that matter with either Mario or Usher would be the equivalent of Serena and Anna on the tennis court. Prince mopping the floor with those two and Serena putting Anna out of her misery. There is no real difference. It is a fact that Prince is a better musician than the two of them.

adorable2 said:

technically speaking Prince is better. He is technically a better musician. Taking Prince in the studio or on stage for that matter with either Mario or Usher would be the equivalent of Serena and Anna on the tennis court. Prince mopping the floor with those two and Serena putting Anna out of her misery. There is no real difference. It is a fact that Prince is a better musician than the two of them.[/quote]


Meanwhile, the White Stripes can make a bigger hit with a fraction of what Prince does.

I like the White Stripes, but they're very "flavor of the month" right now. It's become cool to like them. I hope they can weather the storm. Years from now people will probably be crapping on their new stuff, complaining that it doesn't give them the same feeling that the old stuff did. A true artist just can't win with everybody, which is why people like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Prince and even Kurt Cobain end up saying "to hell with it, I gotta do what feels good to me".
In my opinion, ya gotta respect that.

Stax said:

does anna kournikova play tennis...?

EvilWhiteMale said:

If you wanna talk about albums that people won't be talking about in years to come I'm sure those will top the list despite whatever staying power they may have. The fact that Usher has two songs in the Top 3 is disturbing....considering they are both based on a tremendous amount of radioplay! It's is being crammed down our thoarts while you would have to search high and low to find "Musicology" on radio! I think we can all agree that while album sales might be not be an indicatation of how good an album is....than "American singles charts" and "quality" should never be uttered in the same sentence.

i think there are alot of fans out there who have been waiting for P to come "back", so to speak, into the mainstream.

It's kindof frustrating being a Prince fan. It takes alot of work. Keeping up w/ the website stuff, and downloads.... it's just more than the casual fan is likely to do to keep up.

But here we have an album that is getting great reviews, lots of good press, he's touring, he's on MTV and VH1.... it's finally cool to be a Prince fan again. All of those casual fans who love Purple Rain and maybe SOTT and D&P are finally saying, hey.... Prince is back. Maybe he never left.

I'm thinking there are going to be alot of fans re-discovering what they've been missing the last 10 years, and realizing that HE HAS NEVER LEFT.
[This message was edited Thu Apr 29 18:20:22 2004 by JonSnow]

Is it me, or does it seem like all EvilWhiteMale does is BITCH! If U dont like the album dont buy it, dont talk about it. I dont like alot of Prince's work, I dont sit around and complain about it.

Peace
Cory

bonjon83 said:

now, now... be nice. he's just trying to make SURE that everyone knows he doesn't like Musicology. i mean, make REALLY REALLY CERTAIN.

I sorta understand... i mean, I guess if you repeat yourself enough times, you can be fairly confident that at least *most* of the Orgers are aware that you don't like Musicology.

So give him a break. He just wants everyone to be aware of his opinion.

But I'm a little worried.... maybe he should start a new thread about how bad Musicology sucks. I think there are a few lurkers who might not realize yet that it sucks so bad.....

whatsurname said:

Well, I bought a copy for myself plus a copy for a friend. I can say though that a lot of my friends who hadn't really cared about Prince at all before now have really like the album, and two of them have actually gone out and bought it, so I don't think it's just hardcore fans that are digging the album.

There are alot of one time fans out there who have had their interest rekindled over the past few months, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Musicology continue to do well in the coming weeks. Peeps who haven't really followed him since the Diamonds & Pearls and are starting to take notice again, and I think thats going to be a significant factor.

The secret is the product is being promoted, promoted and promoted again. Paisley Park is very bad at this and Prince has not benefited from a concentrated effort like this since...when...Diamonds & Pearls or The Symbol CD? And except for "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", hes not had a certifed hit either.