It's been awhile since we had one of these threads....

All Soundscan info and commentary courtesy of JRKing. Thank you!

Soundscan Info for The Week Ending 5/20/07

Michael Jackson - 9,430 Units
(excluding Dangerous Tour video/DVD)

1. Thriller: 2,232 (-1.8%)
2. Number Ones: 2,011 (-19%)
3. Essential Michael Jackson: 1,376 (-3%)
4. Number Ones (DVD/Video): 1,373 (-16%)
5. Off the Wall: 811 (-10%)
6. Greatest Hits: HIStory Vol. 1: 674 (-)
7. Greatest Hits: HIStory (Video): 244 (+8%)
8. HIStory on Film- Vol. 2: 168 (+2%)
9. Bad: 159 (-10%)
10. Dangerous: 146 (-20%)
11. Ultimate Collection: 87 (+7%)
12. Invincible: 70 (-26%)
13. HIStory (2-CD): 60 (+22%)
14. Blood on the Dance Floor: 19 (-21%)

Mariah Carey - 2625 units
Notes: Not included here is The Emancipation of Mimi, even though it is a catalog title. At last check, it was doing 1,600-1,700/week.
(excluding Live at MSG and new DVD releases of older titles)

1. Greatest Hits- 1,060 (-11%)
2. #1s- 554 (+19%)
3. Remixes- 176 (+12%)
4. Butterfly- 122 (+3%)
5. Music Box- 120 (-24%)
6. Daydream- 101 (+71%)
7. #1s (Video): 92 (-)
8. Charmbracelet- 72 (-16%)
9. Around the World (Video)- 72 (-13%)
10. Glitter- 69 (-22%)
11. Mariah Carey- 65 (+5%)
12. Rainbow- 51 (+2%)
13. Emotions: 39 (-3%)
14. MTV Unplugged- 16 (+14%)
15. Merry Christmas: 16 (+14%)

Madonna - 5,116 units
Things remain pretty stable this week, with the 17 albums/EPs scanning 3,468 units, down .9% from last week (though a handful of titles do see decent percentage bumps). GHV2 drops below 200 units- put it out to pasture, I say. Who’s That Girl soundtrack scanned 19 units, up from 17 last week.

1. The Immaculate Collection: 1,733 (-4%)
2. Confessions on a Dance Floor: 1,175 (+14%) - 1,629,859 cumulative
3. Like a Virgin: 443 (-2%)
4. Ray of Light: 235 (+28%)
5. GHV2: 191 (-14%)
6. Madonna: 157 (+20%)
7. The Immaculate Collection (Video): 138 (+7%)
8. True Blue: 111 (+13%)
9. ’m Going to Tell You a Secret: 95 (-34%)
10. Something to Remember: 94 (-125%)
11. Erotica: 88 (+40%)
12. Girlie Show: 78 (+5%)
13. Music: 74 (-3%)
14. Ciao Italia: 73 (-9%)
15. Like a Prayer: 71 (+3%)
16. American Life: 60 (+15%)
17. Bedtime Stories: 49 (+32%)
18. You Can Dance: 46 (+24%)
19. The Video Collection: 93:99: 45 (+5%)
20. Drowned World Tour: 43 (-2%)
21. Remixed & Revisited: 38 (+12%)
22. I'm Breathless: 32 (+7%)
23. Evita: 27 (-37%)
24. Hollywood: 20 (-9%)

Janet Jackson - 1,896 units
Notes: 20 Y.O. is not included in the listing below but it's total is down to approximately 500 units a week. As of April 8/07, that album had a cumulative total of 638,000.
Moving on...the All For You CD/DVD scanned 8 units, down from 6 last week. Janet's second album Dream Street appears, thanks to a digital release (all of Janet's albums now are available digitally, I believe). Janet Jackson scanned 6 units, up from 5 last week

1. Design of a Decade 1986/1996: 812 (+28%) - up from 87 to 206 at non-traditional outlets
2. janet.: 237 (-11%)
3. Rhythm Nation: 229 (-20%)
4. Control: 159 (+6%)
5. The Velvet Rope: 125 (+2%)
6. From janet. to Damita Jo: 105 (+9%)
7. All For You: 84 (-13%)
8. Damita Jo: 73 (-1%)
9. Dream Street: 48
10. Design of a Decade (video): 24 (+50%)

Those numbers for Janet make me think she is still a pariah in the music industry...can anything help her at this point?

I love the way MJ ALWAYS outsells Madonna, Janet and Mariah...

MattyJam said:

and yet,his career is in worse shape than theirs.Record sales tell only part of the story

SoulAlive said:

They tell ALL the story to me.

MattyJam said:

Of course.Record sales are all that matters to most MJ fans

SoulAlive said:

VinnyM27 said:

perhaps a GREAT album can help her? Something a little more inspired than just a sex-themed R&B album.

SoulAlive said:

Stop being a hypocrite. Fans of ALL artists care about record sales. I remember lots of threads on this org about Prince's album sales. There was a lot of disappointment about the sales of his latest album. Therefore, don't try and pretend that MJ fans are the only ones who care about sales.

skyecute said:

Yes,it's fun to see how many albums your favorite artists sell,but come on....MJ's fans are obsessed with this! A previous poster pointed out that MJ regularly outsells Janet,Madonna and Mariah.That's all he cares about.As long as he still sells records,everything else apparently doesn't matter That's why MJ is so screwed up these days....his fans ignore his "issues" and focus solely on how many copies he sells.

MattyJam said:

Why aren't Prince's catalogue statistics included in this thread? It would be interesting to see how his sales stack-up against these people; especially, since he is actively promoting his most recent album-"3121".

skyecute said:

You want his sales figures displayed so you can laugh at the fact that MJ sells more records Admit it

Madonna's 1990 GH (The Immaculate Collection) also sells a pretty decent amount each week. I'm surprised it still hasn't been remastered and reissued with a second disc of hits.
[Edited 6/2/07 8:50am]

VinnyM27 said:

Janet's numbers aren't bad, her studio albums are still saleing the same as as anybody else if not more , they're just outsaling her in greatest hits ( which is like half of everybody elses's total) she needs to update her greatest hits and it will sale . there's nothing past 96 on there. she could add stuff from the velevt rope and all for you .
[Edited 6/2/07 9:06am]

shortstuff45220 said:

And to a much lesser extent, DJ and 20YO. I was wondering if she does releaes a Virgin hits set (which is inevitable), how do they treat DJ and 20YO. The only song that was kind of a hit was "Call On Me" although "All Nite" is an obivous favorite while "I Want You" and "Just A Little While" had modest chart sucess...I think she might get away with those four songs ("Just A Little While" might get the boot since it came and went so quickly and for some reason they wouldn't even release the video in America!) but that's about it. "So Excited" would be charity!

SoulAlive said:

i agree

SoulAlive said:

that's not true, though it seems that way

double post
[Edited 6/2/07 11:31am]

SoulAlive said:

No, I don't want to laugh at Prince's sales. Why should I? I would just like for his catalogue sales to be a part of these statistics. Btw, MJ fans would never bring up his sales, if they didn't have to defend the fact that he still outsells his peers, even with all of the concentrated and contrived negativity against him. Fans also defend the fact that other artists' fans, media and industry have the audacity to call MJ over or a "has-been" when he is STILL outselling artists who have nothing but positivity printed about them, make dozens of appearances to promote albums and tour to support that album.

SoulAlive said:

Not at all. But we're talking about the shape of these artists careers. And I'm saying that even when MJ is out of the limelight and has had a lot of bad press he STILL sells more of his back catalogue than the likes of Madonna, Mariah etc.

over half of MJ's 14 tracked releases above are greatest hits or compilation-related material. of course he's selling the most.

all of my favourite artists ever, they never fail to make me proud!

MattyJam said:

Perhaps,but I still insist that those other artists are in better shape,career-wise.They're selling alot of records too but without all the scandals,lawsuits and distractions.That's a better position to be in,imo.

Be honest: who do you think is happier in their personal life,Madonna or Michael Jackson?

skyecute said:

Here we go again

As I said many times before,record sales only tell part of the story.Yes,MJ outsells many of those other artists,but look around: his life is a MESS. Madonna is still doing soldout world tours and releasing new albums every few years....Mariah Carey made a stunning comeback last year....Prince had a top-grossing world tour a few years back.It's pretty sad that MJ's fans can only brag about sales of old albums They don't have a new tour to get excited about....they can't brag about any recent kickass live performances....they can't look forward to a new MJ album every few years.

But I don't wanna rain on your parade.Go ahead and continue to count how many copies 'Thriller' sells every week.Have fun! The rest of the world has moved on.

SoulAlive said:

What's that got to do with this discussion?

Also - I wouldn't have a clue. Who knows how either of them spend their day to day lives....

MattyJam said:

I'm just saying that there are more important things in life than record sales There is a such thing as inner peace and mental stability,something that I don't think MJ has.

skyecute said:

Ehm... no
I don't give a fuck about albums sales, all I care about is the music.

SoulAlive said:

And why do you assume Madonna has it?

Things have actually been ghostly quiet with MJ since the trial ended. For all we know maybe he has found some kind of level of contentment in his life.

To be honest, I think anyone who chases fame - including Michael and Madonna - are seeking to fill some kind of void in their lives... and these days, Madonna seems to be the one who can't bare to be out of the public gaze for a second....

FuNkeNsteiN said:

It's all very well saying you don't give a fuck about record sales, but if you're favourite music doesn't shift units, then that artist may not get to record another album....

MattyJam said:

Pretty much none of the artists I listen to make records anymore, and if they do, the new records suck balls