It seems like die hard fans of certain artist look at sales as to meaning a album is better then another album,but that's not always the case. Sometimes a album can sale more because it simply had better promotion then a album that sold less.

Im a die hard fan of MJ and i consider his best album to be Off The Wall musically,but Bad,Thriller and Dangerous sold more.I think that was just a different era with more promotion and hype being involved before the release of the albums which is why they sold more.

This whole thing with 50 Cent and Kanye West is irritating as well.

But I hope the obsession with sales will diminish soon because it looks like the cd market has collapsed. But I do not work for the music industry so have no idea for sure.

All of them round here.


waits for the MJ, Madge, Janet freaks to come out again

IT's foolish to think an album is better because it's a big seller. Let's mention Lady M. "Like A Virgin" by most accounts is her least loved disc by fans but her highest seller while "Erotica", one of her lowest sellers, is adored.

I think a reason fans obess over sales and root for artists to sell more is because if they have big sellers they will continue to make music more frequently (one would hope). Think about it this way....if Chaka Khan was a bigger seller, she probably would have released more than 3 studio albums of nearly all original material in 15 years.

BabyBeMine said:

Only stupid people look at sales as to meaning a album is better then another album.

And I would add there are also people who judge artists based on the numbers of CD sales they have sold.

Some people trully think some artists are great only based on the huge number of hits they made.

Madonna is a prime example...

Madonna's O V A H!

nobody obsess over sales more then mj fans, they take away from how good some of his music actually was by only focusing on how much it sold.

lowkey said:

this is partly because he himself is obsessed with record sales.We had a thread the other day about his upcoming album and tour.Not surprisingly,the discussion quickly turned into an in-depth analysis of his record sales,lol.

SoulAlive said:

well people call his albums after thriller a failure because of sales . ii remember some one saying history was a big flop cause it only sold 18 mil . it wassent a flop at all in any way , number one record all over the world . had huge singles succes in europe and asia. and you are not alone was the first song to debute on # 1 and it was an international number one song. but sales is a subjects thats being discussed over and over cause to companys it matters. how often dont you read an article about de decline in sales from 2001 onwards

motownlover said:

But he sets himself up for failure.When he was recording 'Bad',he taped a note on his mirror that said "80 MILLION COPIES".He was determined to out-sell 'Thriller',which is something that can never be done.Also,every new CD is preceded by alot of hype that he himself creates (remember the statue of himself that he unveiled right before 'History' came out?).It's clear that is overly concerned/obsessed with how many copies he sells and I think his fans play into this,too.

I don't give a fuck about album sales. Judging albums by sales is for people who don't know jack shit about music.

Once soundscan started thats when it all went down the drain, because EVERYONE was talking numbers all of a sudden. Back in the 70's and 80's, no one knew shit, you put an album it debuted,moved up, and then maybe got certified. NOW you put out a record and everyone knows, its all about week 1-2. I saw a quote awhile back from Chuck D and he was talking to a well known rapper who he didnt name, and the rapper came to him and said i sold such and such this week, and Chuck said, "You sold? you mean your label sold, you didnt sell any".

MikeMatronik said:

BabyBeMine said:

lololololol im an MJ fan.. and i don't base the quality of albums off sales.. because its popularity and promotion that sells the album.... in rare occasions you will have an album that good to where you know why everyone bought it... IMO it was MJ thriller... i will admit the videos did help it become popular too

there are lots of albums that go with out any recognition... its all how the media directs the public.... so many people will want what is POPULAR.. a
[Edited 9/21/07 10:19am]

I believe the answer is: penis envy.

I have no doggone reason. Sales are like drugs, I guess, you want your sales just like you want your fix and there were many rumors about how Michael wanted the next record to sell more than the last one, lol. I hope he don't focus on that aspect in his next one, matter of fact, I know he won't. He almost 50 now, better bring the legends back up to speed.

I never have cared about sales. When something sold a huge amount, it usually crossed over to pop, which is something I didn't want to see happen with any of my favorite artists, including Prince. I wanted my favorites to be known in the R&B world only because once they gain a pop audience, then they start softening their music to keep the pop audience.

motownlover said:

It was failure knowing that it was this album was the largest budget set for an album with 30 million dollar promotion and marketing campaign...

MJ probably didn't even make any money on this... lol

Back in the mid-90's, a lot of artist could sell 18 mil with FAR less promotion...

vainandy said:

I second that. I notice since the advent of Thriller none of MJ albums have anything that comes even close to funk or even real dance music on them, which is the kind of music he and his brothers were doing up to that point, with a combination of good, old fashion R&B. It's like once you go exclusively mainstream that's it, your music must be forever watered down to sound as commercial as possible.
[Edited 9/25/07 11:15am]
[Edited 9/25/07 11:39am]

BabyBeMine said:

Sales are the best way to survey the popularity of an artist...

If you sell a lot of records, that means people like your music...

For any artist, thinking that people spend money to buy your music is the most statisfying feeling...

krayzie said:

Isnt it Invincible you're talking about? Because if i'm not mistaken HIStory was his top era in terms of making profit, moreso than Thriller..

Sales validate taste. X amount agree therefore I'm right.