Album 15

[IntlDebris]

That's... actually kind of depressing. I know how the charts work in this day and age, a band like the Manics aren't going to get the long runs they used to, but to not even hit the top 100 your sales have to be in the hundreds. So basically the first week was pretty much the entire album sales, and that was significantly down on the previous few. Hm.

[everlasting]

I can't believe that it's gone out of the top 100. I had a look yesterday while waiting for my flight home from my holiday and the more I scrolled I kept thinking I must have missed it. I know the charts don't matter as much these days due to how they work, but still, it just shows how few people are buying new music by the band now sadly once the die hard fans have bought their copy / copies.

[rosetree]

Originally Posted by everlasting

I can't believe that it's gone out of the top 100. I had a look yesterday while waiting for my flight home from my holiday and the more I scrolled I kept thinking I must have missed it. I know the charts don't matter as much these days due to how they work, but still, it just shows how few people are buying new music by the band now sadly once the die hard fans have bought their copy / copies.

I'm also surprised ithe album is out of the charts already. I think there has been more promotion in interviews from the band than usual. I'm sure there will be many formats bought by fans though. I just recently bought the cds, though initially the vinyl which I'm starting a collection, though probably the vinyl chart doesn't count as much.The single vinyl bonus was only available at the store I think was at no,1 last week though sadly at 13 now. I'm glad the band are still planning ahead though and writing. I'm looking forward to the tour.

[Europa Gluten Free]

It doesn't really matter to me. The chart position is a bit of fun from the fan side, and of course a bit of an old school obsession for the band, but really they will care more now about the tour being sold out and the massive list of festivals and one offs they are doing this summer - that's where they make the real money. I would expect more trips to Japan etc in the autumn/winter.

It's clear they've made an album they are happy with so it's all good.

[darkanddivine]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

It doesn't really matter to me. The chart position is a bit of fun from the fan side, and of course a bit of an old school obsession for the band, but really they will care more now about the tour being sold out and the massive list of festivals and one offs they are doing this summer - that's where they make the real money. I would expect more trips to Japan etc in the autumn/winter.

It's clear they've made an album they are happy with so it's all good.

Yep. There's a reason tickets are on the pricier end now, and it's because bands need to make more from touring than they did before. So gigs and merch bring in more revenue (though they're still pricey to put on) and the streaming side barely makes a dent.

[rosetree]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

It doesn't really matter to me. The chart position is a bit of fun from the fan side, and of course a bit of an old school obsession for the band, but really they will care more now about the tour being sold out and the massive list of festivals and one offs they are doing this summer - that's where they make the real money. I would expect more trips to Japan etc in the autumn/winter.

It's clear they've made an album they are happy with so it's all good.

It was nice to see they were above Oasis re release in the chart last week. I think the tours and festivals are important to them as they love playing live, their interviews are always interesting and fun. I always love how casual they are about their amazing albums and success. I'm hoping they include Critical Thinking and unplayed songs in the tour sets.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by IntlDebris

That's... actually kind of depressing. I know how the charts work in this day and age, a band like the Manics aren't going to get the long runs they used to, but to not even hit the top 100 your sales have to be in the hundreds. So basically the first week was pretty much the entire album sales, and that was significantly down on the previous few. Hm.

If you can be 6th in the Physical album chart (7th for Album Sales, 10th for Downloads, and 17th for Vinyl) on too few sales to crack the combined Top 100 that includes weighted streaming I think it says more about the state of the charts and the dominance of streaming than anything. Which I would agree is kind of depressing.

How many sales gets you 6th in the physical sales chart? Is it really in the hundreds? That would mean I could self-fund my own top 10 album if I stop buying multiple Manics releases for a few years(!)

But yeah, I only really care in as much as I know they do. I don’t feel like it’s just getting old, I think the charts really are just less meaningful nowadays, for a variety of reasons.

“The ecstasy of making things worse / seems to have become a worldwide curse”

Anyway, still loving this album more and more. Recency bias in full effect maybe but I’d be ranking it quite high if I did an album ranking today, but I’m gonna give it a bit longer before I do that I think.

[IntlDebris]

Originally Posted by Porco

How many sales gets you 6th in the physical sales chart? Is it really in the hundreds? That would mean I could self-fund my own top 10 album if I stop buying multiple Manics releases for a few years(!)

It's difficult to say because obviously it changes week-by-week, but there are many albums that have reached the top 100 albums with barely more than 1,000 that I've read about in the past, and sales continue to drop year-on-year, so if it's at 101, maybe it sold 1,000. If it's at 135, maybe it sold 750. The sales will be published somewhere I'm sure, but I'm not sure it's worth paying for industry publications to find out.

I find it all fascinating, to be honest. I'm still staggered by how quickly download sales have tapered off in general. And, of course, with numerous deluxe editions and things going on, it's actually impossible to get a good sense of what's been sold really. How many fans actually bought Critical Thinking? How many in the UK? How many bought two copies? How many bought five? I think the number who bought multiple was probably not that high, but even if it was a couple of thousand, that's still maybe enough to knock off 5-10,000 sales, which brings the total down massively.

I also find it odd how some artists with lengthy careers sell even worse these days. Underword's latest album reached number 43 - that can only be a couple of thousand sales, which strikes me as bonkers. Idlewild's last two have only scraped the top 20. I wonder how many acts are living largely off income from their biggest hits, either newly gained or stuff in the bank. A lot of small-and-mid sized acts actually struggle to make money from touring, despite the general belief that live is where the money comes from, so a lot of these bands wouldn't be able to survive on those kind of chart placings if they were starting out.