CD Sales Tracking - Charting the Waters II

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON SALES RANKING: 12-10-07
1. MCWL: #665
2. MCWL: #20 Teen Pop category

[lolita]

AC, I take those numbers anytime…thanks.

[geraldine]

Jerry ~ What a nice surprise to see MCWL at #20!  I read somewhere that Clay is thinking of making a redo of "All Is Well" and adding more songs to it,,sure hope so. Thanks for the updates.

[ACcountryFan]

If Clay does re-release ALL IS WELL, let's hope it's available at more places so it will chart...the first time around the sales meant nothing in terms of chart action because it was not eligible to chart because it was only available at one shopping location.

I was at the Country chart today since it's Thursday...George Strait made a re-bound and climbed back up to #4 with his single HOW 'BOUT THEM COWGIRLS. He was at #4 two weeks ago, dropped to #5 last week, then went back up to #4 this week. He's been on the country chart with that song for 17 weeks. Taylor Swift makes a big leap...she was at #6 last week with her single, OUR SONG, and this week she's at #1...a five space chart leap over the bottom four in the Top-5.

Barry Manilow's HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS gets an Airpower award on Billboard's AC chart. Last week the single debuted at #23-AC and this week it's up 8 spots, to #15. This is the highest charting AC single for Barry this decade. The second biggest charting single for Barry prior to this #15 showing was 2002's holiday single, "River", which hit #17-AC. 2006's UNCHAINED MELODY, which hit #20-AC, was Barry's third biggest hit single since the dawn of 2000. So this holiday single at #15 this week marks the highest charting AC single for Barry this millennium.

[fhmmany2]

Idol Chatter has sales information this morning:

Clay continues to rack up those Christmas sales: 8,000 this week for his Merry Christmas With Love album, which still sits at a rounded 1.3 million total; and another 1,000 for the All Is Well EP, bringing its total to 51,000. Meanwhile, A Thousand Different Ways sold 300, same as last week, for a 520,000 total.

To read the entire article (lots of Idol stats):

USA TODAY

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 12-13-07
1. MCWL: #17- Teen Pop
2. MCWL: #558- Overall

Frankie: Thanks for the addition of the sales! I'm wondering where his sales are coming from for ALL IS WELL. Amazon's supply has been out of stock for awhile.

[geraldine]

Jerry ~ I was wondering about ALL IS WELL too.  I may be wrong about this but, I thought I read you could pruchase it through Itunes at one time. There have been lots of them on Ebay. if they count that as chart sales.  I know you would probably know

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON SALES RANK: 12-17-07
1. MCWL: #864; #21-Teen Pop

Charlene: eBay is a marketplace that every day citizens sell their items to other people...it has no impact on any chart. A lot of people buy up CD's cheap and then re-sell them on eBay. There are a few small music stores that have connections with eBay but they're not professional and are only available on-line, not a mass merchant store like Amazon or other places.

[geraldine]

Jerry I see that makes sense.  Because if a cd was already bought and re sold it already had been counted on the charts.

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 12-19-07
1. MCWL: #22-Teen Pop

[geraldine]

Jerry ~ That's an awesome number for MCWL!

[ACcountryFan]

Holiday albums can become classics fast

By JOHN GEROME, AP Entertainment Writer Sat Dec 22, 2:44 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and Toby Keith have a couple apiece. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton did one together. The ever-prolific Willie Nelson has at least four of them. Most country stars, and many of their pop counterparts, have a Christmas album or two in their catalogs, and for good reason: The records are relatively easy to make and have the potential for big payoff.

"If it's really good, it can go for 20 years," said Bill Kennedy, vice president of sales for Capitol Records Nashville.

Or longer.

Released in 1957, "Elvis' Christmas Album" is the top-selling holiday release of all time with 9 million in sales, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The single "Blue Christmas" is a Christmas classic, even parodied by Porky Pig.

Other Christmas blockbusters are Kenny G's "Miracles: The Holiday Album" (8 million) and Barbara Streisand's "A Christmas Album" (5 million), according to the RIAA.

But the Christmas kings, at least in terms of sales, have to be Mannheim Steamroller with two albums topping the 6 million mark: "A Fresh Aire Christmas" and "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas."

Holiday records are unique in the way they're promoted and marketed.

"It is a very short window that begins in late October, hits its peak the first two weeks of December, and then falls off the cliff right after the holiday," explained Ben Kline, executive vice president of sales, marketing and new media for Universal Music Group Nashville.

Though the window is tight, successful releases will do well for at least a few seasons before trailing off, said Peter Strickland, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Warner Brothers Nashville.

That's what happened with Warner Brothers' "A Very Larry Christmas" by Larry the Cable Guy. In 2004, the first year, the comedy album sold 150,000 copies. That shot to 250,000 the second year and to 315,000 the third.

This year, sales fell to about 70,000, though some of that likely is due to the October release of a second Christmas album by the comic, "Christmastime in Larryland."

Because most Christmas albums contain standards, they can be easier and faster to record than an album of new material, but not always. Choirs and string sections can add time and cost.

And with marketing and promotions time compressed, TV appearances become key, said Joe Galante, chairman of Sony BMG Nashville.

"We think of Christmas CDs as albums that will sell mainly for three to five years and won't be driven by hit singles on the radio," Galante said.

There are exceptions, but in general, sales expectations for holiday albums are lower than for standard releases. And for every breakout record, dozens of others get snowed under.

"If it can sell gold (500,000) or better, that's hugely successful," said Capitol Records' Kennedy. "And if you can do a minimum of 250,000 as a base, that would be all right."

George Strait, as big a star as there is in country music, has two Christmas albums, both of which sold over 500,000. By comparison, Strait's regular releases typically top the 1 million mark.

Still, Galante said most singers view the albums as fun and as an artistic break. "It helps fill out the artist's catalog," he said.

This year's hot holiday release is Josh Groban's "Noel," a traditional collection that has already scanned more than 2 million.

But for many, the star at the top of the tree remains "Elvis' Christmas Album." Released at the height of Presley's fame, it's a must-have for the serious Christmas music fan.

Ironically, the album's biggest hit, "Blue Christmas," was the one track Elvis didn't want to record.

As Gordon Stoker, a member of the Jordanaires, the vocal group that backed Presley on that song and many others, recalls, Elvis at first refused to do "Blue Christmas" out of respect for Ernest Tubb, who had had a No. 1 hit with it earlier.

When the producers said he had to cut it, he told folks at the session to come up with something so bad that it would never see the light of day as a single, Stoker told The Associated Press recently from his Nashville home.

"We thought that 'oo-ooo-oooo' was bad enough that they wouldn't release it," Stoker said of the signature backing vocals.

To this day, he said, "It still sounds bad to me when I hear it.

HOLIDAY ALBUM PROFITS

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 12-22-07
1. MCWL: #447
                #15: Teen Pop

[geraldine]

Jerry ~ Very interesting list of classic Christmas cds.  Even tho this time of year we may hear the same songs it is nice to know that they have become classics and that's why we never tire of the them.

Great numbers for MCWT once again!
Thank you fo the update.

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON SALES RANK: 12-26-07
1. ATDW: #2,312

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 12-29-07
1. ATDW: #3,455

George Strait's single rose to #3 this week on the country chart...it looked as if "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls" had reached it's peak at #4 a couple weeks ago but amazingly, in a week at radio where there were 90% holiday songs, Strait rose to #3 from #4...some say if the single continues to poke around in the Top-5 it'll eventually reach #1...time will tell, though.

[geraldine]

Jerry ~ Looks like ATDW stays pretty much the same in the numbers.  That's ok tho cause Clay's cd is always in the stores.
I see them on the cd shelves all the time.


George Straight sure does have an interestng chart history.  Good to see his latest one doing so well!

Thanks for the updates.

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 1-16-08
1. ATDW: #3,107

My first post here of the new year! The news was released that Clay should have a CD out this summer...so we shall see what comes of it and i hope there isn't a lot of delay and push-back's.

[lolita]

My first post here of the new year! The news was released that Clay should have a CD out this summer...so we shall see what comes of it and i hope there isn't a lot of delay and push-back's.

I hope so too AC ...And thank for those numbers.

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 1-18-08
1. ATDW: #1,687