Michael Jackson Album Sales After Death: An In-Depth Look

[smooth_criminal05]

We all know Michael Jackson has sold incredible amounts of records since his death on June 25th 2009. I have been keeping a weekly tab on both US and Global numbers. Here are the total record sales thus far and remember this is only ALBUMS sales!

I will be updating this thread constantly for the rest of the year so we can calculate exactly how many albums Jackson has sold in 2009.

*US Figures: Jan 1st 2009 - December 31st 2009
*Global Figures: Jan 1st 2009 - December 31st 2009

OFF THE WALL
-500,000 (US)
-1,600,000 (Globally)

THRILLER
-1,300,000 (US)
-4,500,000 (Globally)

BAD
-550,000 (US)
-2,500,000 (Globally)

DANGEROUS
-390,000 (US)
-2,000,000 (Globally)

HISTORY
-150,000 (US)
-850,000 (Globally)

INVINCIBLE
-190,000 (US)
-1,100,000 (Globally)

ESSENTIAL
-1,100,000 (US)
-3,200,000 (Globally)

NUMBER ONES
-2,300,000 (US)
-3,900,000 (Globally)

KING OF POP
-2,300,000 (Globally)

THIS IS IT
-1,300,000 (US)
-3,600,000 (Globally)

JACKSON 5 ALBUMS
-500,000 (US)
-1,400,000 (Globally)

OTHER:
-500,000 (US)
-1,800,000 (Globally)

TOTAL US ALBUM SALES= 8.7 MILLION (8.2 million not including J-5)
TOTAL GLOBAL ALBUM SALES= 29 MILLION

*This does not include single sales, digital downloads, dvd's, ringtones, illegally downloaded material, pirated albums, or countries that don't track album sales/refuse to reveal it. Just legally purchased ALBUMS.

Official Source: Sony Music

[earthlyme]

WOW...By this amount...the 100mil debt is gone and there's More profit for his estate. Michael Making HIStory again!

Thankyou for this!

Love,
Romi

[Prince Of Pop]

^^ MJ was more than 100 million in debt...and those figures aren't in dollars...those are in copies of albums sold

[UpToMe]

Thanks for sharing this. One question though, what is the source for these numbers? Earlier today I was reading someone's post on another music forum which said there have been about 8 million Michael albums sold worldwide since his passing. So depending on what source is used it seems the numbers can vary by millions.

[elmari]

Thank you for putting this together so nicely and neatly smooth criminal05! I know that you've been keeping tabs on the record sales since Michael's passing.

Quick question. Do the global sales include the US sales? Or can we add them up together to get total sales of each album. . .:)

That's a lot of sales. Plus we haven't figured in digital downloads of albums and singles!

[Pez]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say...20 million global by the end of 09?

Also, was there any confirmation he was actaully in debt? Or was that all BS?

[smooth_criminal05]

^Source for the US numbers: Nielsen Soundscan/Billboard/HitsDailyDouble, Source for Global Numbers: Media Traffic. Your right, sales of Jacksons albums were 8 million 2 weeks ago but Jackson has been selling over a million albums per week thus the amounts keep increasing. When I update the figures Friday, his global album sales will tower over 11 million.

^The US figures are already included in the global numbers, I just wanted to show the US sales separately to show how incredible MJ is selling in the US.

And...if you include digital downloads in these figures, the UNITS sold since Jackson's death exceed 12 MILLION in the United States, and 28 MILLION globally.

[elmari]

Thanks smooth criminal05!

Wow! MJ needs to be RECOGNIZED!! :)

I've a feeling that there might be major sales boosts around the tribute concert in Sept, then when the film comes out in late Oct. If a live album or a new album comes out. . . then look out! More records will be set!

[Arabian Knight]

The US figures are already included in the global numbers, I just wanted to show the US sales separately to show how incredible MJ is selling in the US.

And...if you include digital downloads in these figures, the UNITS sold since Jackson's death exceed 12 MILLION in the United States, and 28 MILLION globally.

I noticed that, Michael’s album sales in the US are very impressive compared to global sales!! Perhaps due to his increased popularity in the US.

[Izzy_LovesMJ]

yay for Michael :yes: :clapping:
I wish he can see this :cry:

[Agent M]

Thanks for posting. I'm not trying to be snarky but is it possible to provide a link so that a documented source is available in case it becomes necessary to cite one.

[MichaelMySoul]

Wow thanks for the info, keep us updated!!

[smooth_criminal05]

Thanks for posting. I'm not trying to be snarky but is it possible to provide a link so that a documented source is available in case it becomes necessary to cite one.

http://www.mediatraffic.de/ ....click on previous charts under Albums and you can add up the sales yourself on a week by week basis. (Global source)

My US sales are comprised of media reports from Billboard, Yahoo Music, and MTV (using figures from Nielsen Soundscan) . There is not one link I can give you that will verify any numbers as this is not available to the public. You will just have to trust my record keeping. I always try my best to get the actual Nielsen Soundscan numbers and if they are not available I use HitsDailyDouble ( www.hitsdailydouble.com )

[AmberR]

WOW...By this amount...the 100mil debt is gone and there's More profit for his estate. Michael Making HIStory again!

Thankyou for this!

Love,
Romi

I was wondering where these money from albums sales going?
Happy to know they are going to MJ's estate. I have been buying every single albums of MJ and J5 that I see.

[Vici]

THRILLER
-853,000 (US)
-2,059,000 (Globally)



Michaels "Thriller" will without any doubt have the best-selling album of all time in the United States anytime soon.

When does RIAA certify the albums?

Edit: Just saw this on wikipedia "As of July 19, 2009, shipments of Thriller are approaching the 30 million mark in the USA, making it likely to become the first triple diamond RIAA-certified album in history before the end of this year."

[ConservativeMind]

yeah just wait until Christmas time for all of them shoppers. Thriller will be Triple Diamond by that time.

[Tom]

Wow, I love looking at these figures. Shows just how many people cared about MJ, and maybe how those who didn't have turned around. Does anyone have a list of all the certifications? i.e Diamond, Platinum, and the sales associated with them? Because I'm not sure of the order.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Edit: Just saw this on wikipedia "As of July 19, 2009, shipments of Thriller are approaching the 30 million mark in the USA, making it likely to become the first triple diamond RIAA-certified album in history before the end of this year."


I can bet that the beasts behind the conspiracy will not let that happen and they immediately will upgrade the magical-unrealistic the Eagles sales numbers, not let Thriller be the Best Seller!!!

[Dangerous 1991 HIStory]

That's great. :)

[Arabian Knight]

Michaels "Thriller" will without any doubt have the best-selling album of all time in the United States anytime soon.

When does RIAA certify the albums?

Edit: Just saw this on wikipedia "As of July 19, 2009, shipments of Thriller are approaching the 30 million mark in the USA, making it likely to become the first triple diamond RIAA-certified album in history before the end of this year."

I think Epic or Sony should approach RIAA to get it certified, I donno what’s holding them back!

[Arabian Knight]

I can bet that the beasts behind the conspiracy will not let that happen and they immediately will upgrade the magical-unrealistic the Eagles sales numbers, not let Thriller be the Best Seller!!!

I am stunned that something like that might happen in a civilized country like the USA, but then everyone doubts the Eagles sales record! :brow:

[AGB]

Thanks for posting this smoothcriminal_05 :). Michael is doing amazingly well. There are also the sales of Blood On the Dancefloor - HIStory In The Mix, The Ultimate Collection and Greatest Hits: HIStory Vol 1 as well as Motown albums and other compilations (Michael Jackson Classic, Michael Jackson Gold, 12" mixes, Michael Jackson X2 Platinum, Michael Jackson 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection) that need to be added too, so Michael's album sales are over 4.3 million in the US and almost 11 million worldwide.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Hey, but this is without the DVD and download, right?

So the the total sales has to be bigger..., or will be bigger at the end of the year...

[AGB]

Hey, but this is without the DVD and download, right?

So the the total sales has to be bigger..., or will be bigger at the end of the year...

Yep these sales do not include DVDs.

Michael's combined singles and albums sales since his death are over 25 million worldwide, by the end of the year I would not be surprised if it is around 35-40 million or maybe more depending on whether a live album is released this year.

[Vici]

Yep these sales do not include DVDs.

Michael's combined singles and albums sales since his death are over 25 million worldwide, by the end of the year I would not be surprised if it is around 35-40 million or maybe more depending on whether a live album is released this year.

Its reported that Michael has sold more than 750 million UNITS (or is it only albums?) worldwide, right?

So, are we safe to say that by the end of the year Michaels sales can be up to 800 million units worldwide, which includes singels, albums, dvd's etc...

[Moonwalker.Fan]

I hope that (although sadly...) MJs death will be the reason for an official upgrade of the total sales and that Media will/can not doubt Michaels success, and whats more important is the impact of MJs death of his sales, its so enormous that Michael is the best seller of the year right now, so next year World Music Awards will be about Michael, and he definitely will get several awards!!!!

And in many ways, this year - 2009 - is Michael Jackson year!!!
All yearbooks will be about Michael... if anything worse is not going to happen....

[A_Powerful_Mind]

This is awesome news. I'm so happy for Michael and also the benefit that his estate will get from this. :)

[Tom]

I hope that (although sadly...) MJs death will be the reason for an official upgrade of the total sales and that Media will/can not doubt Michaels success, and whats more important is the impact of MJs death of his sales, its so enormous that Michael is the best seller of the year right now, so next year World Music Awards will be about Michael, and he definitely will get several awards!!!!

And in many ways, this year - 2009 - is Michael Jackson year!!!
All yearbooks will be about Michael... if anything worse is not going to happen....

I don't think the press/media ever doubted his success. It's pretty impossible, given the cold hard facts. They were just jealous. And yes, this is Michaels year.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

I don't think the press/media ever doubted his success. It's pretty impossible, given the cold hard facts. They were just jealous. And yes, this is Michaels year.

They DID, for example with the HIStory album, despite of the mega success, they permanently called it "failure" , as well as Invincible...

You have to distunguish the MJ fan forums and info from it, and then the media reports read by millions of ordinary readers!!!!, its huge difference!

The fans on any forums have the relevant info - its like another world, but media=some particular (young) reporters do not report the relevant info, cant you see it...?

[Tom]

They DID, for example with the HIStory album, despite of the mega success, they permanently called it "failure" , as well as Invincible...

You have to distunguish the MJ fan forums and info from it, and then the media reports read by millions of ordinary readers!!!!, its huge difference!

The fans on any forums have the relevant info - its like another world, but media=some particular (young) reporters do not report the relevant info, cant you see it...?

True, but what I'm trying to say is that even if the press say HIStory or Invincible is a failure, the straight facts say otherwise. In MJ's eyes, yes it's not up to his standards, but they still sold more than most modern day artists. The media just wanted to put him down.

[Metalfish2]

Michael certainly didnt let us down when he said. "you aint seen nothing yet' a few years ago at that award show.

[AGB]

Its reported that Michael has sold more than 750 million UNITS (or is it only albums?) worldwide, right?

So, are we safe to say that by the end of the year Michaels sales can be up to 800 million units worldwide, which includes singels, albums, dvd's etc...

Yep its reported that Michael has sold more than 750 million UNITS, but I think that figure includes, albums, singles, DVDs and also Jackson 5/The Jacksons releases and also probably songs where Michael features on them. If this 750 million UNITS figure is correct (which I'm not sure if it is or it isn't as it hasn't actually been verified properly) then yes Michael will be the end of the year have sold throughout his career a total of over 800 million UNITS.

[meena76]

Yesssss!

That's why on his birthday I'm going out to buy everything MJ (By MJ Only!!!!!).
and I'm getting a tatoo.

I am so excited I can't wait.

[smooth_criminal05]

I predict, and have from the beginning that by Dec 31st, Michael Jackson will have shifted 50 Million Units globally. (for the year 2009) This includes album, single, digital downloads, dvd, and ringtones sold. Remember, Sony is releasing a soundtrack CD to go with "This Is It" which will be out in late October. Expect this to be heavily promoted in conjunction with Halloween and Jackson's other back catalogue. I expect this new CD issued by Sony will sell 1 million+ by the years end in the US alone. Also, Universal is releasing a compilation of remixes done by artists like The Neptunes, Akon, Blink 182, etc so expect that to shift more copies throughout the fall.

[kasume]

I'm thinking the This Is It soundtrack will sell like an actual new album of his.

[smooth_criminal05]

I'm thinking the This Is It soundtrack will sell like an actual new album of his.

I agree, especially given the new claim by John Branca that a NEW song will be included on the soundtrack.

[smooth_criminal05]

Updated the numbers with the new global data released tonight. Notice Jackson's sales have surged over 11 million globally this summer. Thriller and Number Ones have both sold over 2 million copies. Expect them both to surpass 3 million by years end.

[earthlyme]

I was wondering where these money from albums sales going?
Happy to know they are going to MJ's estate. I have been buying every single albums of MJ and J5 that I see.


It was 300 Mill. but he'd been paying that off since 2002. He has now a 100Mill. left to pay. The midea has put a huge amout on this and its really not true. Michael's worth close to 2Bill. and Frank said he knew Michael was 400Mill in debt, and that even after payin' it off he'd only have 200Mil left, But that far from the truth.

I got this info from somewhere in this forum. I'll try to get u all the facts...:D

Love,
Romi

[Agent M]

For the seventh consecutive week, Michael Jackson has three of the five best-selling albums in the U.S. Number Ones sold 98,000 copies and would have topped The Billboard 200 for the sixth week if catalog albums were eligible to compete there. The Essential Michael Jackson sold 54,000 and would have held at #3. Thriller sold 47,000 and would have inched up from #5 to #4.

This ongoing success will enable Jackson to make history (or should I say HIStory?) on Nielsen/SoundScan's year-end charts. Do I have a crystal ball? No, I have something better: the tracking company's year-to-date sales chart. Jackson has three albums in the top 15 on that list. Number Ones holds at #2 and will probably pull ahead of Taylor Swift's Fearless, the long-time leader, in two weeks. Thriller jumps to #10, while The Essential Michael Jackson climbs to #15. Jackson is likely to become the first artist to have three albums in Nielsen/SoundScan's year-end top 20 since Garth Brooks achieved the feat in 1992. (All three of Brooks' albums--Ropin' The Wind, The Chase and No Fences, ranked in the year-end top 10.).

Number Ones is vying to become the only the third greatest hits album to rank #1 for the year on either Billboard's "year-end" charts or Nielsen/SoundScan's calendar year rankings. Elton John's Elton John--Greatest Hits was Billboard's leader for 1974. The Beatles' 1 was the magazine's champ for 2001. (On Nielsen/SoundScan, 1 was the #6 seller of 2000.) Number Ones is also likely to become the first catalog album and the first album by a deceased performer to wind up as the #1 album of the year on either list, going back to 1956..

The Essential Michael Jackson is #1 in the U.K. for the sixth straight week. This is the longest continuous run on top in that country since Leona Lewis' Spirit had seven straight weeks at #1 from November 2007 to January 2008. (Coldplay's Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends had six non-consecutive weeks on top last year.).

I'll have more Billboard's controversial policy of excluding catalog albums from The Billboard 200 near the end of the column..

The main beneficiary of that policy this week is Sugarland, which debuts at #1 with Live On The Inside. The title is a play on the duo's last studio album, Love On The Inside, which debuted at #2 in August 2008 and rose to the top spot in its second week. (Love On The Inside, which spawned the Grammy-winning hit "Stay," resurges from #35 to #21 this week. It has sold 1,745,000 copies.).

Sugarland is the only country duo to hit #1 on The Billboard 200 in the chart's 53-year history--and now they've done it twice..

Live On The Inside couples a DVD with a live collection of covers of such pop and rock songs as Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" and the B-52's "Love Shack." It's the first live album to top The Billboard 200 since Alicia Keys' Unplugged in 2005. It's the first live set to top the Top Country Albums chart since Kenny Chesney's LIVE: Live Those Songs Again in 2006..

The Sugarland album is the third album available at only one retailer to top The Billboard 200, following Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden and AC/DC's Black Ice. (Wal-Mart was/is the retailer in all three cases, which shows its dominance in this area.).

Taylor Swift's Fearless logs its 33rd week in the top 10 on The Billboard 200. That's the longest run in the top 10 since Mariah Carey's comeback smash The Emancipation Of Mimi had a 34-week run in 2005-2006. It's the longest run by a country album since Shania Twain's Come On Over had 53 weeks from 1997-1999. Mimi and Come On Over were both Grammy finalists for Album of the Year. Fearless is likely to follow suit when the nominations for the 52nd annual awards are announced later this year.

The Black Eyed Peas top the Hot Digital Songs chart for the 19th consecutive week, but this is the first time in that remarkable streak that the Peas' chart-topping song has slipped below the 200,000 mark in paid downloads. "I Gotta Feelin" sold 197,000 downloads this week, bringing its nine-week total to 1,958,000. Immediately before this nine-week run, "Boom Boom Pow" was #1 for 10 weeks. The Peas' album, The E.N.D., has sold 872,000 copies, not a bad total in this sales climate, but hardly what you'd expect given these back-to-back smash hits. .

Drake's "Best I Ever Had" tops the 1 million mark in paid downloads this week. One of the song's hooks is an out-of-nowhere reference to the Andy Griffith theme song. It's the most head-turning namedrop in a pop song since the Helen Keller line in 3OH!3's "Don't Trust Me." Since Drake brought it up, the Andy Griffith theme has been included on two hit albums through the years. The original version was featured on 1985's marvelous Television's Greatest Hits collection. In 1962, Nelson Riddle covered the tune on his album Route 66 Theme and Other Great TV Themes..

Madonna's "Celebration" vaults from #159 to #40 on Hot Digital Songs. It's the first single and title track from Madonna's upcoming greatest hits album, which is due Sept. 29..

Daughtry's Leave This Town slips from #2 to #6 this week, which seems like a big drop. But the sales tallies in the top 10 are so close that if Daughtry's album had sold just 500 more copies this week, it would have held at #2. (The numbers in the top 10 list are rounded off to the nearest thousand).

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

1. Sugarland, Live On The Inside, 76,000. This new entry is the duo's second #1 album in a row. Three songs from the DVD are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Stay" at #171.

2. Various Artists, NOW 31, 45,000. The former #1 album rebounds from #4 to #2 in its sixth week.

3. Gloriana, Gloriana, 44,000. This new entry is the third debut album by a country act to open in the top five in the past 16 months. It follows eponymous albums by Lady Antebellum and Julianne Hough. The coed quartet has opened for Taylor Swift.

"Wild At Heart" vaults from #92 to #49 on Hot Digital Songs.

4. The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D., 44,000. The former #1 album inches up from #5 to #4 in its ninth week. Two songs from the album are listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs for the ninth straight week..

5. Kings Of Leon, Only By The Night, 44,000. In its 46th week, the album jumps from #6 to #5, matching its highest ranking to date. More than 13,000 copies were sold digitally, making this the #1 Digital Album for the third week. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Use Somebody," which holds at #3..

6. Daughtry, Leave This Town, 44,000. The former #1 album drops from #2 to #6 in its fourth week. "No Surprise" dips from #35 to #37 on Hot Digital Songs.

7. Maxwell, BLACKsummers'night, 43,000. The former #1 album drops from #3 to #7 in its fifth week. "Pretty Wings" dips from #110 to #112 on Hot Digital Songs..

8. Kidz Bop Kids, Kidz Bop 16, 38,000. This new entry is the 10th consecutive regular installment in this series to reach the top 10.

9. Taylor Swift, Fearless, 37,000. The former #1 album holds at #9 for the fourth straight week. This is the album's 33rd week in the top 10; its 39th week on the chart. Three songs from the album are featured on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "You Belong With Me," which inches up to #5.

10. Fabolous, Loso's Way, 37,000. The album drops from #1 to #10 in its second week. That's the biggest second-week tumble from the top spot since Modest Mouse's We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank sank from #1 to #11 in April 2007. Two songs from the album are featured on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Throw It In The Bag" (featuring The Dream) at #53.

Three albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Hannah Montana's Hannah Montana 3 soundtrack drops from #7 to #11, Demi Lovato's Here We Go Again slips from #8 to #14, and Lady GaGa's The Fame drops from #10 to #16.

K'Jon's I Get Around bows at #12, with first-week sales of 33,000. In one week, the album has already outsold the R&B artist's 2007 album, Ballroom Xplosion, which has sold 8,000 copies...Modest Mouse's No One's First, And You're Next, a collection of B sides, opens at #15. As noted above, the group's last full album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, debuted at #1 in March 2007, but fell out of the top 10 in its second week...American Idol, Season 8 EP bows at #17...The soundtrack to the Disney Channel movie Wizards of Waverly Place debuts at #24. This is, as yet, no match for the channel's Camp Rock, which spent its first 10 weeks in the top 10 last summer.

Legends: Creedence Clearwater Revival's Opus Collection, a 16-track album for Starbucks, debuts at #25. The band first charted in 1968. And Frank Sinatra's Live At The Meadowlands re-enters the chart at #52. The album bowed (and initially peaked) at #88 in May. Sinatra first charted in 1946. This is his sixth live album to make the chart. His two biggest were the classic Sinatra At The Sands, which made the top 10 in 1966, and Sinatra-The Main Event Live, which went top 40 in 1975.

Until Sugarland's Love On The Inside debuted at #2 on The Billboard 200 in August 2008, the highest-charting album by a country duo on that chart was Brooks & Dunn's Hillbilly Deluxe, which debuted and peaked at #3 in 2005. So it's a striking coincidence that Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn announced that they are calling it quits the same week that Sugarland sets a raft of records. One of Brooks & Dunn's records is probably safe: As of this week, they have sold 22,294,000 albums, more than any other duo (from any genre) in the Nielsen/SoundScan era.

The Catalog Controversy: This is the 18th week since February 2008 that the top 10 on The Billboard 200 has excluded at least one of the week's 10 best-selling albums. Here's how that tally breaks down: Jackson's Thriller 25 and Josh Groban's Noel each would have had five weeks in the top 10 last year if catalog albums were allowed to compete on the big chart. Pearl Jam's Ten would have had one week in the top 10 in March. And the three aforementioned Jackson albums would have spent the past seven weeks in the top 10..

The Jackson boom has yet to run its course. And remastered versions of the Beatles' studio albums will be released on Sept. 9, concurrent with the much-anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band game. The current tally of 18 weeks since 2008 where the top 10 excluded at least one album because of the catalog rule could climb to 25 or 30 weeks before the year is out. That's a lot of weeks where the top 10 needed to carry an asterisk..

This is a serious and growing threat to the credibility of The Billboard 200. Those of us who love the charts hope the problem is solved before people's confidence in the charts is undermined..

Changing market realities have led Billboard to revise its chart policies many times over the years. Until Nov. 4, 2007, "exclusive" albums (albums sold at only one retail chain) were barred from The Billboard 200. This rule kept a pair of Garth Brooks albums off the chart and very nearly did the same to Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden, until the rule was jettisoned. Until Dec. 5, 1998, songs that weren't commercially available as singles were barred from the Hot 100. This kept two dozen songs that made the top 10 on the separate Hot 100 airplay chart from 1991 through 1998 from cracking the Hot 100 until this rule, too, was scrapped..

The current situation has a lot in common with the two earlier ones. In all three cases, the rules probably made sense at some point, but there came a time when the rules were causing more trouble than they were preventing..

Heads Up: George Strait, who has amassed more top 10 albums on The Billboard 200 than any other country artist in history, is expected to debut at #1 next week with Twang. Also due: Cobra Starship's Hot Mess, which features the top 10 smash "Good Girls Go Bad"; country artist Justin Moore's Justin Moore; rap collective Slaughterhouse's Slaughterhouse; Neil Diamond's Hot August Night/NYC; and an eponymous debut album by Jessie James, who had a song on the Confessions Of A Shopaholic soundtrack.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/40484/aug-9-2009-better-than-a-crystal-ball/

[MJJsAngel]

I love that so many people are buying Michael albums, and singles, I hope that he becomes the top selling artist of all time eventually. It's such a shame that he is not here to see this love :( Why couldn't this have happened when he was still with us!! I am so mad about that

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Remastered versions of the Beatles' studio albums will be released on Sept. 9, concurrent with the much-anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band game.

That will be battle..., and I expect that none of these reeditions will ever be on The Billboard 200 chart...

My new thread - Absolute MADONNA - Achievements + Awards
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73540

[PurpleParrot]

In Québec city Canada, at Archambault music stores, the charts is
#6 Number Ones
#10 The Essential..

Niice!

[Ms.MJ Fan2007]

Thats good
i hope when micheal was still living, i wish he counld see that he's still making money.

[froggytuff]

thanks for all your tabulation.
My hopes are HIGH to see mj's Thriller album to become the truly no1 album, to beat EAGLES spot....after that, there are really nothing else he can do to prove he is really on TOP.

Notwithstanding all the digital downloads. He may even be the best seller there for this year!

I am so excited. Hope everyone will want a Thriller album for their Christmas stocking!

[virgo_3079]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

I know it's little bit off-topic,but can someone explain WTH is going on with that page...

[Tom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

I know it's little bit off-topic,but can someone explain WTH is going on with that page...

Huh? What IS up with that? Mike's sales have exceeded 750 Million!

[Vici]

Um.. how come it says he has sold 350 million albums now? What a joke since he was in the list for 500-1 billion record sold.

It have always said 750 million on that list... someone fix it NOW :D

I see that the person who changed his sale-number has made a referance to The Daily Telegraph which states that He has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

please change the numbers back!

[earthlyme]

WTF? 350Mill? thats what he gave to charity...750Mill is how many albums he sold!! Can anyone correct it or someting? or contact the wikipedea?

[AGB]

A lot of that wikipedia list is completely wrong. The Beatles and Elvis Presley have not sold anywhere near 1 billion, that was figure released by their record labels for PR and that's the same with Michael for the 750 million figure. ABBA has not sold 370 million (that figure has been inflated by well over 100 million) and Nana Nouskouri and Queen have not sold 300 million either, those figures have been inflated by huge amounts same with A.R. Rahman, he has not sold anywhere near 200 million, there are several others on that list which have been inflated too.

The top 3 selling artists of all time are as follows according to actual figures that have been released:

1 - The Beatles - 450 million +
2 - Michael Jackson - 370 million
3 - Elvis - 300 million

[Vici]

A lot of that wikipedia list is completely wrong. The Beatles and Elvis Presley have not sold anywhere near 1 billion, that was figure released by their record labels for PR and that's the same with Michael for the 750 million figure. ABBA has not sold 370 million (that figure has been inflated by well over 100 million) and Nana Nouskouri and Queen have not sold 300 million either, those figures have been inflated by huge amounts same with A.R. Rahman, he has not sold anywhere near 200 million, there are several others on that list which have been inflated too.

The top 3 selling artists of all time are as follows according to actual figures that have been released:

1 - The Beatles - 450 million +
2 - Michael Jackson - 370 million
3 - Elvis - 300 million

Understand, but the "issue" here is that it said that Michael had sold more than 750 million on that exact list.. he was in the list of artists that has sold 500 million - 1 billion records.. and NOW someone has changed it to 350 million..

[AGB]

Understand, but the "issue" here is that it said that Michael had sold more than 750 million on that exact list.. he was in the list of artists that has sold 500 million - 1 billion records.. and NOW someone has changed it to 350 million..

I know what you mean, in all honesty if they say on there that Elvis and The Beatles have sold 1 billion then they ought to say Michael has sold a billion too. At the end of the day a large amount of that list is wrong anyway so it should be scrapped and actually compiled properly instead of people going on it and making up random ridiculous figures for a lot of the artists.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

So, is there a possibility to change Wikipedia? or to post the administrator of the site a mail with a complaint?

And what about his official web - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson

[mirrordut]

Thank you for your working... I wanna see that is the legacy of the KingOfPop
Michael... you're so wonderful :sad:

[nikos]

WOW!!!!!
Amazing!!!!:wild:

[Moonwalker.Fan]

It makes me really angry..., some fans here with relevant info should upgrade the information on the web..., its horrifying...
Why Sony or other official representatives dont upgrade many important and realistic information about Michael?

Just compate sites for Elvis and the Beatles!
many media and reporters take Wikipedia as relevant source and spread such BSs as facts!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson


His total lifetime earnings from royalties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royalties) on his solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million; some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars.[59] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson#cite_note-usatoday_finances-58)[212] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson#cite_note-211) This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson’s net worth was $236 million.[213] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson#cite_note-212).

[krism]

anyone can update wikipedia so its not always accurate. and yeah 20 million by the end of 2009 is definitely possible!

[smooth_criminal05]

Michael Jackson has sold way more than 370 million units as an artist. That is a huge understatement. Sony in it's recent press release even backed up the 750 million units as accurate, and re-iterated Thrillers sales over 100 million. These figures are UNIT sales, not album. When you include actual records, cassettes, CD's, DVD's, VHS, singles, digital downloads, ringtones, and all other forms of music purchase...Michael Jackson has indeed shifted 750 million units since The Jackson 5. This is not unrealistic at all. As for The Beatles and Elvis, while I agree 1 billion is most likely an inflated record label number, from what I have calculated both acts have sold upwards of 500 million units as well, and are within 50 to 150 million units of MJ's sales. Somebody needs to change the Wikipedia facts as they undermine the success of Michael. His success deserves to shown right along The Beatles and Elvis. Period.

[krism]

every record company inflates their artists figures. its impossible really to know who has sold what and how much

[Thriller_MJ]

It makes me so mad that when MJ was alive he got treated like utter crap and when he is dead he is loved more i mean WTF do people not have any respect for people when they are alive or is it only when there dead they get there attention, its sad

[krism]

i agree with this. the figures would be somewhere around that i think. all the companies inflate their artists sales and on the web its hard to know what is truth and what isnt because anyone can say anything and then another source picks it up and repeats it.


A lot of that wikipedia list is completely wrong. The Beatles and Elvis Presley have not sold anywhere near 1 billion, that was figure released by their record labels for PR and that's the same with Michael for the 750 million figure. ABBA has not sold 370 million (that figure has been inflated by well over 100 million) and Nana Nouskouri and Queen have not sold 300 million either, those figures have been inflated by huge amounts same with A.R. Rahman, he has not sold anywhere near 200 million, there are several others on that list which have been inflated too.

The top 3 selling artists of all time are as follows according to actual figures that have been released:

1 - The Beatles - 450 million +
2 - Michael Jackson - 370 million
3 - Elvis - 300 million

[krism]

yeah its sad how the world works at times and i think if michael was alive he would be so shocked and so happy to see how well his records are selling. prior to his death so many people wouldnt even mention his name dare admit they would buy a record of his and now hes dead and the records are all selling. irony!


It makes me so mad that when MJ was alive he got treated like utter crap and when he is dead he is loved more i mean WTF do people not have any respect for people when they are alive or is it only when there dead they get there attention, its sad

[Gwyneira]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

I know it's little bit off-topic,but can someone explain WTH is going on with that page...

ABBA has sold more than Michael? Now that's what I call good humour. XD

Maybe someone could edit it to say 750 mln+ and use the sources cited on the Michael Jackson wiki page as reference?

[AGB]

Michael Jackson has sold way more than 370 million units as an artist. That is a huge understatement. Sony in it's recent press release even backed up the 750 million units as accurate, and re-iterated Thrillers sales over 100 million. These figures are UNIT sales, not album. When you include actual records, cassettes, CD's, DVD's, VHS, singles, digital downloads, ringtones, and all other forms of music purchase...Michael Jackson has indeed shifted 750 million units since The Jackson 5. This is not unrealistic at all. As for The Beatles and Elvis, while I agree 1 billion is most likely an inflated record label number, from what I have calculated both acts have sold upwards of 500 million units as well, and are within 50 to 150 million units of MJ's sales. Somebody needs to change the Wikipedia facts as they undermine the success of Michael. His success deserves to shown right along The Beatles and Elvis. Period.

I wasn't talking about UNITS with the 370 million figure, I was talking purely about singles and albums sales combined I was not including ringtones and DVD and VHS sales etc. I was strictly talking about singles and album sales. If you count Michael's album and singles sales together he has sold 370 million at least, just like Elvis has sold 300 million and The Beatles have sold 450 million upwards. Now if you take into account ringtones and DVD's and VHS and other forms of music purchase and treat the sales as UNITS then yes all of those three artists figures would be much higher and it would be feasible to say that they all have sold over 500 million UNITS and I wouldn't object to Michael's 750 million figure as UNITS.

The thing is though is that the wikipedia list is supposed to be purely about album and single sales and not UNITS, so that's why I was saying how ludicrous that list is because Elvis and The Beatles have not sold 1 billion albums and singles and a lot of those artists on that list have not sold the amount it says they have either.

[krism]

i think we can all agree that michael sold a lotta records!

[AngieJ]

Thanks for posting this, smooth criminal05.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

I wasn't talking about UNITS with the 370 million figure, I was talking purely about singles and albums sales combined I was not including ringtones and DVD and VHS sales etc. I was strictly talking about singles and album sales. If you count Michael's album and singles sales together he has sold 370 million at least, just like Elvis has sold 300 million and The Beatles have sold 450 million upwards. Now if you take into account ringtones and DVD's and VHS and other forms of music purchase and treat the sales as UNITS then yes all of those three artists figures would be much higher and it would be feasible to say that they all have sold over 500 million UNITS and I wouldn't object to Michael's 750 million figure as UNITS.

The thing is though is that the wikipedia list is supposed to be purely about album and single sales and not UNITS, so that's why I was saying how ludicrous that list is because Elvis and The Beatles have not sold 1 billion albums and singles and a lot of those artists on that list have not sold the amount it says they have either.

I absolutely agree, but..., why the hell wikipedia has its rules that only relevant external links are permitted to support the information?
Where the hell are the Elvis sales numbers? On a fan page?

A few weeks ago I posted one "article", and the journalist wrote that Elvis sold 1.3 billion records...

Its about the point!

If somebody claims that Michael has sold 750 mill. records, so Elvis over a billion, its like a media twisted stupid competition... that Elvis has to be Bigger than Michael, if its obviously clear that he has never been!

but, just try to uprage the wikipedia about Michael sales numbers! You Will see how they fob/**** you off...., I tried it...

[AGB]

I absolutely agree, but..., why the hell wikipedia has its rules that only relevant external links are permitted to support the information?
Where the hell are the Elvis sales numbers? On a fan page?

A few weeks ago I posted one "article", and the journalist wrote that Elvis sold 1.3 billion records...

Its about the point!

If somebody claims that Michael has sold 750 mill. records, so Elvis over a billion, its like a media twisted stupid competition... that Elvis has to be Bigger than Michael, if its obviously clear that he has never been!

but, just try to uprage the wikipedia about Michael sales numbers! You Will see how they fob/**** you off...., I tried it...

I completely understand where you are coming from, I do agree it is wrong that Michael's achievements are being underestimated and that some people just tend to look on wikipedia and take everything as fact. This Elvis, Beatles and Michael battle has been going on for years and a lot of outlets have done pretty much everything to try and keep Michael at the bottom and inflate and over-inflate The Beatles and Elvis' sales to try and back-up their 'argument' that they are 'better'. This is what has happened at wikipedia, the people who are editing topics to do with these three acts obviously have an agenda and information is being twisted and manipulated to try and rewrite people's achievements.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

... and... for example, in comparison with Madonna and her achievements, even Elvis is overrated in all the ways...
My new thread - Absolute MADONNA - Achievements + Awards
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=73540 (http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73540)

[Jerin]

*This does not include single sales, digital downloads, dvd's, ringtones, illegally downloaded material, pirated albums, or countries that don't track album sales/refuse to reveal it. Just legally purchased ALBUMS.

If we include all those then the figures are surely going to reach 100 million.I am not joking but thats the truth.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

So, if wikipedia insists on official sources to support the ungraded information, on of. web site, there are offcial "numbers", so somybody could add michael on the list of artists selling 500-1 billion records!!!

http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/bio

Five of Jackson's solo albums - "Off the Wall," "Thriller," "Bad," "Dangerous" and "HIStory," all with Epic Records - are among the top-sellers of all time and “Thriller” holds the distinction as the largest selling album worldwide in the history of the recording industry with more than 70 million units sold. Additionally, singles released from the Thriller album sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, another all time record.

During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and "Thriller" as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award.

[DARKLIGHTDAN]

He's still doin it :)

[krism]

in 2007 guiness book of records listed michael jackson thriller has sold 65 million records. the 750 million records sold is just a myth. the top 2 selling artists are beatles and elvis.

[Arabian Knight]

in 2007 guiness book of records listed michael jackson thriller has sold 65 million records. the 750 million records sold is just a myth. the top 2 selling artists are beatles and elvis.

Why it is hard to believe! it was mentioned by reliable sources including guiness and he was awarded during the World Music Awards, I think Michael sold more than beetles and elvis, but no one wants a black man to be on top! :mad:

[indranee]

in 2007 guiness book of records listed michael jackson thriller has sold 65 million records. the 750 million records sold is just a myth. the top 2 selling artists are beatles and elvis.

didn't Michael get an award in 2006 which cited that Thriller has sold 104 million copies? if so, then Guinness is a bit behind the times ;)

[krism]

i dont think its got to do with race about elvis and beatles. theyve just been around more. if you ask most people who sold more elvis and beatles are always mentioned. beatles are credited as having sold 1 billion records. but mj fans say oh crap michael sold more. ive never understood peoples fascination with trying to make people bigger than they were. to be included among the top sellers in history is an honor period. and people will argue and disagree and thats fine. guiness books of records (which most agree is credible) said thriller sold 65 million records as of 2006. its probably around the 70 million mark now.

[indranee]

no, I distinctly remember him getting an award on stage where the person giving him the award said it was because Thriller had sold 104 million copies. and this was in 2006. so that 65-70 whatever million number is WRONG.

give me some time and I'll find that link.

[Arabian Knight]

give me some time and I'll find that link.

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jk2a9ctihc&feature=fvw

Thriller sold over 104 mil since 2006, I think it is now over 110 mil. Can You Dig It!! :clapping:

[AGB]

in 2007 guiness book of records listed michael jackson thriller has sold 65 million records. the 750 million records sold is just a myth. the top 2 selling artists are beatles and elvis.

Thriller if you include Thriller 25 has sold between 70-75 million. The top 2 selling artists are The Beatles and Michael Jackson. Like I said before the 750 million figure seemed to be referring to UNITS rather than purely just sales and that same thing applies to The Beatles and Elvis because no way on earth have they sold 1 billion because their albums and singles sales don't even add to anywhere near that. The Beatles are the biggest selling artists of all time while Michael is the biggest selling solo artist of all time.

[clarence82]

I think that the video showed above close the argument...

[troubleman84]

The sales figures for the "big three": Elvis, Beatles, MJ, are ALL inaccurrate. Elvis did 150 million copies, the Beatles did about 400 mill and MJ around 350 mill (most of his Epic stuff and adding in compilations from the Motown/Epic years). I'm sure he's closing in on the Beatles though. Sony Music said "Thriller" did 70 million copies alone worldwide as an album and the singles pulled in 30 additional million units (their words).

[troubleman84]

Thriller if you include Thriller 25 has sold between 70-75 million. The top 2 selling artists are The Beatles and Michael Jackson. Like I said before the 750 million figure seemed to be referring to UNITS rather than purely just sales and that same thing applies to The Beatles and Elvis because no way on earth have they sold 1 billion because their albums and singles sales don't even add to anywhere near that. The Beatles are the biggest selling artists of all time while Michael is the biggest selling solo artist of all time.

Units is way different than copies. It can be possible he did 750 million if it was for gross of everything he did post-Motown (since he only sold probably 10 million units worldwide solo-wise during his Motown tenure).

[Arabian Knight]

Why don’t we add up Michael’s sales when he was with the Jackson 5/Jacksons?

It is amazing how Michael “on his own” can do that, but still I think he should get credit for the Jacksons sales records.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

in 2007 guiness book of records listed michael jackson thriller has sold 65 million records. the 750 million records sold is just a myth. the top 2 selling artists are beatles and elvis.

The same myth is that Elvis has sold more records/albums than Michael! :doh:

Elvis records sales is mostly estimated, Michaels most accurate....

Its very simple but also complex to understand...., why Evis has not sold more than 500 mil. records (the Beatles maybe), absolutely not a billion...

[bobmoo79]

no, I distinctly remember him getting an award on stage where the person giving him the award said it was because Thriller had sold 104 million copies. and this was in 2006. so that 65-70 whatever million number is WRONG.

give me some time and I'll find that link.

Michael's people submitted this information to the Guiness Book of records but they never supplied any information to verify it. In fact, the guiness book of records says this in the issue that came out after the WMAs, which effectively distanced themselves from this claim - nobody has proben to them that 104million is correct.

No chart experts believe Thriller has sold 104million albums because there are NO statistics to back it up. Most experts seem to agree that Thriller has sold somwhere between 60 and 70million copies, so Sony's most recent figure of 70million sounds most reasonable.

[krism]

i agree 100%. i think its around the 70 million mark


Michael's people submitted this information to the Guiness Book of records but they never supplied any information to verify it. In fact, the guiness book of records says this in the issue that came out after the WMAs, which effectively distanced themselves from this claim - nobody has proben to them that 104million is correct.

No chart experts believe Thriller has sold 104million albums because there are NO statistics to back it up. Most experts seem to agree that Thriller has sold somwhere between 60 and 70million copies, so Sony's most recent figure of 70million sounds most reasonable.

[Arabian Knight]

I would like to urge you guys to take the highest known figure as reference not the lowest. If those figures were announced on major award shows such as “The World Music Awards” then we must consider their calculations for reference, in Michael’s case I rather take the highest figure for reference and wont contest or try to prove it wrong because we know how large his fan base, the number of people attended his tours, etc… You know that Michael spent a lot of time focusing on markets outside the USA, so he had a lot of exposure internationally and he is well known in so many places in the world where people probably never heard of Elivs or the Beetles (with all due respect). I think Michael achieved even more but there are conspiracy theories and he obviously had enemies and for some reasons they wanted him to go down! I actually think that the 750 mil figure could be lower than what Michael could’ve achieved if it wasn’t for the allegations, he could’ve had more than one bestselling album of all times, he should’ve won more awards, radio and TV stations should have played more of his music, subsequently he should’ve sold more records if everything went without allegations or trouble since 1993. It is actually impressive that he survived because this could’ve cost someone an entire career. Anyway I just want to say that I will always follow the 2006 figures announced on the World Music Awards unless it was corrected by them.

[troubleman84]

But the World Music Awards are not the authority on sales. This was either from MJ's camp or Guinness. The WMAs were just messengers to what they heard.

[Arabian Knight]

But the World Music Awards are not the authority on sales. This was either from MJ's camp or Guinness. The WMAs were just messengers to what they heard.

No one knows that for sure. What we know that it was “officially” announced on a reputable awards show and backed up by Guinness World Records. That’s enough for me, and most probably enough for all of us MJ fans to support MJ. Even if they were wrong, they must be declared wrong not by referring to Wiki-fake-pedia or probably award shows held in US. I bet no one can even prove that beeltles and evils sales are wrong or right.

[troubleman84]

A reputable awards show, yes, but I don't think they were the ones who calculate this stuff.

[druppelstop]

Elvis was during his lifetime never as big as MJ was. Elvis was huge but never caused madness like Thriller did. Elvis' career was short compared to MJ's. I really think that Elvis sold millions and millions after his death, thru all those shopping channel ads.

[indranee]

beeltles and evils LMAO!!!

:p

well, I was born in India (though I've been in the US for the past 30 years) and I can tell you MJ causes madness there whereas the Beeltles cause a few whimsical smiles and various nods of heads and evils perhaps an eyebrow raise or two.

the beeltles and evils are western singers with large followings... but MJ is the King of Pop. even in India, China, Malaysia, etc.

[KB50MJ]

With recent data available, HIStory should now be up to 9 million copies sold in Europe alone, Dangerous over 12 million, Bad over 14 million and Thriller well over 17 million. Remembering that since IFPI introduced its European certification (1994), none album ever reached 10 million, those figures are from an other world.

Best selling studio albums in Europe, 1995-2009:

#1 Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love
#2 Spice Girls Spice
#3 Michael Jackson History
#4 Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill
#5 Shania Twain Come On Over

Only two studio albums sold more than HIStory in Europe in the last 15 years. Pretty outstanding, not only it tops albums like Come On Over or Morning Glory, but it was also double-priced which means it was just about as big as Thriller in a gross point of view.

Best selling studio albums in Europe, 1990-2009:

#1 Michael Jackson Dangerous
#2 Whitney Houston Bodyguard
#3 Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love

None studio album has ever reached sales of Dangerous since it was released.

Best selling studio albums in Europe, 1985-2009:

#1 Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
#2 Michael Jackson Bad
#3 Phil Collins But Seriously
#4 Michael Jackson Dangerous
#5 Whitney Houston Bodyguard
#6 U2 The Joshua Tree

None studio album has ever reached sales of Bad since it was released since it was released as well. Brothers In Arms was released 2 years prior to it, with recent surge 'Bad' sales have now almost matched sales of BIA (about 200,000 copies away).

Best selling studio albums in Europe, ever:

#1 Michael Jackson Thriller
#2 Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
#3 Michael Jackson Bad

Just like Bad and Dangerous, since Thriller was released no album ever matched it.

[Arabian Knight]

beeltles and evils LMAO!!!

:p

Oh I just caught that typo! :D It wasn’t intentional. :smilerolleyes:


well, I was born in India (though I've been in the US for the past 30 years) and I can tell you MJ causes madness there whereas the Beeltles cause a few whimsical smiles and various nods of heads and evils perhaps an eyebrow raise or two.

the beeltles and evils are western singers with large followings... but MJ is the King of Pop. even in India, China, Malaysia, etc.

This is very true, and from where I come from there are people who doesn’t even know the beetles, but MJ is the most famous person on earth without doubt and that happened from his music. If everyone in India purchased a copy of Michael’s record then he will be well over 1 billion sales, that’s India alone! What about the rest of world! I donno why some people find it hard to believe.

[abc123]

Reading this thread is interesting, but also a bit amusing. The only thing that's pretty clear is that MJ, Elvis and the Beatles sold unbelievable amounts of records.

Comparisons between the three can never be 100% objective, even in the unlikely event that we would have the exact sales figures for each act. The main reason for this is that each of them had his/their heyday at a different point in history.

1) MJ was for example able to sell a lot of records in, say, Eastern Europe while that market was closed at the time when Elvis and the Beatles were active.

2) The world population continues to grow, so since there were more people in the 1980's than in the 1950's, more people were also buying records.

3) In the 1950's when the world was still recovering from world war II kids had less money to spend than from, say, the 1960's onwards.

4) Up until the mid-1960's when the Beatles and Bob Dylan changed all that the 45rpm was the most important medium for selling popular music.

5) The Beatles released on average two albums per year, Elvis two or three per year (plus a truckload of compilations, movie soundtracks and live albums) - MJ one or two per decade. On the one hand this gives an advantage to the Beatles and (especially) Elvis since there is more product to buy for fans. On the other hand, if MJ had released new albums six months after "Thriller" or "Bad" sales figures probably would have been different.

I think that some people here underestimate the commercial and cultural impact that Elvis, the Beatles and others have had. Maybe this has to do with a certain lack of knowledge about musical history, but most of it probably has to do with the prejudices that you have on any fan forum. Go talk at a Elvis and Beatles forum about all this and you would get the same thing. There are many ways to explain sales figures and chart statistics, and everyone can more or less interpret them the way he or she wants.

[bobmoo79]

No one knows that for sure. What we know that it was “officially” announced on a reputable awards show and backed up by Guinness World Records. That’s enough for me, and most probably enough for all of us MJ fans to support MJ. Even if they were wrong, they must be declared wrong not by referring to Wiki-fake-pedia or probably award shows held in US. I bet no one can even prove that beeltles and evils sales are wrong or right.

You are wrong.

ANYBODY can request to have a Guinness world record, but they have to be able to verify the facts - this is usually done by a Guinness rep.
In this case, Guinness never received any data to back up MJ's claim that Thriller had sold 104 million copies and they admitted this in their book. I bet you anything that the record was removed from the next issue.

Does anybody here have the latest copy to verify this?? If not, I'll check when I next go to WHSmith.

It was almost certainly MJ's people who set up the WMA fiasco and brought the Guinness representative along for authenticity. The WMA and Guinness were just using the information supplied by MJ's people, which was never proven.
WMA just wanted Mike to make his first public appearance in the UK on their awards show and so gave him an award without checking the data. After all, they probably didn't think they needed to - Mike had after all already been 'awarded' by Guinness.
Also, WMA have been known for incorrectly giving awards before, as has been documented on chart statistic websites. They are good, but not always correct (though usually are).


Sales for Elvis and Beatles are definitely inflated and all charts experts will admit that. When they were around, sales data was largely estimated and very incomplete in comparison to today. So I can say with 100% certainty that Elvis and Beatles sales data is wrong, just as Mike's sales data is wrong.

Record companies often inflate sales and MJ is no exception.

[Arabian Knight]

You are wrong.

ANYBODY can request to have a Guinness world record, but they have to be able to verify the facts - this is usually done by a Guinness rep.
In this case, Guinness never received any data to back up MJ's claim that Thriller had sold 104 million copies and they admitted this in their book. I bet you anything that the record was removed from the next issue.
Does anybody here have the latest copy to verify this?? If not, I'll check when I next go to WHSmith.
It is strange that Guinness would do that in the 21 century! Why they would add him and award him for those achievements in a world ceremony and then claim that they didn’t verify the facts?! How often that happen at Guinness?


It was almost certainly MJ's people who set up the WMA fiasco and brought the Guinness representative along for authenticity. The WMA and Guinness were just using the information supplied by MJ's people, which was never proven.
WMA just wanted Mike to make his first public appearance in the UK on their awards show and so gave him an award without checking the data. After all, they probably didn't think they needed to - Mike had after all already been 'awarded' by Guinness.
Also, WMA have been known for incorrectly giving awards before, as has been documented on chart statistic websites. They are good, but not always correct (though usually are).
We don’t know that for sure unless you have a reliable source to prove that was just a setup and intentional, I won’t speculate unless WMA would release a statement and I know they won’t.


Sales for Elvis and Beatles are definitely inflated and all charts experts will admit that. When they were around, sales data was largely estimated and very incomplete in comparison to today. So I can say with 100% certainty that Elvis and Beatles sales data is wrong..
I agree

[troubleman84]

Yeah Guinness never has been able to prove that 104 million number. Sony itself said the album pushed 70 million and that the singles from it pushed an additional 30 million (according to their MJ bio). So who knows?

[Moonwalker.Fan]

The main difference in considering album sales among The Beatles, Elvis and Michael is that Michaels album sale can be supported by many official sources and regular chart performances around the globe, on the contrary ... the Beatles and Elvis albums were from/in the 60s and 70s mostly estimated, including the sale in Eastern Europe (up to vs. after 1989), Asia...!!!

[Moonwalker.Fan]

We can agree one another that Michael has sold more records (especially albums) than Elvis, thats for sure!!!

BUT, why media has always been referring to Elvis as the best seller (with that a billion number???) if all music experts DO know that its nonsense???

Why Michael has alwayd been underestimated in sale of records if the experts do know its not true?

Who can change that? Is it possible to report officially that Elvis sold markedly less records than Michael Jackson?

Is the agenda of some bosses from media and "conspirators" acceptable? ... definitely not..., but ... somebody should change that...

[indranee]

LOL! I don't think underestimating Elvis and The Beatles influence in other parts of the world has anything to do with a "lack of knowledge about musical history" :lol:

it's got to do with first hand info and experience ;)

[smooth_criminal05]

Updated the first post with new numbers from the US.

[abc123]

LOL! I don't think underestimating Elvis and The Beatles influence in other parts of the world has anything to do with a "lack of knowledge about musical history" :lol:

it's got to do with first hand info and experience ;)
Hmm, seems to me that getting it right is the result of info and experience. The word underestimating by itself implies getting it wrong.;)

But I'm not arguing that Elvis or the Beatles sold more or even as many records than MJ - only that when it comes to record sales the impact of all three during their heyday was comparable in terms of how they dominated the market and the charts. Comparing sales figures of artists from different eras only tells us part of the story though. In the unlikely event that there for example would be a "next Elvis or Michael" he will probably sell a lot less records than those two simply because people don't buy as many records anymore even though his impact might be the same. And just as the 2000's are a different marketplace with different circumstances than the 1980's, the same goes when comparing the 1980's with the 1950's or the 1950's with the 1930's.

[KB50MJ]

As far as I see it. Including albums plus singles.

1. The Beatles- 450-490 million records

2. MJ- 335 million BEFORE he died, and around 350 now.

3. Elvis- 300-330 million

BUT

Lets say that both Elvis and the beatles outsold MJ.

Michael Jackson has the best selling album of all time. Is there even another album that came close to selling 70 million? He released way more albums than Michael, but why don't they have an album that has sold anywhere in the vicinity of Thriller. So what if Elvis or The Beatles sold more records. If you took an average of both artists complete catalog, MJ's would be higher. Here is a good explanation for the validity behind this:
Example: Many people consider Michael Jordan to be the best player in basketball, but did you know Jordan isn't even the NBA's all time leading scorer. That would belong to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul Jabbar scoring 38387 while Jordan having 32292. However, Kareem played in more games than Jordan (similar to Elvis and the beatles having more albums than MJ). Jordan played in 1072 games while Abdul-Jabbar played in 1560. Abdul-Jabbar averaged 24.6 points per game, while Jordan averaged 30.1 over the span of their careers. Both were great players, but many consider Michael Jordan the best to play the game.
In correlation, you could argue that Elvis and the Beatles are better because he has sold more records. However, you could also argue that Michael Jackson is better because he has the best selling album of all time, and averages a better selling rate per album than Elvis or the Beatles.

[zizousama]

As far as I see it. Including albums plus singles.

1. The Beatles- 450-490 million records

2. MJ- 335 million BEFORE he died, and around 350 now.

3. Elvis- 300-330 million

BUT

Lets say that both Elvis and the beatles outsold MJ.

Michael Jackson has the best selling album of all time. Is there even another album that came close to selling 70 million? He released way more albums than Michael, but why don't they have an album that has sold anywhere in the vicinity of Thriller. So what if Elvis or The Beatles sold more records. If you took an average of both artists complete catalog, MJ's would be higher. Here is a good explanation for the validity behind this:
Example: Many people consider Michael Jordan to be the best player in basketball, but did you know Jordan isn't even the NBA's all time leading scorer. That would belong to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul Jabbar scoring 38387 while Jordan having 32292. However, Kareem played in more games than Jordan (similar to Elvis and the beatles having more albums than MJ). Jordan played in 1072 games while Abdul-Jabbar played in 1560. Abdul-Jabbar averaged 24.6 points per game, while Jordan averaged 30.1 over the span of their careers. Both were great players, but many consider Michael Jordan the best to play the game.
In correlation, you could argue that Elvis and the Beatles are better because he has sold more records. However, you could also argue that Michael Jackson is better because he has the best selling album of all time, and averages a better selling rate per album than Elvis or the Beatles.


Totally agree with you. It's not about your total but your effect.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Despite of these huge numbers, its still... low number... 11.5 mill., I mean..., there was many more fans than those who bought MJs albums after his death, where are they? the fans of the 80s???

I would expect substantially higher numbers!!!

[smooth_criminal05]

11.5 million people purchased MJ albums since his death. That does not include singles, digital downloads, ringtones, or DVD sales. If these were included, the number would be over 30 million.

[Hess]

The numbers speaks for them self. MJ is DA KING!

[MASSDAGOD]

ive been reading up on how much mj sold since his death (this includes digital downloads and singles) and it was (3.8 albums and 7.6 singles) IN AMERICA ALONE (from death to aug 5th).

link

http://www.billboard.com/column/dailynoise/michael-jackson-dave-grohl-supergroup-kristina-1004000617.story#/column/dailynoise/michael-jackson-dave-grohl-supergroup-kristina-1004000617.story


Is there a way to get an accurate number for MJ's current total sales (including digital and singles)..? because if he sold album 12 million in america ALONE since his death..


I can only imagine the worldwide numbers are...


someone please help me.

[smooth_criminal05]

Updated the numbers...Jackson has sold over 12 million albums this summer already around the world, shifting another 875,000 this week alone.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

11.5 million people purchased MJ albums since his death. That does not include singles, digital downloads, ringtones, or DVD sales. If these were included, the number would be over 30 million.

I am really looking forward to the end of the year...:clapping:

Although, the Beatles are going to release re-editions of their albums... so... how many records will they sell...? :evil::fortuneteller::doh:

[Calotte12]

The Beatles will not sell as much as jackson... maybe they will sell 1-2 millions around the world

[Moonwalker.Fan]

The Beatles will not sell as much as jackson... maybe they will sell 1-2 millions around the world

Oh honey...:doh:

there will be released their most known albums..., so I expect at least 5 mill. of each, and more than (at least) 30 mill. worldwide... :timer::cry:

[Angel Cake]

yay for Michael :yes: :clapping:
I wish he can see this :cry:

It's a big fat case of you don't know what you've got til it's gone.

Impressive sales. Surey no-one will ever outsell Thriller!

[smooth_criminal05]

Oh honey...:doh:

there will be released their most known albums..., so I expect at least 5 mill. of each, and more than (at least) 30 mill. worldwide... :timer::cry:

When The Beatles re-release some of their albums, I imagine they will sell a combined total of 4-5 million. They will not sell another 5 million copies each, when some of the albums have never even sold that in the first place. If however the catalogue becomes available on I-tunes then expect huge digital downloads. I still don't think The Beatles has any chance of outselling MJ this year though don't worry.

[Calotte12]

Oh honey...:doh:

there will be released their most known albums..., so I expect at least 5 mill. of each, and more than (at least) 30 mill. worldwide... :timer::cry:

Are you kidding me ?

[L&L=L.O.V.E.]

Are you kidding me ?

That's what I was thinking:P
Those beatles albums will never cross the 30 million together. They maybe sell max. 5 million albums. That's enough for them:lol:
Michael will definately end this year around the 30 million.
With the release of this is it, the album sales will make another turning point. It will boost the sales.

[MLVD]

The Essential Michael Jackson is STILL Number 1 in Australia, With Number Ones not that far away.

[Misayko]

the king of pop album is number 2 at the moment (from no1 -.-)

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Are you kidding me ?

No, I am not, I am rational and serious..., you will see..., they will have a huge promotion, and media support...

Do you remember their GH album - 1s?

30 mill. copies have been sold of the GH compilation...:bugeyed

[elmari]

Just want to bring this to your attention. I just found this thread in the 'Enough is Enough' section.

http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74122

Apparently an MJ hater on wikipedia has gone in and changed his numbers, putting him FOURTH in RECORD SALES after The Beatles, Elvis and ABBA.


The Beatles United Kingdom 1960–1970 Rock / Pop rock 1 billion
Elvis Presley United States 1953–1977 Rock and Roll / Pop 1 billion
ABBA Sweden 1972–1982 Pop / Disco 370 million
Michael Jackson United States 1964–2009 Pop / R&B / Rock 350 million

The word is that the 'author' of the article is an MJ hater and has locked the article so that no one can change it. There is a forum where people have gone in and tried to get the author to change the numbers.

Anyways, I know that we can't take statistics at Wikipedia seriously. But a lot of people who don't know any better do take wikipedia articles as true. It's just sad that Michael is not getting acknowledged for his accomplishments.

Anyways, are we considering RECORDS as the same as ALBUMS? I know that we've differentiated UNITS vs. ALBUMS here.

The list also says that the Jackson 5 have sold 100+ million records.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._music_artists

HERE IS THE TALK PAGE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Li..._music_artists

[Moonwalker.Fan]

So, the point of Wiki is that if any registered member can change the "numbers", why not some of MJJC?

There are many threads and several members here specialized in selling and the "numbers"..., so why dont they upgrade MJs wikipedia site, and the lists of best selling artists... like the so-called haters??

[Vici]

The word is that the 'author' of the article is an MJ hater and has locked the article so that no one can change it. There is a forum where people have gone in and tried to get the author to change the numbers.




Say what?

Ive never heard anything as a locked article on wikipedia. Hows that possible? What if new official information is released.. you cant add/edit it?

I thought that anyone with an account could edit an article there.

[elmari]

Say what?

Ive never heard anything as a locked article on wikipedia. Hows that possible? What if new official information is released.. you cant add/edit it?

I thought that anyone with an account could edit an article there.

Yeah, I went to the article site and there is a little gold lock on the upper right hand corner. Someone had locked it. I don't know if it was the original author of the article or just someone with a lot of clout at wikipedia (like someon who has written a lot of articles). But people have been trying to convince this guy, fredastaire, to fix Michael's numbers to the rightful one on the discussion page of the article.

The lock means that it is 'protected' and has 'full protection' and can only be edited by administrators. Here is all the info on what the lock means and how we can get info changed. It seems like a long, arduous process that still needs to be approved by administrators and apparently there is an administrator that is hating on Michael.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#full


Here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

HERE IS THE TALK PAGE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Li..._music_artists


I'm telling you. There is something fishy going on. I think it's the 'system' or something like that!

[jessicawa]

Hi , I'm new to this forum. I'm a huge fan from Canada. Soo happy to hear that his sales are enormous. I hope he breaks all kinds of records. Love knowing that the world is hearing his music and message. This is his legacy and what he wanted. He always spoke of wanting his creative works to be remembers and to last forever. Just wish he could be here to see this. Being a Christian , I know he is in Heaven watching all of this happening and is smiling for sure. I've bought Jackson #1 (Yellow CD cover), OffThe Wall, Thriller 25 Anniv. , Dangerous and Bad CDs. Also, bought Dangerous and Bad concert DVD's and one called Michael Jackson Triumph and Trial (about the second trial) . Next will buy Blood...Dance, and Invicible. Can anyone tell me if I'll be missing any songs. Love ALL HIS MUSIC.

[jessicawa]

Thankyou for keeping track of these numbers. Would like to see the wikipedia sites updated with these numbers so the world can see just how amazing Michael's music is. Whereabouts are you from in Canada, eh? I'm from Vernon, BC.

[Earth_Song1]

thanks for all your tabulation.
My hopes are HIGH to see mj's Thriller album to become the truly no1 album, to beat EAGLES spot....after that, there are really nothing else he can do to prove he is really on TOP.

Notwithstanding all the digital downloads. He may even be the best seller there for this year!

I am so excited. Hope everyone will want a Thriller album for their Christmas stocking!

MJ is soooo much better than The Eagles!

I bought Thriller 25 here recently!

[moonwalkbhoy]

id expect a new album out this yr at sum point,every1 will buy this album

[Earth_Song1]

id expect a new album out this yr at sum point,every1 will buy this album

I know I will!

[kes1984]

Just curious, how many albums did Elvis have?
How many did the Beatles have?

MJ only had 6 studio albums with Sony and 4 with Motown. Not counting Jacksons / Jackson 5 stuff. So he only had 10 studio albums. I think if you averaged out sales per album, MJ would be well up on Elvis and the Beatles.

As will happen in time with MJ, Elvis has had many posthumous releases. When these happen for MJ with all the unreleased material, just watch his sales skyrocket further!

Also consider that The Beatles (Lennon) and Elvis have been dead a long time now. We can see from MJ's huge increase in sales that this definitely has a baring. MJ has only been dead for 2 months and he is already at comparable sales figures to these. Given time, he will surely fly past them.

Further consider that piracy is big nowadays and many people will just burn a copy from their friend's CD rather than fork out money to buy it!

To me, even if MJ is behind the others, if you pro-rata it for time deceased and number of albums, MJ would slaughter the others.

[kes1984]

BTW - I like to think I have done my own little part in MJ's posthumous sales. I bought family members the whole set of MJ albums and DVD's! lol

[moonwalkbhoy]

mj will have alot more albums i recon.

[smooth_criminal05]

Updated the US figures based on recent data. Jackson has sold 4.63 million albums in the US since his death! He shifted another 190,000 albums this week alone including almost 70,000 copies of Number Ones. Number Ones was the #2 biggest selling album in the country this week. The Essential remained in the Top 10 at #9. Thriller dropped to #16.

I expect a small pick up in sales this week due to the increased media coverage and MJ's birthday this weekend. Lot's of shows/radio stations are holding tributes this weekend for him, plus there will be many parties as well. I imagine this will minimally impact his sales for next weeks numbers.

[souldreamer7]

I bought my niece 14 yrs old in July Off The Wall - Invincible (including Blood On The Dance Floor) So she could have a MJ collection. I remember the music store that day i bought all the albums... ppl was flocking around to grab the CDs

[Billy J]

Please keep updating this. Thanks man.

[abc123]

Just curious, how many albums did Elvis have?
How many did the Beatles have?

MJ only had 6 studio albums with Sony and 4 with Motown. Not counting Jacksons / Jackson 5 stuff. So he only had 10 studio albums. I think if you averaged out sales per album, MJ would be well up on Elvis and the Beatles.

As will happen in time with MJ, Elvis has had many posthumous releases. When these happen for MJ with all the unreleased material, just watch his sales skyrocket further!

Also consider that The Beatles (Lennon) and Elvis have been dead a long time now. We can see from MJ's huge increase in sales that this definitely has a baring. MJ has only been dead for 2 months and he is already at comparable sales figures to these. Given time, he will surely fly past them.

Further consider that piracy is big nowadays and many people will just burn a copy from their friend's CD rather than fork out money to buy it!

To me, even if MJ is behind the others, if you pro-rata it for time deceased and number of albums, MJ would slaughter the others.
The Beatles had 13 albums from 1963 to 1970, not including compilations. Elvis had countless albums - regular studio albums, soundtracks from his movies, live albums, gospel albums, compilations and so on. On a sales per album basis MJ is definitely ahead of the Beatles and Elvis. Keep in mind though that if you release a new album every couple of months like Elvis or two per year like the Beatles did that sales per album automatically suffer. If MJ had released a new album every six months or so in the 80's I doubt if any of them would have sold as many as Thriller or Bad. His total of albums sold would have been even higher than it is today, but it would be divided over all those albums.

[Hess]

I will only buy MJ albums and DVD's as presents to friends from now on.

We should keep buying his music as gifts for friends and family.

[smooth_criminal05]

I updated the sales figures with new global numbers that came in tonight. Jackson sold over 700,000 albums this week around the world. Some important milestones were achieved this week including:

*All figures below are from June 25th to now and are global numbers.
--

-OFF THE WALL HAS NOW SOLD OVER 1 MILLION COPIES

-DANGEROUS HAS NOW SOLD OVER 1 MILLION COPIES

-THRILLER HAS OFFICIALLY PASSED THE 2.5 MILLION MARK IN SALES

-INVINCIBLE HAS PASSED 500,000 IN SALES

-OVER 500,000 JACKSON 5 ALBUMS HAVE BEEN SOLD

-MICHAEL JACKSON HAS NOW SOLD 13 MILLION ALBUMS


Also,

-HISTORY is approaching 500,000 in sales. Should cross this landmark next week or the week after.

-THRILLER will break 3 million by end of September.

-ESSENTIAL will pass the 2 million mark by next week.

Go Michael!

[elmari]

Thanks for always being on top of things smooth_criminal05!

Great news! What about #1s? It's been doing great here in the US. How about in the rest of the world?

Michael selling 13 million albums in two months is phenomenal! I can't wait till it is officially announced that THRILLER has surpassed the Eagles Greatest Hits as all time best selling album in the USA. I can't wait for that day. Stupid journalists have been writing that Thriller has been surpassed by the Eagles in the 1990s, but fail to mention that it's only in the US and not world sales. Thriller's world sales are UNBREAKABLE! :)


ETA: I just checked the OP and Number 1s is right on the heels of the Thriller global sales. I think only a few hundred thousand copies make the difference.

[smooth_criminal05]

Number Ones has sold over 2.3 million albums globally this summer, about 200,000 behind Thriller. The US has accounted for the majority of those sales for Number Ones as the album has been huge. In fact, Number Ones is now the biggest selling album of the year in the US (It surpassed Taylor Swift's Fearless last week). It has been either #1 or #2 on the album charts for 9 weeks in a row!

[smooth_criminal05]

Next week, Jackson will only have 1 album in the US top 10.

[smooth_criminal05]

US Numbers For Last Week Of August Are Now Included. Some New Interesting Stats:

-Jackson maintained 2 top 10 hits this week, coming in at #2 (Number Ones)%

[smooth_criminal05]

Updated the figures based on new RIAA numbers. Sales for the Jackson catalogue in the US nudged up a bit over 10% last week due to high media coverage. Sales of Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous all surged this week. Total album sales were 210,000. Incredible!

Source for new numbers: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/09/02/on-the-charts-colbie-caillat-breaks-through-to-number-one/

[Metalfish2]

When you mention History are you alkin bou the double album?

[AGB]

When you mention History are you alkin bou the double album?

Yes he is talking about the double album :).

[elmari]

Wow, almost 18 million albums sold worldwide in just a few months!

[ItsALLforLOVE]

I agree with buying Michael's music this Christmas. The prices are good and the music is BETTER than the new crap coming out.

[Agent M]

Number Ones has sold over 2.3 million albums globally this summer, about 200,000 behind Thriller. The US has accounted for the majority of those sales for Number Ones as the album has been huge. In fact, Number Ones is now the biggest selling album of the year in the US (It surpassed Taylor Swift's Fearless last week). It has been either #1 or #2 on the album charts for 9 weeks in a row!

Thank you smooth_criminal05. That is the news I have been waiting to hear. Nothing against Taylor who is respectable artist in her own right but I want Michael to have the best selling of the year, this year of all years.

[smooth_criminal05]

Wow, almost 18 million albums sold worldwide in just a few months!

The US sales are not added onto the global sales, I just highli

[Metalfish2]

Yes he is talking about the double album :).

Are you sure, cuz Ive only seen History the single disk charting, havent seent the double album on the charts.
If you ask me they should just stop printing the History greatest hits disk and put out Disk 2

[Herrie]

Are you sure, cuz Ive only seen History the single disk charting, havent seent the double album on the charts.
If you ask me they should just stop printing the History greatest hits disk and put out Disk 2
Agree, we already have other "Greatest Hits" albums. They should release the disc with all the great "new" songs seperately so more people are likely to buy it...

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Why people dont buy the HIStory album - the new songs????

History is my second fav album after OtW, and it has a very strong message!

People should buy this album, and SONY should promote it more then ever before... (after the huge campaign in 1995-97)

[Moonwalker.Fan]

... and BTW... when RIAA is going to upgrade the Thriller sale numbers, and certificate the Thriller as the best seller in the US!

Technically Thriller is now the best seller reaching 30 mil..., isnt it???

[smooth_criminal05]

The reason why sales of HIStory are lower than other albums is due to the very high price point. It retails for double the price compared to his other albums. In Canada, they are now charging $25 for HIStory which is way lower than the price just 6 months ago when it would go for $45! But why would someone buy a double disc album for $25 when The Essential is sitting right beside it, which also has 2 discs, for half the price. This is why HIStory's sales are lower. The low sales for Invincible can be explained by the lack of promotion on Sony's part. I simply NEVER see it in record stores.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

imo, Invincible was the worst MJs album, and has only a few good songs.

The price of HIStory is weird..., they could separate the new and old songs..., why there is the GHs HIStory CD separately from the new songs, but not the new ones from the old ones????

[moonwalkbhoy]

history should be re marketed with a new cover, with no hits on it, just scream etc.

[AGB]

Are you sure, cuz Ive only seen History the single disk charting, havent seent the double album on the charts.
If you ask me they should just stop printing the History greatest hits disk and put out Disk 2

HIStory the whole package has been charting in several countries in Europe and in the first few weeks was selling quite well but the sales have now dropped quite a bit. The reason why HIStory isn't selling as much as say BAD and Dangerous is because of the price as it is quite expensive for a backcatalog album. If Disc 2 of HIStory with all the new songs was sold separately then it would sell a lot more and I agree Sony should do this and I've wondered why they haven't since they sold Disc 1 by itself.

Invincible has been doing pretty well considering its Michael's least successful album, its managed to sell over 500,000 copies this year so far which is pretty impressive and strangely enough it was one of the albums that was actually increasing it sales at one point week by week.

The Ultimate Collection has recently been charting in some countries which is a surprise because of the price but I guess for newer fans its a bargain for them because they are getting a package that covers the work of Michael's whole career, plus unreleased tracks/demos, plus a DVD.

I expect that there will be a hike in the sales of Michael's albums when the trailer for This Is It is released and when the film itself is released. How much of a hike in sales there will be all depends upon how well the film is marketed.

[SteveJ]

Invincible has been doing pretty well considering its Michael's least successful album, its managed to sell over 500,000 copies this year so far which is pretty impressive and strangely enough it was one of the albums that was actually increasing it sales at one point week by week.

I have seen a lot of positivity these days towards Invincible. People finally start to realize that this album is REALLY GOOD! People need to realize this fact unless they need Michael to make them realize it through his performances, if he was able to promote this album properly then you’d seen different reactions towards this album. I think we should be less driven by the media being told what to do, what to choose or how to live our lives, listen to the album without any influence and you will start to realize how good it is. I am sure it stratifies most tastes in music. :yes:

[KB50MJ]

Just want to let everyone know that by January I will be updating my list of all of MJ's sales for new outcomes. I expect sales to last strong into early next year.



By the end of the year some experts say that MJ will sell over 30 million ALBUMS alone.

And possibly 20 million singles making his total 50 million records sold by the end of the year.

And history is a strong international seller. It only sold 4 million in the U.S. but over 22 million worldwide. thats almost impossible. but MJ did it. Actually HIStory established the trend that you don't need the U.S. market to sell big worldwide.

The New York Times did an article on it: http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/25/business/michael-jackson-s-history-shows-the-growing-stature-of-global-marketing.html?scp=2&sq=Michael%20Jackson-%20HIStory&st=cse


But his sales are incredible so far. Especially in this day of age.

But Invincible is a HIGHLY underrated album. Its my 2nd favorite MJ albums(Off The Wall is #1).

Despite poor promotion it still sold 12 million worldwide.

[AGB]

I have seen a lot of positivity these days towards Invincible. People finally start to realize that this album is REALLY GOOD! People need to realize this fact unless they need Michael to make them realize it through his performances, if he was able to promote this album properly then you’d seen different reactions towards this album. I think we should be less driven by the media being told what to do, what to choose or how to live our lives, listen to the album without any influence and you will start to realize how good it is. I am sure it stratifies most tastes in music. :yes:

That's true I've been hearing the Invincible album being played in quite a few places, people are becoming more aware of it and are realising that it is a decent album.

[smooth_criminal05]

UPDATED GLOBAL NUMBERS FOR SEPT 3RD 2009:
*According to Media Traffic

-TOTAL GLOBAL ALBUM SALES THIS WEEK WERE 650,000

-JACKSON HAD 4/10 BEST SELLING ALBUMS INCLUDING:
-THRILLER (#4)
-NUMBER ONES (#7)
-ESSENTIAL (#8)
-BAD (#10)

-JACKSON HAD 8/40 BEST SELLING ALBUMS THIS WEEK (20% or 1/5)

-THRILLER HAS NOW SOLD 2.68 MILLION COPIES SINCE DEATH AND IS THE 3RD BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM GLOBALLY IN 2009. WILL BREAK THE 3 MILLION MARK BY END OF SEPTEMBER.

-THRILLER HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE 2009'S BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM GLOBALLY. KEEP BUYING!

-ESSENTIAL HAS NOW SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SINCE JACKSON'S DEATH

-TOTAL GLOBAL ALBUM SALES NOW STAND AT 13.65 MILLION. WILL BREAK 14 MILLION NEXT WEEK!

--
*Remember, this is solely ALBUM sales. It DOES NOT include pirated, illegally downloaded material, DVD's, Digital Downloads, Ringtones, etc.

[mistermaxxx]

i expect him breaking more records before the year is through. the numbers are strong and staying that way.

[parli123]

You cannot really get good music like that anymore. I hope his last unreleased album comes out soon..

[Yazman]

HELL YEAH! Mike's still breaking records, go man go!

[Metalfish2]

They were talkin about Invincible tonight on CNN. Showed clip of YRMW.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

I wonder if SONY is going to upgrade the numbers for US and global sale statistics...!!!

And of course, evidently media will not report this massive global success http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-09-02-jackson-legacy_N.htm

He has sold 5 million albums in 2009, up from sales of 297,000 year to date before his death, and his Number Ones is 2009's best-selling album, overtaking Taylor Swift's Fearless, according to Nielsen SoundScan., but hey..., they will promote The Beatles reeditions and RIAA will upgrade The Eagles fictitios numbers..

[KB50MJ]

UPDATED GLOBAL NUMBERS FOR SEPT 3RD 2009:
*According to Media Traffic

-TOTAL GLOBAL ALBUM SALES THIS WEEK WERE 650,000

-JACKSON HAD 4/10 BEST SELLING ALBUMS INCLUDING:
-THRILLER (#4)
-NUMBER ONES (#7)
-ESSENTIAL (#8)
-BAD (#10)

-JACKSON HAD 8/40 BEST SELLING ALBUMS THIS WEEK (20% or 1/5)

-THRILLER HAS NOW SOLD 2.68 MILLION COPIES SINCE DEATH AND IS THE 3RD BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM GLOBALLY IN 2009. WILL BREAK THE 3 MILLION MARK BY END OF SEPTEMBER.

-THRILLER HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE 2009'S BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM GLOBALLY. KEEP BUYING!

-ESSENTIAL HAS NOW SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SINCE JACKSON'S DEATH

-TOTAL GLOBAL ALBUM SALES NOW STAND AT 13.65 MILLION. WILL BREAK 14 MILLION NEXT WEEK!

--
*Remember, this is solely ALBUM sales. It DOES NOT include pirated, illegally downloaded material, DVD's, Digital Downloads, Ringtones, etc.

Also Number ones is at 2.564 million

If you add single I believe he sold around 30-35 million this year so far.

[smooth_criminal05]

I UPDATED FIRST POST WITH THIS WEEKS NEW NUMBERS FOR U.S.

-Number Ones sold another 64,000 copies and moved to #4 on the charts. It's grand total this summer surges to well over 1.6 million.

-Thriller sold another 38,000 copies and is #9 on the charts. The album is now only 6,000 copies away from breaking the 1 million mark in the US.

-The Essential moved another 26,000+ copies and came in at #20 on the charts.

-Jackson's catalogue shifted another 200,000 albums this week taking the grand total since his death to over 5 million albums sold. This is incredible!

-Bad, Dangerous, Off The Wall, and HIStory all moved out of the Top 50, shifting below 10,000 units each.


--
*On a side note I expect next week's charts to be dominated by The Beatles as their entire catalogue is re-released tomorrow. Sales are brisk on Amazon, as their albums occupy 13/25 slots on the best sellers list. The band could have up to 5/10 best sellers on next week's list with total weekly sales over 750,000! I'm not sure just how big this Beatles re-launch will be chart wise. Some music industry experts are talking US CD sales of 5 millon+ by years end, with global figures easily dwarfing 10 million. We'll have to see. If this is true, The Beatles could overtake Jackson in US and International Sales. While this is good news for the Jackson estate, it is bad news for Michael on the charts. I expect Jackson's "Number Ones" will move to #11 or #12 next week, while only Essential and Thriller will be remaining in the US Top 50.

More to come later...

[Moonwalker.Fan]

As I predict, The Beatles re-releases will reach at least 30 mill. world wide..., Michael has reached 15 mill. so far....

BTW, dont the Elvis fans claim that Elvis sold 20 mill. units in US within 24 hours after his death? So the Beatles only 700k...

Somebody could follow the charts and report this... in details...

[MySerenity5]

^
Let's see.... if they do get around 30 million....

But considering the Beatles has more albums than Mike, Michael did extraordinary well... :)

[elmari]

Argh. . . why did the Beatles have to re-release their albums now? But Michael probably knew about it and signed off on it I bet since stuff like this is planned way in advance. Man, he would have been making bank with the TII tour and the royalties from Sony/ATV (had he been alive :().

Well, at least the kids will benefit from the re-release of the Beatles catalog. So it's good in some ways. But I too hope that it will be Michael that will be on top of record sales at the end of the year. Maybe when the TII soundtrack comes out, that will help a lot.

[MySerenity5]

Well, at least the kids will benefit from the re-release of the Beatles catalog. So it's good in some ways. But I too hope that it will be Michael that will be on top of record sales at the end of the year. Maybe when the TII soundtrack comes out, that will help a lot.

Wow! I forgot about that. For every Beatles albums sold, his estate gets a piece.. :) (GO MJ!)

Yea, I really hope that Michael top the record sales for this year....

[smooth_criminal05]

The Beatles will not sell 30 million records in 3.5 months. It just won't happen. No artist has ever sold that many records in that short of a period. In order for them to achieve that, every position on the Billboard top 10 must be filled with Beatles, and they would have to sell 1 million albums+ per week in the US alone atleast for a sold 4-5 weeks. Then we would know its possible. I think by years end the Beatles catalogue will have shifted between 10-15 million albums globally and about 5-6 million in the US. That's a much more reasonable figure.

[elmari]

I went looking for some more info on what was up with the World Music Awards and the rumor that Prince might do a tribute to Michael. Went to the official WMA website and they have this section on the homepage of "BEST SELLING ALBUMS OF THE WEEK AROUND THE WORLD" with the album cover and the country's flag. Michael was the best selling album in 12 out of 16 countries during this particular week. I'm not sure if this was this last week or when, but thought it was cool to see which countries had Michael as #1.

Check it out:

http://www.worldmusicawards.com/


Also, no word on what's going on for the WMAs 2009. There is no info on the website besides the date of the Award show which is Nov 15, 2009.

[*MissChanel*]

Damm why do people love the Beatles for?

I see four boring dudes with ugly hair playing a guitar, that's it. Their music is dated! I honestly never got the whole hype about the Beatles.

I really hope Michael Jackson is the biggest selling artist in the year of his death. He deserves that title! Damm the older 50's are all gonna buy the Beatles, taking them back down memory lane to feel young again I bet ya for sure! :(

[virgo_3079]

Damm why do people love the Beatles for?

I see four boring dudes with ugly hair playing a guitar, that's it. Their music is dated! I honestly never got the whole hype about the Beatles.

I really hope Michael Jackson is the biggest selling artist in the year of his death. He deserves that title! Damm the older 50's are all gonna buy the Beatles, taking them back down memory lane to feel young again I bet ya for sure! :(

Don't say that,it's not nice

Even Mike loves the Beatles and just think,you are here saying "Dated",20 years later,there will be someone calling Mike's music "dated" as well
Just to remind you,the more album the Beatles sell,the more money will be added into Mike's estate

[*MissChanel*]

Billie Jean is 26 years old and sure does not sound dated. Sorry if being honest offends you.

[MJultimatemusiclegen]

Don't say that,it's not nice

Even Mike loves the Beatles and just think,you are here saying "Dated",20 years later,there will be someone calling Mike's music "dated" as well
Just to remind you,the more album the Beatles sell,the more money will be added into Mike's estate

yes, but the problem is most 'normal people' who arnt fans dont know this, and it will look bad for MJ if the beatles sell more, having been on older band with no recent deaths.

[smooth_criminal05]

I just read a Times article where they quoted EMI saying they shipped 4 million CD's to the US with an additional 1 million globally. Now thats just the initial shipment which tells me my estimates are much more realistic. I'm guessing they will ship again for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Beatles should sell about 5 million albums in the US this year (takes their total for the decade to 33 million....the best selling act of the decade, beating out Eminem by a million records). Globally, The Beatles will sell about 10 million records this year taking their total for the decade to over 50 million! Like it or not, The Beatles are by far the most successful act in musical history sales wise, especially in the US. Ever since the start, the US and UK have had an obsession with The Beatles, and this re-release will only prove that. The Times article talked about the fact that The Beatles will earn a new record for the most albums in the UK Top 10 and I believe it. It's conceivable that the band will have up to 7/10 best selling albums there, with probably 4/10 or 5/10 in the US!

[*MissChanel*]

The Beatles have released a zillion albums.

Michael Jackson has released not even a quarter of the amount of albums that the Beatles have yet he is the biggest selling solo artist in history. Michael Jackson is the best selling artist in terms of numbers per album, hence Thriller - The Biggest Album In History.

[trabzon]

I think that the new album will sale at least 15 million coppies when it releases. Yes i know it's so hard to come true in these days music endustry but i truly believe that.

He will break the last big record in the history of music industry. And no one can replicate that until the doomsday.

[*MissChanel*]

What new album are you talking about? lol

[Chaos]

how many units has mj sold in total? 35 million I'm guessing?

[trabzon]

What new album are you talking about? lol

The album that Michael was working on it before his death. :(

[smooth_criminal05]

My estimations were even high. It doesn't look like we have to worry guys about The Beatles overtaking MJ. Just read an article from Billboard that stated The Beatles re-released albums are projected to sell a combined 500,000 this week, and 1.3 million within the first month and 2 million by the end of the year. This is compared to MJ's already 5 million albums sold as of now. The Beatles catalogue will be lucky to hit 7-8 million by years end globally

http://www.billboard.com/#/news/the-beatles-here-there-and-everywhere-except-1004010092.story

[SteveJ]

^^ Dose Michael owns the Beatles catalogue?

[Hess]

^^ Dose Michael owns the Beatles catalogue?


Yes he does.

So all Beatles products sold will make him money!

[Moonwalker.Fan]

I just read a Times article where they quoted EMI saying they shipped 4 million CD's to the US with an additional 1 million globally. Now thats just the initial shipment which tells me my estimates are much more realistic. I'm guessing they will ship again for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Beatles should sell about 5 million albums in the US this year (takes their total for the decade to 33 million....the best selling act of the decade, beating out Eminem by a million records). Globally, The Beatles will sell about 10 million records this year taking their total for the decade to over 50 million! Like it or not, The Beatles are by far the most successful act in musical history sales wise, especially in the US. Ever since the start, the US and UK have had an obsession with The Beatles, and this re-release will only prove that. The Times article talked about the fact that The Beatles will earn a new record for the most albums in the UK Top 10 and I believe it. It's conceivable that the band will have up to 7/10 best selling albums there, with probably 4/10 or 5/10 in the US!

How many albums Michael has in TOP Ten after his death?

The whole Billboard chart..., I am looking forward to see and read the statistical yearbook.

[Moonwalker.Fan]

^^ Dose Michael owns the Beatles catalogue?

Why would you believe he doesnt own this catalog?

[Moonwalker.Fan]

My estimations were even high. It doesn't look like we have to worry guys about The Beatles overtaking MJ. Just read an article from Billboard that stated The Beatles re-released albums are projected to sell a combined 500,000 this week, and 1.3 million within the first month and 2 million by the end of the year. This is compared to MJ's already 5 million albums sold as of now. The Beatles catalogue will be lucky to hit 7-8 million by years end globally

http://www.billboard.com/#/news/the-beatles-here-there-and-everywhere-except-1004010092.story

I still believe that the Beatles will overcome MJs sale..., BUT if the record company plans to release only limited number of records, lets say 10 mill. or 15 mill., thats different... from unlimited selling... based on the fans interest..., like it was with their album 1s = reached 30 mill. copies...

[iamthriller82]

Why would you believe he doesnt own this catalog?

I think he was simply just asking.

[babyface34]

And people still wonder why Mike never gave up that ATV catologue "thingy"? lol

[Moonwalker.Fan]

The Beatles Vs. M.J.: A New Battle For No. 1

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/media/beatles-vs-mj-new-battle/


Jackson's death created new business opportunities for the managers of his estate and other people who had planned to capitalize on his fame. That would include his record distributors at Sony Music Entertainment. (SNE: 26.63, -0.24, -0.89%)

Presumably, new Jackson albums and such hot products as theatrical and home-market movies, television shows, documentaries and videos were in the offing. The footage of Jackson's supposedly white-hot rehearsals, filmed shortly before his death, could also be worth a fortune since they represent the last Jackson performances.

Jackson's commercial potential from the grave is formidable: The New York Times estimated in an August piece that he had already reaped $100 million from a movie deal and merchandising arrangements.

"The executors expect another $100 million to roll in by the end of the year," the Times pointed out.

Jackson's commercial prospects down the road also look promising. The Times and others -- such as this columnist -- have noted, the long-term business model for the Jackson estate's galaxy of financial opportunities is Elvis Presley. Presley's estate produced about $55 million in revenue in 2008, according to Billboard magazine.

Observers have said disgustedly that Presley has become identified with Americana at its most grotesque, as his managers have wrung every nickel possible from his legacy. They have a point, of course, but so what? If you think Presley was exploited, get ready for The Michael Jackson Circus.

Jackson should be able to eclipse that in years to come, considering he had greater crossover appeal than Presley. Jackson has also benefited from other factors. He is a staple of blogs and tabloid media, which keeps his name fresh everyday. He was also an early superstar on MTV, which propelled him in the 1980s.

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Even with Jackson's potential for riches, the Beatles look even more promising.

Read more in the link...

[smooth_criminal05]

I still believe that the Beatles will overcome MJs sale..., BUT if the record company plans to release only limited number of records, lets say 10 mill. or 15 mill., thats different... from unlimited selling... based on the fans interest..., like it was with their album 1s = reached 30 mill. copies...

EMI confirmed they only shipped 5 million records to stores globally. This will not outpace Jackson's amazing numbers. Billboard is on the ball with their estimations, The Beatles will not even have the #1 album next week...that is going to Jay Z. Billboard is expecting first week sales of 500,000 in the US for the whole Beatles catalogue. This will only go down from here. I believe total US sales for this Beatles re-issue should come in around 3 million by the end of the year. Jackson on the other hand will be toppling 6 million. Jackson will also beat The Beatles globally, where his sales will topple 17 million by years end while the beatles should stall out around 8-9 million. Your forgetting, many Beatles fans will simply illegally download these new remastered versions and not pay the $300 price tag.

[dancemasterman]

it was MJ's idea to remaster these and release them at this time.

[*MissChanel*]

I still believe that the Beatles will overcome MJs sale...,
I can see why you think this, you have made it clear that your a Beatles and Elvis fan. That's cool but your wrong. The media are hyping this up as usual. Michael Jackson will overcome the Beatles in sales, I have no doubt.

[MySerenity5]

I can see why you think this, you have made it clear that your a Beatles and Elvis fan. That's cool but your wrong. The media are hyping this up as usual. Michael Jackson will overcome the Beatles in sales, I have no doubt.

MJ for the win! ^_^

[Moonwalker.Fan]

many Beatles fans will simply illegally download these new remastered versions and not pay the $300 price tag.

as well as MJs fans..., and Ive always been urging them - Slovak fans on na web blog - not to buy illegal or ripped CDs, DVDs... officially released.., including all the official merchandise staff...

We have to support Michael more than ever before...

[Moonwalker.Fan]

I can see why you think this, you have made it clear that your a Beatles and Elvis fan. That's cool but your wrong. The media are hyping this up as usual. Michael Jackson will overcome the Beatles in sales, I have no doubt.


Me and a the beatles or Elvis fan???

NO WAY!

See this! http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75514&page=5

[*MissChanel*]

^ lol opps my bad sorry hun x

[lilsusie]

Whether the beatles sell lesser or more, the money is going into MJ's estate. It's a win win situation for MJ. ;)

[smooth_criminal05]

UPDATED GLOBAL NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 11TH 2009:

Some key highlights for the week:

-Michael Jackson only had 1 Top 10 album this week due to a string of new releases. His Thriller album was the #6 best selling album in the world this week.

-Thriller shifted another 107,000 copies taking its grand total since his death to almost 2.8 million!

-Jackson had 8/40 best selling albums this week with Thriller, Number Ones, Essential, Bad, Off The Wall, Dangerous, King Of Pop, and Invincible all in the Top 40!

-Jackson's entire catalogue sold another 610,000 albums globally this week taking his total sales after death to 14.26 MILLION Albums!

[elmari]

UPDATED GLOBAL NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 11TH 2009:

Some key highlights for the week:

-Michael Jackson only had 1 Top 10 album this week due to a string of new releases. His Thriller album was the #6 best selling album in the world this week.

-Thriller shifted another 107,000 copies taking its grand total since his death to almost 2.8 million!

-Jackson had 8/40 best selling albums this week with Thriller, Number Ones, Essential, Bad, Off The Wall, Dangerous, King Of Pop, and Invincible all in the Top 40!

-Jackson's entire catalogue sold another 610,000 albums globally this week taking his total sales after death to 14.26 MILLION Albums!

Great news! That's still a lot of albums for a slow week, IMO.

Then next week there is going to be the VMAs with Janet's tribute and the dance tribute, as well as, the release of the TII trailer to keep MJ on people's minds at the store.

[Calotte12]

MJ will never sold more than the beatles.

They have at least 200 millions albums sales in between.

[MySerenity5]

^

Yeah... but keep in mind that the Beatles has MORE albums than Michael.

Oh well, sales does not really matter to me. It's the quality of the album that counts. That's every musician's true legacy in my opinion.

[elmari]

Both the Beatles and Elvis have a lot more albums for fans to buy and they've been around a good 10-20 years before little MJ burst on the scene with J5. But you gotta realize that Michael's phenomenal record sales didn't start until late 1979 with 'Off the Wall'. I am sure J5 sold a lot of records. But the majority of Michael's record sales came from 80s and 90s, IMO.

So when you compare the number of records/units sold in a time period, Michael probably has a higher percentage because he has sold about 750 million units in 40 yrs. Elvis blew up in the 50s, so he's been selling records for about 60 years, 20 years more than Michael and technically 30 years if we want to start with Michael's solo career. The Beatles blew up in the 60s, so that is 50 years of selling records.

Michael is a young gun compared to these two, yet he is right up there with them and will probably surpass them one day as more and more people discover Michael and all the unreleased music and footage is released.

[Chaos]

if u count MJs J5 day sales then he beats the beatles I think, I think its only fair to add his j5 sales with his solo stuff cos if it had not been for MJ the J5 would not of had sold anything near they did

[elmari]

Before Michael had passed and his record sales skyrocketed in the US and all over the world, Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' had been the top selling album in the US. Michael's 'Number Ones' had exceeded 'Fearless' some time over the summer.

But I just read an article today that Swift is going to re-release 'Fearless' at the end of October with 6 new songs and a DVD of special features. I think her record company wants to give the album a push to become the biggest selling US album by the end of the year.

But the TII movie is going to be released at the same time and I think that will drive a lot of people who hadn't purchased Michael's music yet to the stores if the trailers are gonna be playing on TV. I hope Michael comes out on top.


Swift to re-release 'Fearless' with 6 new songs
Sept. 10, 2009, 8:28 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) -- Taylor Swift is giving fans some new music, even though she's not yet releasing a new album.

The 19-year-old country and pop sensation is re-releasing her top-selling CD "Fearless" Oct. 27 with six new songs. She will also include a DVD of photos, tour footage and her videos, including her comedic clip with T-Pain from the CMT Awards earlier this year.


"Fearless" has sold almost 4 million copies since it was released last November. It was named album of the year by the Academy of Country Music.

On Wednesday, Swift was nominated for four Country Music Association Awards, including entertainer of the year. She's also up for an MTV Video Music Award on Sunday.

The CD/DVD of "Fearless Platinum Edition" will be released Oct. 27.

[Tom]

Before Michael had passed and his record sales skyrocketed in the US and all over the world, Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' had been the top selling album in the US. Michael's 'Number Ones' had exceeded 'Fearless' some time over the summer.

But I just read an article today that Swift is going to re-release 'Fearless' at the end of October with 6 new songs and a DVD of special features. I think her record company wants to give the album a push to become the biggest selling US album by the end of the year.

But the TII movie is going to be released at the same time and I think that will drive a lot of people who hadn't purchased Michael's music yet to the stores if the trailers are gonna be playing on TV. I hope Michael comes out on top.


Swift to re-release 'Fearless' with 6 new songs
Sept. 10, 2009, 8:28 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) -- Taylor Swift is giving fans some new music, even though she's not yet releasing a new album.

The 19-year-old country and pop sensation is re-releasing her top-selling CD "Fearless" Oct. 27 with six new songs. She will also include a DVD of photos, tour footage and her videos, including her comedic clip with T-Pain from the CMT Awards earlier this year.


"Fearless" has sold almost 4 million copies since it was released last November. It was named album of the year by the Academy of Country Music.

On Wednesday, Swift was nominated for four Country Music Association Awards, including entertainer of the year. She's also up for an MTV Video Music Award on Sunday.

The CD/DVD of "Fearless Platinum Edition" will be released Oct. 27.

Ah that sucks. But I can see where she is coming from. If my album sales were poor because of another artists death I would probably want to re-release it later. Maybe not this soon but hey.

[loveforever]

beeltles and evils LMAO!!!

:p

well, I was born in India (though I've been in the US for the past 30 years) and I can tell you MJ causes madness there whereas the Beeltles cause a few whimsical smiles and various nods of heads and evils perhaps an eyebrow raise or two.

the beeltles and evils are western singers with large followings... but MJ is the King of Pop. even in India, China, Malaysia, etc.

__________________________________________________ _________________________-

I totally agree with you. In asian, there are huge amount of Mj fans. they even worshiped him like god. The superstars in these countries are also the fans of Mj. by the way, I am chinese. To be honese, I don't know who is beetles, or evils when I am the kid, but I know almost every classmates in my class are mj's fan.

[elmari]

Ah that sucks. But I can see where she is coming from. If my album sales were poor because of another artists death I would probably want to re-release it later. Maybe not this soon but hey.

I am thinking a lot of people might just download the new songs from online. She gives incentive for people to buy the album with the DVD.

I guess only die hard TS fans will buy this. But I know that the difference btw Number Ones and Fearless is not that big, so the re-release of Fearless might give her that extra push.

[smooth_criminal05]

Before Michael had passed and his record sales skyrocketed in the US and all over the world, Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' had been the top selling album in the US. Michael's 'Number Ones' had exceeded 'Fearless' some time over the summer.

But I just read an article today that Swift is going to re-release 'Fearless' at the end of October with 6 new songs and a DVD of special features. I think her record company wants to give the album a push to become the biggest selling US album by the end of the year.

But the TII movie is going to be released at the same time and I think that will drive a lot of people who hadn't purchased Michael's music yet to the stores if the trailers are gonna be playing on TV. I hope Michael comes out on top.


Swift to re-release 'Fearless' with 6 new songs
Sept. 10, 2009, 8:28 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) -- Taylor Swift is giving fans some new music, even though she's not yet releasing a new album.

The 19-year-old country and pop sensation is re-releasing her top-selling CD "Fearless" Oct. 27 with six new songs. She will also include a DVD of photos, tour footage and her videos, including her comedic clip with T-Pain from the CMT Awards earlier this year.


"Fearless" has sold almost 4 million copies since it was released last November. It was named album of the year by the Academy of Country Music.

On Wednesday, Swift was nominated for four Country Music Association Awards, including entertainer of the year. She's also up for an MTV Video Music Award on Sunday.

The CD/DVD of "Fearless Platinum Edition" will be released Oct. 27.


Fearless is still selling 25,000-30,000 copies per week in the US and it's been 10 months since the album was released. If this is true and Taylor Swift is going to re-release her album, we can kiss the #1 spot goodbye for Michael. By October 27th, Swift will only be about 120,000-150,000 copies behind Number Ones. If that week her album sells let's say 150,000 copies compared to Number One's 20,000 copies... then she is almost tied again. I'm sorry to say, that if Swift does re-release Fearless then she will have the #1 album of the year. Her popularity in the US is huge and lasting. I'd say in the 2 months with a re-release, she will probably sell another 500,000-600,000 copies in November alone. Probably 750,000 by years end.

[MySerenity5]

Fearless is still selling 25,000-30,000 copies per week in the US and it's been 10 months since the album was released. If this is true and Taylor Swift is going to re-release her album, we can kiss the #1 spot goodbye for Michael. By October 27th, Swift will only be about 120,000-150,000 copies behind Number Ones. If that week her album sells let's say 150,000 copies compared to Number One's 20,000 copies... then she is almost tied again. I'm sorry to say, that if Swift does re-release Fearless then she will have the #1 album of the year. Her popularity in the US is huge and lasting. I'd say in the 2 months with a re-release, she will probably sell another 500,000-600,000 copies.

Damn her and her teen-angst songs that little girls eat up.... LOLS!

Oh well Mike.... At least you still have the record for Thriller... That one I'm sure no one will beat!

[Arty]

UPDATED GLOBAL NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 11TH 2009:

Some key highlights for the week:

-Michael Jackson only had 1 Top 10 album this week due to a string of new releases. His Thriller album was the #6 best selling album in the world this week.

-Thriller shifted another 107,000 copies taking its grand total since his death to almost 2.8 million!

-Jackson had 8/40 best selling albums this week with Thriller, Number Ones, Essential, Bad, Off The Wall, Dangerous, King Of Pop, and Invincible all in the Top 40!

-Jackson's entire catalogue sold another 610,000 albums globally this week taking his total sales after death to 14.26 MILLION Albums!

??? Why did sales drop so much???

[smooth_criminal05]

??? Why did sales drop so much???

Sales did not drop that much at all. Jackson's catalogue still sold over 600,000 copies which is incredible. He still has the best selling catalogue of any musical act this week. The difference was that there were some BIG releases such as the new Whitney Houston album plus Miley Cyrus. So Michael's albums were just knocked down several positions. Total sales did not drop that bad compared to any other week.

Just a note, next week Jackson will probably not have any top 10's at all globally because of The Beatles collection that was re-released this week plus Jay Z's new album release. I imagine The Beatles will sell well over 1 million albums next week globally (550,000 in the US alone). The Beatles should have 13 albums in the Top 40 next week, Jackson should probably still get 5. Jay Z's new album will sell 350,000-400,000 in the US and debut at #1. I imagine Jackson will still sell 500,000 albums next week. His sales will not begin to rise again until This Is It is released at the end of October.

[xXMJJXx]

what about the tribute at the VMA's plus the "this is it " trailer wouldn't that help his album sales?

[Tom]

what about the tribute at the VMA's plus the "this is it " trailer wouldn't that help his album sales?

Yep I would expect so. Probably not enough to make a great return to the top but it really depends on the sucess of the show. So we'll have to wait and see ;)

[Arty]

what about the tribute at the VMA's plus the "this is it " trailer wouldn't that help his album sales?

VMA??? Who is watching MTV nowdays??? Nobody!!

[smooth_criminal05]

I don't expect The VMA's will have a huge effect on sales. Not enough to increase sales from the previous week that's for sure. Remember, only about 10 million Americans will be watching the show.

*By the way, an update on The Beatles sales, incase you haven't noticed Billboard and Hits Daily Double are a tad Beatles obsessed and boy does it show. It looks like Abbey Road will sell 100,000 copies this week making it #3 on the US charts next week. Take a good look at the Top Pop Catalogue this week guys because next week Michael Jackson will only have 1 album in it. The rest will all be Beatles. Industry experts are now predicting The Beatles catalogue to sell 600,000 copies this week in the US. (2 million by Halloween, and 3.5 million by years end). This should take the global Beatles numbers to 1.3 million this week (4 million by Halloween and 7 million by years end).

[Calotte12]

if u count MJs J5 day sales then he beats the beatles I think, I think its only fair to add his j5 sales with his solo stuff cos if it had not been for MJ the J5 would not of had sold anything near they did

Then, add 100 millions for Paul McCartney solo career.

[KB50MJ]

CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.billboard.com/news/beatlemania-hits-retail-as-cd-reissues-sell-1004011616.story#/news/beatlemania-hits-retail-as-cd-reissues-sell-1004011616.story

[xXMJJXx]

CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.billboard.com/news/beatlemania-hits-retail-as-cd-reissues-sell-1004011616.story#/news/beatlemania-hits-retail-as-cd-reissues-sell-1004011616.story

oh god :(

[smooth_criminal05]

^ Don't worry guys, The Beatles will not overtake Jackson. Say they sell 600,000 in their debut week. Remember, Jackson sold 1.1 million during the week of his memorial alone. Jackson will still beat The Beatles this year in US and global sales. No need to worry.

[Arty]

^ Don't worry guys, The Beatles will not overtake Jackson. Say they sell 600,000 in their debut week. Remember, Jackson sold 1.1 million during the week of his memorial alone. Jackson will still beat The Beatles this year in US and global sales. No need to worry.

Don´t underestimate them. They are selling huge worldwide not only US. In Europe they sell like crazy. ANd they will continue to sell very large numbers Christmas is just around the corner don´t forget!

[moonwalkbhoy]

the this is it album will sell like crazy if there is a few new tracks on it.

[Arty]

the this is it album will sell like crazy if there is a few new tracks on it.

Only one new track!

[MySerenity5]

Gosh... Arty.... Are you a Beatles fan as well? Sheesh.... XD

Well, if that's the case... for Christmas.. I'll buy MJ Cds for my whole family.. LOLS!

[KB50MJ]

^ Don't worry guys, The Beatles will not overtake Jackson. Say they sell 600,000 in their debut week. Remember, Jackson sold 1.1 million during the week of his memorial alone. Jackson will still beat The Beatles this year in US and global sales. No need to worry.

Did they break any chart records that MJ set in June and July?

[Arty]

Gosh... Arty.... Are you a Beatles fan as well? Sheesh.... XD

Well, if that's the case... for Christmas.. I'll buy MJ Cds for my whole family.. LOLS!

No I´m not a Beatles fan but I don´t mind if you buy me a record of them I will not put my money for a Beatles record on the table but I ´m always happy to get a present.

[Arty]

Did they break any chart records that MJ set in June and July?

I think it is a new record because they´ll have so many albums on the charts all at once that must be a new record!

Take a look at amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/music/ref=pd_ts_zgc_m_music_display_on_website_more?pf_r d_p=487071831&pf_rd_s=right-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=5174&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0FH167EPE447AF3ZT18G

Freaking 9 Beatles albums in the top ten! With two boxsets at No1. and No2. for 200 Dollars!!!! Beatles fans must be very rich!!

[smooth_criminal05]

There are no records that will be beating Michael, and here is why:

-Next week, The Beatles will have 5 of the top 10 best selling albums. (Michael had 6)

-The Beatles will have 9/10 top pop catalogue albums next week (Michael had 10)

-The Beatles will sell around 600,000 albums next week in the US (Michael sold 1.1 million during the week of his memorial)

-The Beatles will not be selling much digital downloads since their songs are not available on I-tunes (Michael made a record selling 2.6 million downloads in 1 week)

-The Beatles will not have the #1 album in the US this week or any week in the future (Michael had the #1 album for 6 weeks)

-The Beatles have 9/10 and 13/15 best selling albums on Amazon (Michael had the ENTIRE top 15 best selling albums on Amazon for over a week)

So DON'T panic guys, Michael's records are safe. The Beatles are coming damn close to some but they are not going to break them. Michael will remain the #1 seller of the year both in the US and globally. His records will stand.

[xXMJJXx]

There are no records that will be beating Michael, and here is why:

-Next week, The Beatles will have 5 of the top 10 best selling albums. (Michael had 6)

-The Beatles will have 9/10 top pop catalogue albums next week (Michael had 10)

-The Beatles will sell around 600,000 albums next week in the US (Michael sold 1.1 million during the week of his memorial)

-The Beatles will not be selling much digital downloads since their songs are not available on I-tunes (Michael made a record selling 2.6 million downloads in 1 week)

-The Beatles will not have the #1 album in the US this week or any week in the future (Michael had the #1 album for 6 weeks)

-The Beatles have 9/10 and 13/15 best selling albums on Amazon (Michael had the ENTIRE top 15 best selling albums on Amazon for over a week)

So DON'T panic guys, Michael's records are safe. The Beatles are coming damn close to some but they are not going to break them. Michael will remain the #1 seller of the year both in the US and globally. His records will stand.

thank you for the info makes me feel a lot better

[Arabian Knight]

Let us also give interest in Michael’s sales outside the US since he himself refers to his sales records as “Worldwide” not just US due to conspiracies according to him from an interview with Ed Bradley in 2003.

[MJJLaugh]

In fact, Gail Mitchell, senior editor at Billboard magazine, uses a different metric to set Jackson apart from other music stars: his lack of recent success.

"Michael Jackson sold out 50 concerts in a matter of hours, this despite not having a recent hit song or record and, truth be told, being an artist who really only had four big albums a long time ago," from Off the Wall(1979)to Dangerous(1991), Mitchell says. "How many artists could do that? I may be idealistic, BUT I THINK HIS LEGACY WILL TRUMP ALL OTHERS."

This is an excerpt from the link to the USAtoday article. I like what the BillBoard guy says at the end and I think he's right!

[Moonwalker.Fan]

UPDATED GLOBAL NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 11TH 2009:

Some key highlights for the week:

-Michael Jackson only had 1 Top 10 album this week due to a string of new releases. His Thriller album was the #6 best selling album in the world this week.

-Thriller shifted another 107,000 copies taking its grand total since his death to almost 2.8 million!

-Jackson had 8/40 best selling albums this week with Thriller, Number Ones, Essential, Bad, Off The Wall, Dangerous, King Of Pop, and Invincible all in the Top 40!

-Jackson's entire catalogue sold another 610,000 albums globally this week taking his total sales after death to 14.26 MILLION Albums!


^ Don't worry guys, The Beatles will not overtake Jackson. Say they sell 600,000 in their debut week. Remember, Jackson sold 1.1 million during the week of his memorial alone. Jackson will still beat The Beatles this year in US and global sales. No need to worry.

OK, these are the numbers since june 26, but what about the numbers of selling starting from january 1, 2009????

[smooth_criminal05]

OK, these are the numbers since june 26, but what about the numbers of selling starting from january 1, 2009????

Michael Jackson sold 300,000 albums in 2009 from January 1st to June 24th in the United States. He sold 600,000 albums globally in the same time period. The numbers on this thread are only AFTER his death, so technically if you are looking for numbers for the entire year then you would simply add 300,000 to the US totals and 600,000 to the global totals.

[AGB]

I expect Michael's sales to increase this week because of the special VMA tribute and also because of the premiere of the trailer for the This Is It film. A lot more people are going to tune in this year than usual.

[smooth_criminal05]

Just throwing these numbers out there, for the This Is It movie I'm projecting:

US Gross: $40 Million
Total Global Gross: $120 Million

[xXMJJXx]

Just throwing these numbers out there, for the This Is It movie I'm projecting:

US Gross: $40 Million
Total Global Gross: $120 Million

so if it really makes those numbers is that good or bad? I mean can it make more than that?

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Just throwing these numbers out there, for the This Is It movie I'm projecting:

US Gross: $40 Million
Total Global Gross: $120 Million

You mean only the theater project, or also the DVD sale?

I have some worries that This Is It will not be so "cool" or successful in the US, and even in the rest of the world...., I dont know why, but I have a feeling that it will be - disappointment... and tabloid will make fun of it...

[smooth_criminal05]

You mean only the theater project, or also the DVD sale?

I have some worries that This Is It will not be so "cool" or successful in the US, and even in the rest of the world...., I dont know why, but I have a feeling that it will be - disappointment... and tabloid will make fun of it...

I mean just from the theater portion. I believe $40 million is reasonable for the US. It will be a well publicized movie and get lots of interest from curious fans who want to see Michael in his last days. A lot will depend on reviews as well, if they come out amazing then you can automatically add 10-20 million on that figure. But I think 40 million is a very reasonable figure for gross revenue in the US with an additional 80 million globally. Remember, Sony paid $60 million for the rights for this footage plus is putting $10 million into promotion. Thats $70 million right there! They will not settle for anything less. Atleast $120 million gross will allow them to profit.

[AGB]

I actually think that if the promotion is done correctly then I reckon the film could do $300 million worldwide at the box office or possibly more. Obviously a lot of it depends upon public reaction. This could be one of the biggest movies of the year because I can see fans going to see this multiple times.

[smooth_criminal05]

FIRST POST UPDATED WITH NEW US NUMBERS: JACKSON SALES FALL

Sales for the week of September 16th fell drastically due to the low Jackson coverage during that week. The new re-release of The Beatles catalogue plus huge interest in the new Jay Z album, preoccupied music buying consumers allowing for sales in Jackson's catalogue to tumble this week. Jackson only had one (1) Top 10 Album with Number Ones, which was the 10th best selling album this week in the US, shifting 46,000 copies. In fact, MJ only had 3/40 best selling albums this week: (Number Ones, Essential, Thriller).

-The one bright spot, Thriller has officially sold over 1 million copies in the US since Jackson's death.

-Total album sales this week for Jackson's catalogue were 132,000 taking his 12 week post death total to 5.17 million in the US.

*Remember the VMA's are not accounted for in these numbers since the awards show took place on a Sunday night, the last day of sales for this charting week. Both the VMA tribute and the Oprah Tribute spillover will be reflected in NEXT WEEK'S charts.

[smooth_criminal05]

Also, a little update on The Beatles sales numbers:

-The fab four only had 4/10 best selling albums this week. This is less then the record 6/10 Jackson had for 2 weeks in a row. So don't worry about that record being broken.

-The Beatles catalogue shifted 626,000 albums this week. This is not even close to the 1.1 million albums Jackson sold during the week of his memorial.

-Based on first week sales, it looks like the new Beatles re-mastered albums will sell about 3 million albums this year in the US. Jackson, having already sold 5 million, looks to sell another 1 million, more then doubling The Beatles and cementing himself as the best selling artist of 2009.

[Vici]

FIRST POST UPDATED WITH NEW US NUMBERS: JACKSON SALES FALL


-The one bright spot, Thriller has officially sold over 1 million copies in the US since Jackson's death.




Seriously.. Thriller must have surpassed the Eagles now!! 1 million copies after his death..

[*MissChanel*]

Also, a little update on The Beatles sales numbers:

-The fab four only had 4/10 best selling albums this week. This is less then the record 6/10 Jackson had for 2 weeks in a row. So don't worry about that record being broken.

-The Beatles catalogue shifted 580,000 albums this week. This is not even close to the 1.1 million albums Jackson sold during the week of his memorial.

-Based on first week sales, it looks like the new Beatles re-mastered albums will sell about 3 million albums this year in the US. Jackson, having already sold 5 million, looks to sell another 1 million, more then doubling The Beatles and cementing himself as the best selling artist of 2009.

Thanx so much for all your updates x

[Cham]

Also, a little update on The Beatles sales numbers:

-The fab four only had 4/10 best selling albums this week. This is less then the record 6/10 Jackson had for 2 weeks in a row. So don't worry about that record being broken.

-The Beatles catalogue shifted 580,000 albums this week. This is not even close to the 1.1 million albums Jackson sold during the week of his memorial.

-Based on first week sales, it looks like the new Beatles re-mastered albums will sell about 3 million albums this year in the US. Jackson, having already sold 5 million, looks to sell another 1 million, more then doubling The Beatles and cementing himself as the best selling artist of 2009.

Thanx for the info......
And smooth_criminal according to the calculations that I have MJ's Number ones, Thriller and Essential have sold 116,000, 56,000 and 68,000 respectively before MJ's death in U.S.. Can you confirm these figures..........
And I really appreciate that if you can please post the MJ's pre death album sales figures globally... Thanx.

[elmari]

Thanks smooth_criminal05. I always appreciate your weekly updates!

[Cham]

Don't worry guys....I think This Is It will be a HUGE success.....after seeing this trailer I think it will be very successfull. May be they might extend the limited release dates.

Official trailer;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxrwzVuosGg

[Arabian Knight]

Also, a little update on The Beatles sales numbers:

-The fab four only had 4/10 best selling albums this week. This is less then the record 6/10 Jackson had for 2 weeks in a row. So don't worry about that record being broken.

-The Beatles catalogue shifted 580,000 albums this week. This is not even close to the 1.1 million albums Jackson sold during the week of his memorial.

-Based on first week sales, it looks like the new Beatles re-mastered albums will sell about 3 million albums this year in the US. Jackson, having already sold 5 million, looks to sell another 1 million, more then doubling The Beatles and cementing himself as the best selling artist of 2009.

I just want to imagine what if a new material came out from Michael’s unreleased or upcoming new album, all Michael’s sales were old released, the beetles released something new, but Michael didn’t!!! So what if new material was released from MJ!!!

[Cham]

I think there will be a official soundtrack for the movie This Is It.... And I hope it will be a new MJ hit.