The Eagles Greatest Hits Album Surpasses Thriller in the USA

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NEW YORK (AP) — The Eagles' greatest hits album has moonwalked past Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to become history's best-selling album of all-time.

The Recording Industry Association of America told The Associated Press on Monday that the Eagles' album — "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" — is now certified 38x platinum, which means sales and streams of the album have reached 38 million copies.

The album was released in 1976 and pushes Jackson's "Thriller," which is 33x platinum, to second place.

RIAA also said that the Eagles' "Hotel California," released in 1977, is now 26x platinum and makes it the third best-selling album of all-time.

The last time RIAA tallied sales for the Eagles' greatest hits album was in 2006, when it said it was 29x platinum. Sales and streams for "Thriller" were last updated last year.

"We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It's been quite a ride," Don Henley said in a statement.

RIAA's platinum status was once equivalent to selling one million albums or songs, but in 2013 the company began incorporating streaming from YouTube, Spotify and other digital music services to determine certification for albums and songs.

Now 1,500 streams of an album is equivalent to an album sale. Also, 10 song downloads = 1 album sale.


The Eagles, who formed in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, mastered the mix of rock 'n' roll and country music, and the band's hits — including "Hotel California" and "Take It Easy — became part of the soundtrack of that decade. They broke up in 1980, coming back together 14 years later with Henley and Glenn Frey being the only remaining original members. Frey died in 2016, but the Grammy-winning band remains on tour.

The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2016.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/...ckson-best-selling-album-thriller/1040092002/
 
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Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

How is that possible? That this album can shoot from 29 million sales to 38 million? Just based on streams and Youtube views? Are people really viewing The Eagles material this often?

I got looking at the RIAA website, and MJ's albums are all behind. Thriller and Bad haven't been updated in 18 months, Off The Wall in 9 years, Dangerous and HISTORY haven't been updated since 1999 and 2000 completely before streaming and Youtube. Number Ones and Essential are now 5 years behind, Invincible 16 years, BOTDF 18 years. The estate and Sony should pay to renew MJ's numbers. His 81 million in US sales could easily increase to over 90 million.

As for Thriller, I've always been very suspect about The Eagles and their numbers with the RIAA, they seem to rise so fast.
 
What a load of bs. Anti Michael Jackson agenda continues. Thriller is the best selling album of all time. I very doubt Eagles sold so much to be 38x platinum. A lot of these recorded companies manipulate the sales of their artists.’Garth Brooks is the perfect example of that. MJ’s estate and record company need to step up their game. Michael on an annual basis sells more than the Eagles, I’m sure of that. But his albums & singles are very rarely certified. Sucks for Michael to have a such a piss poor record company that hardly cares about him and his legacy.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

... ohh they have not forgotten the MJs Bday and all the media hype for MJ..., if not RadarOnline with bs stories,there is something else, no its not a coincidence...., dont believe it.

BTW, miraculously, the eagles albums are almost out of any official catalog charts, throughout the yeras/decades, and where did the numbers ever come from?
MJs albums are constantly in the catalog charts
 
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Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Soooo is the US the only country in the world now? Every news source is throwing around this "best-selling of all time" thing but do they not realise this is only RIAA certifications and not worldwide sales lol?

I swear, America sure likes to treat themselves as the only region that matters.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Can we also question how the Eagles have a fraction of MJ's YouTube views, have like 20 million less monthly listeners on Spotify than MJ, and hardly appear on any charts yet somehow is listened to more?

I legit refuse to accept this. This is out of order.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Can we also question how the Eagles have a fraction of MJ's YouTube views, have like 20 million less monthly listeners on Spotify than MJ, and hardly appear on any charts yet somehow is listened to more?

I legit refuse to accept this. This is out of order.

It's called manipulating your sales and certifications. Garth Brooks in the US is the perfect example of that and it looks like The Eagles are doing the same.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Sucks for Michael to have a such a piss poor record company that hardly cares about him and his legacy.

Michael died trying to actively buy Sony out of his deal. Yet here we are some 8 years later and it has all been sold, literally over his dead body.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

The news articles circulating are VERY misleading. They treat the US like the only music market in the world. They think the planet ends at their borders, a very arrogant style of reporting if you ask me. We must do our best to combat these lies, making sure people know that MJ still leads this race globally, and not by a hair but by 20 million+ . Thriller remains the #1 best selling album on planet earth.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

MJ+2013+gif+1995.gif

So I guess the anti-MJ media campaign is already beginning before his birthday next Wednesday. Marvelous. As if The Eagles would ever top Thriller. The manipulation of numbers is quite disgusting and they're truly trying their hand to piss us off.

Just a quick updated edit: This Eagles album that beat out Thriller is not even an album with "newer" material. It's a greatest hits compilation with songs that were already released prior. Their most successful and most well-known material is the Hotel California project,which was two years after this compilation was released. So quite frankly it's bullshit that the media is acting so racist towards all of this to begin with. They're trying their absolute hardest to strip away Michael's accolades because he was a black man. They've been trying it for years. But please make sure to stream Thriller online as much as possible through Spotify,iTunes,Pandora,wherever. Stream until your heart explodes honestly. If we really want Michael back on top in the US we need to do him a service and stream the hell out of the album.
 
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Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

The news articles circulating are VERY misleading. They treat the US like the only music market in the world. They think the planet ends at their borders, a very arrogant style of reporting if you ask me. We must do our best to combat these lies, making sure people know that MJ still leads this race globally, and not by a hair but by 20 million+ . Thriller remains the #1 best selling album on planet earth.

Oh well, it'll just be more misinformation we'll have to correct to MJ haters. Not like there's enough of that anyways...
 
I have a question. Let’s say they release a Thriller anniversary album this fall and it has unreleased content or remixes would those numbers count for Thriller or would it start over as a stand-alone release? Just curious nothing against the Eagles but their album is a greatest hits album.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

??? and the awarding for the most misleading article/headline of the year goes to...... pity these fools. I know america thinks its the only country on earth but....
years back This b.s used to happen every so often interms of U.S sales until sony got off their backside and had sales updated
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

It isn't exactly directly related to this, but isn't it strange how Thriller simply disappeared from all charts a month or so ago? The Essential and Thriller were both riding the catalog and Billboard 200 charts yet both albums suddenly disappeared for a week or two, only for The Essential to return without Thriller. It's like all streams of other albums get filtered into the one "The Essential Michael Jackson" album that appears on charts so its easier for other albums to overtake Thriller.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

F that... US isnt the only place that matters but everyone gotta start streaming thriller lol
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

It isn't exactly directly related to this, but isn't it strange how Thriller simply disappeared from all charts a month or so ago? The Essential and Thriller were both riding the catalog and Billboard 200 charts yet both albums suddenly disappeared for a week or two, only for The Essential to return without Thriller. It's like all streams of other albums get filtered into the one "The Essential Michael Jackson" album that appears on charts so its easier for other albums to overtake Thriller.

The billboard changed their rules a couple of months ago when they start counting youtube streams or something like that. Since then, Thriller has completely disappeared but The Essential has been ever present since. Before the rule change, Essential was hardly in the top 100, but for the last two months, it's always in the top 40/50.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

It's just funny the way the US media misleads people with these types of headlines...
So the only story here is The Eagles greatest hits album has had more sales (based on a certain amount of "streams") than thriller in the US. NOT worldwide.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

The billboard changed their rules a couple of months ago when they start counting youtube streams or something like that. Since then, Thriller has completely disappeared but The Essential has been ever present since. Before the rule change, Essential was hardly in the top 100, but for the last two months, it's always in the top 40/50.

YouTube streams only started being counted a couple of months ago? Wow, I'm out of the loop, I thought it was eons ago
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

YouTube streams only started being counted a couple of months ago? Wow, I'm out of the loop, I thought it was eons ago

They changed their rules a couple of months ago. I remember reading it may have been something to do with youtube streams, but don't take my word for it lol. It's some rule change regarding streaming.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

They changed their rules a couple of months ago. I remember reading it may have been something to do with youtube streams, but don't take my word for it lol. It's some rule change regarding streaming.

Billboard changes their rules faster than the estate releases albums :tongue:
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Streams are not comparable to actual sales.

Why they constantly refer to streams breaking sales records is beyond me.
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Spotify-

MJ-31 million monthly streams.
Eagles-9 Million.

Youtube

Mj-121,462,073 million monthly views as of the 20th.
Eagles-Cant see an official Eagles you tube account, I take it they don't count the random you tube videos to the streaming results but even if they did eagles would not even be halving MJ.

Top catolog album-
The Essential Michael Jackson-number 1
Eagles greatest hits -number 25.

Now my question would be is if a lot of the big singles from thriller are on the the essentials album are they counting the streaming results to the thriller album as they should or to the essentials album? This is very unfair to thriller in the future rankings if not.

My only explanation would be this is why eagles have overtaken MJ but I am calling BS on this as an increase from 29 million to 38 million is ridiculous no matter how you are counting the numbers thriller is obviously streamed more than the eagles greatest hits, that is without question and I find it hard to believe that many people have bought the eagles album from the shop as that increase is just so ridiculously high.

The MJ estate need to do something about this, they need to demand all MJ's albums be renewed and re counted as some of the albums haven't been check for years! (Elton John is Close to MJ in the overall ranking a couple of million off-what a joke!!!) And call out BS on how they are counting the thriller album.

They should also be counting the sales of each song on the greatest hits album to the original album it was off for the eagles instead of how they are currently doing it.

I shouldn't be so angry about this but the media will do anything to raise up the all american rock band and lower the legacy of the King of POP

Thanks-Raest-Michael Jackson Fan since 2007.:moonwalk
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Funny how the media doesn't report this. But this, please read. Thriller is still the biggest selling record worldwide. <a href="https://t.co/3ZBGzNqYnZ">https://t.co/3ZBGzNqYnZ</a></p>&mdash; andjustice4some (@andjustice4some) <a href="https://twitter.com/andjustice4some/status/1031603781593489410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">20. August 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thanks Tevin. They are always trying to diminish his amazing achievements. They measure the highest grossing film using global numbers but purposely use USA only for this. My uncle Michael has the biggest selling album in the entire world. PERIOD! Stop trying to dethrone the &#128081;. <a href="https://t.co/venrczm32p">https://t.co/venrczm32p</a></p>&mdash; Taj Jackson (@tajjackson3) <a href="https://twitter.com/tajjackson3/status/1031605939378352128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">20. August 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

Bullshit, Bullshit, Bullshit. and the big lie continues. They dont have any sales for decades now. The fact is that Thriller is the Biggest selling album in the World, and the biggest selling album in the US since 1984. for 34 years now.
They can cheat and lie forever, doesnt change anything. it never was a big seller. they just used it to cheat Michael Jackson. Before the year 2000, they did the same like they do now.
 
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Re: The Eagles dethrone Michael Jackson with all-time top-selling album

How is that possible? That this album can shoot from 29 million sales to 38 million? Just based on streams and Youtube views? Are people really viewing The Eagles material this often?

I got looking at the RIAA website, and MJ's albums are all behind. Thriller and Bad haven't been updated in 18 months, Off The Wall in 9 years, Dangerous and HISTORY haven't been updated since 1999 and 2000 completely before streaming and Youtube. Number Ones and Essential are now 5 years behind, Invincible 16 years, BOTDF 18 years. The estate and Sony should pay to renew MJ's numbers. His 81 million in US sales could easily increase to over 90 million.

As for Thriller, I've always been very suspect about The Eagles and their numbers with the RIAA, they seem to rise so fast.

mmm. in the past there was discussing here. and on other websites we found out that the eagles real album sales around 15 to max 20 Million. They dont have big sales for 30 years now. they did this cheating before the year 2000, to call this the album of the century. Bullshit. Billboard and RIAA have cheated.
Now, after they seeing that the sales for Thriller wont stop, cause its the biggest best selling album ever, they doing the same thing again. ridiculous numbers. completely insane.
 
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mjchris;4228376 said:
mmm. in the past there was discussing here. and on other websites we found out that the eagles real album sales around 15 to max 20 Million. They dont have big sales for 30 years now. they did this cheating before the year 2000, to call this the album of the century. Bullshit. Billboard and RIAA have cheated.
Now, after they seeing that the sales for Thriller wont stop, cause its the biggest best selling album ever, they doing the same thing again. ridiculous numbers. completely insane.

So lets compare numbers by Dec 20., 2017: https://chartmasters.org/2017/12/cspc-eagles-popularity-analysis/

Records & Achievements
At 171 million equivalent album sales, the Eagles are the most successful act ever with 8 studio albums or less.
At 70,58 million equivalent album sales, Hotel California is the 2nd most successful album of all-time.
At 70,58 million equivalent album sales, Hotel California is the most successful album of the 70s.
At 26,21 million equivalent album sales, Eagles is the most successful album from 1972.
At 51,84 million equivalent album sales, Hotel California is the most successful song of all-time.
At 30,25 million pure album sales in the US, Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 is the second highest selling album ever.
At 37,45 million pure album sales Worldwide, Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 is the highest selling compilation album ever.
At 12,88 million pure album sales Worldwide, Hell Freezes Over is the 5th highest selling live album ever.
At over 3 million music videos sales, both Hell Freezes Over and Farewell Tour are among the Top 10 highest selling videos ever.

The Eagles are the only act ever with 30-million selling studio albums and compilations.

CSPC-Eagles-LPs-1.png


How to understand this table? If you check for example the Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 line, those figures mean it sold 37,450,000 units worldwide. The second statistics column means all versions of all the songs included on this package add for 281,000 equivalent album sales from streams of all types.

The second part on the right of the table shows how many equivalent streams are coming from each original album, plus the share it represents on the overall package. Thus, streaming figures tell us songs from the Desperado album are responsible for 21% of the Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 track list attractiveness. This means it generated 7,902,000 of its 37,450,000 album sales and so forth for the other records.

This compilation is the biggest anomaly ever of the music industry. Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 is the best selling compilation album of all-time… and it misses the signature song of its artist. The success of Hotel California, which happened some months after the release of the best of, boosted it incredibly well. Casual buyers that bought the two records had the perfect companion to each other. The Volume 2 issued in 1982 included Hotel California and sold a stunning 14,4 million, which is insane considering 85% of its appeal come from tracks of the 1976 album which was itself a major seller.

To sell a large number of one compilation it is needed to let it be the main set of a catalog for many years. The Eagles contradict what’s natural for others. The five career-spanning compilations released from 1985 to 2003 sold a massive 16 million units. This is all the more insane since four of them weren’t released in North America. This explains why 46 million out of the 52 million copies sold by Their Greatest Hits Vol 1 and 2 come from North America as elsewhere they were quickly replaced. The final total is unbelievable: the band’s main greatest hits albums sold 68 million units.

In terms of distribution patterns we notice that all compilations released after 1976 have more than half of their sales powered by Hotel California‘s songs. The debut album Eagles is a distant second. Distant among post-1976 compilations, but the main driving force of Their Greatest Hits 1971-75, which isn’t a small thing to point out since we are speaking of a 37 million seller. In fact, Eagles is responsible for an out of this World 15 million of its sales.

https://chartmasters.org/2017/12/cspc-eagles-popularity-analysis/20/
 
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