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BAD25 | Charts & Sales History

Here’s the reasons I think sales are low:

- supply is TOO low, demand is high

Some fans have to wait through October for a product they pre-ordered September and earlier. Walmart, HMV and others sold out of the product before the first week of release even ended.

- no need for the 2cd set & too few demos/unreleased material

The executors knew fans wanted the concert dvd more than anything so why even have the 2 cd set? The set is technically the special edition with 6 demos that are now on YT where fans who haven’t even received their orders and/or only brought the dvd (and will rip the audio from the dvd probably) are listening to them for free.

How many Bad 25 owners who brought the cd/dvd combos have even listened to the original cd before watching the dvd or listening to the demos? Bad was supposed to have 30+ tracks in 1987. Where are all of those songs?

- the concert dvd was the prize and was packaged wrong

Michael didn’t have a live solo cd all this time so many of his fans were not trained to even want one or expect one. Why not sell the dvd with the live cd ONLY so that the success of the live cd was ensured? If someone finds out the number of dvds sold and if the live cd sold AS MUCH, Michael would be # 1 now and not the Pink person.

- all collector’s edition items can be brought separately online

It’s a smack in the face to fans who spent so much to buy this. It should of came out during the holidays with the Spike Lee documentary included for the same price it’s at now.

-promotions were not good

Most were on the Internet. The Pepsi commercial was very short with no clear product information. Walmart and Target ads switched between the cd and the dvd which was confusing for a non-fan who doesn’t know all of the package choices. Also, not advertised in international markets that don’t have Pepsi (but have Coke) and don’t have Walmart and such.

Vogel’s articles were very good but, only fans were interested and they were only on the Internet. Spike Lee’s documentary is the best ad for Bad and won’t be seen in its entirety until February 2013! Why did this not have a theatrical release like TII? Airing on television during holidays will only give a boost if fans buy for non-fan family and friends. When fans buy the documentary dvd next year, will they buy the Bad cd again? No!

THE TRUE PROBLEM WAS PACKAGING!!!​

Why not pair the documentary with the original cd and demos as one product and the live dvd with its cd as another??? Is that too successful? Maybe too much money would have been made?

Sony and executors either messed this up unwillingly or sabotaged this product willingly.

Fans can’t blame: Thriller25, the press, older fans, American fans, past allegations, Michael being alive or not, no single releases and/or videos, past estate/Sony products, or the Jackson family (who supported other estate products/ventures so fans should question why they are unified and silent now; they ALWAYS know something fans do not).

Non-fans, the press, Sony, former employees/advisors can't blame Michael either.
 
No one can match MJ's global sales over all.
5 of his solo albums are in the top 100 best selling worldwide and no other artist can ever beat that.
He only made a few solo albums and 5 of them being in the top 100 is really something!

However, I just got disturbed coz Wikipedia's ranking and figure of Bad sales has changed in the list of best-selling albums worldwide. It used to be rank #5 with sales of (i think) 40M. Now it's down to below top10 at 30M sales.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_worldwide
 
From The Estate of #MichaelJackson #Bad25:

THE KING OF POP DEBUTS AT #1 WITH
‘MICHAEL JACKSON LIVE AT WEMBLEY’ DVD

MICHAEL JACKSON’S BAD25 CD TOPS CHARTS AROUND THE WORLD

New York, NY—Just one week after the release of Michael Jackson’s BAD25, the deluxe anniversary CD packages and DVD celebrating the pop icon’s album and record breaking world tour are topping global charts, with the DVD of his previously un-released Wembley concert soaring to #1 .

The highly anticipated DVD, ‘Michael Jackson Live at Wembley,’ the first ever released live concert from the legendary BAD tour, debuted at #1 in the United States as well as in most major markets globally. Early chart numbers show the BAD25 CD at the top of international charts in countries including Japan (#2), Spain (#2), Germany (#4), France (#5), Hong Kong (#5), Korea (#5), the United Kingdom (#6), Holland (#6), Austria (#10), Belgium (#10) with many more to come.

The ‘Michael Jackson Live At Wembley’ DVD, which is available both as a stand-alone product as well as in the deluxe BAD25 anniversary box, provides a rare glimpse of one complete and thrilling show from Michael’s legendary Bad Tour – the July 16, 1988 concert just as he performed it for Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and the other 72,000 screaming fans in attendance. The DVD was sourced from Michael’s own VHS copy of the performance, providing watchers with the same on-stage view they would have experienced watching the Jumbotrons had they been at Wembley that memorable evening. This footage was only recently unearthed from Michael’s personal archives, and is the only copy of the show known to exist. The visuals have been restored and the audio is derived from the multitrack recordings from that night to provide 5.1 surround sound so that fans can share in experiencing the excitement of Michael’s historic first solo tour.

Entertainment Weekly’s ‘A’ rated review of BAD25 calls it “a potent reminder of just how much Bad’s pulsing pop holds up”. BAD25 is a 2-disc CD. The first CD consists of the re-mastered original 1987 album which features some of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits, including “Smooth Criminal”, “Man In The Mirror” and the title track, “Bad” as well as “Leave Me Alone”, a bonus track on the original 1987 CD version of the album. The second CD, containing 13 tracks, offers fans a rare listen to six previously unreleased demo recordings created in Michael’s personal Hayvenhurst studio and bonus tracks including a never-before released French version of the classic “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” and a brand new remix of “Bad,” the fruit of an electrifying collaboration between Pitbull and DJ Afrojack. The BAD25 deluxe anniversary edition includes the Wembley concert DVD as well as a third CD, the first ever solo Michael Jackson live album! It is from the same legendary July 16, 1988 concert at Wembley Stadium.

Award winning director Spike Lee has also created a critically hailed documentary of the BAD album and tour. Airing in the U.S. on ABC this Thanksgiving, his BAD25 documentary marks the first ever in-depth, behind the scenes film project to chronicle a Michael Jackson album. Recently screened at the Venice Film Festival, the Hollywood Reporter calls it “a sensational snapshot of the peak of the music video as art form, as well as the intricately layered process by which superior pop is crafted. More poignantly, it serves to remove the veil of late-period craziness and allegations and restore the reputation of Jackson as a multihyphenate musician of peerless discipline, professionalism and perfectionism.”

http://www.MichaelJackson.com
http://www.facebook.com/michaeljackson
#WhosBAD
 
For the next release better no buy nothing from the official store!!!
I don't understand why some fans buy a cd months before the official release date, it doesn't make sense at all.
 
WildStyle said:
I don't know if I've seen too many classic albums re-issues with a single and a video. Thriller 25 had TGIM 2008, but that's thee only one I can think of. Just doesn't happen with these sort of albums. We can't expect sales like it's a brand new album.
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Yes we can, it's Michael Jackson and it's Bad. I wouldn't be saying anything if it was BOTDF 25, but come on it's Bad! And the BWT totally is something amazing for anyone to see.

Perhaps they should've thought about having the Live CD in the 2CD version instead of the demos, because the demos clearly are targeted to the fans whereas the live CD is not.
 
I don't know what to think about this! DVD is doing great but CD not? BAD 25 received mostly got glowing reviews, here is sample:
Michael Jackson: 'Bad (25th Anniversary Edition'

By Leonard Pierce
PUBLISHED: SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

Any successful '80s artist with the good sense to stay alive in the 21st century is bound to get the deluxe reissue treatment. That's what makes the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad so fascinating — MJ's unexpected death forces listeners denied the yet-to-come to contemplate the glory of what was. The remastered album itself sounds fantastic, and while the remixes are forgettable to bad, there are some very worthwhile demo versions — the hooky, solid "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" would have made a great single, the skeletal version of "Smooth Criminal" (called "Al Capone") is intriguing, and the driving dance number "Song Groove (Abortion Papers)" is worth it just for the controversial subject matter. It's a fantastic box set that will be showing up in the usual corners of the internet, but this is a rare example of why it's good to have the physical media —the liner notes are exhaustive and the DVD of his concert at Wembley Stadium looks and sounds good despite having been cobbled together out of iffy VHS sources. This one's a must-have for anyone who loves Jackson even a little; the quality and care put into assembling this reissue is no less than it deserves.

★★★★ ½ (out of 5 stars)
http://sacurrent.com/music/michael-jackson-39-bad-25th-anniversary-edition-39-1.1378117
 
I was thinking if Spike Lee's document was kind of afterthought when they were planning BAD 25 release?
I suspect that the original plan was Wembley DVD, BAD album and unreleased songs, Spike Lee's document came to picture later on. That would explain why document couldn't be shown on telly before BAD 25 release. I think the time when SL announced document is finished, the estate in a matter of few weeks started negotiations with TV networks. Unfortunately as document was finished so late, and I think networks sells their slots months ahead and they couldn't find earlier time to air SL's document. It definitely could have helped the sales, but I hope when it airs, BAD 25 enters to charts again.



OnirMJ said:
S Many many many hardcore fans refused to buy it because the quality is below Michael Jackson standards. Why buy something like that if they can just download DVD via torrent in that exact same quality? (I bought DVD).
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I have a problem with above. Are you saying that those "hard core" fans didn't buy anything after 25/2009? Everything released since then is below MJ standards, but MJ is not here to overlook what is being released, executors have to do everything in order to keep Michael's legacy alive. If there is no talk, no fuss or no one mentions MJ ever again, he is well and truly dead, including his legacy.
I have no idea what is torrent but I assume it is something that you can use to download something for free. If that happens often and too many MJ "hard core" fans use that option, executors don't have money to pay debts, the worst case scenario is that we will be crying and cursing executors for selling MJ ATV catalogue in order to pay loans etc.

I don't know am I "hard core" fan or just a fan, but even if they put out DVD that you cannot see who is performing, I would buy it, just to support Michael:D
 
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Memefan said:
That is far fetched and not many many many fans boycotted ....

This time, fans did rally to buy this ....It's the general public that has ignored the product.

That ..and Sony probably not turning in their sales.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that they boycotted, they just didn't buy it because they think the quality is unacceptable for Michael Jackson. Trust me I saw on twitter many FANS saying that they won't be buying it. General public ignored the product too.
 
I don't know how useful it is to compare Bad25 sales to Thriller25 sales. Wasn't Thriller the first (semi-)new MJ release in several years? Of course there was more hunger for new MJ material than now. Bad25 is the fourth album released in just three years. Michael always took long breaks between releasing album, to build up anticipation and hype. There's never been this many MJ releases in such a short time. And it's not even just the albums, there's also the hugely successful Immortal tour, the MJ video game and pretty much non-stop drama from the Jackson family. Maybe the general public just needs a little break. That's not unusual or worrying, every artist can get overexposed if they are everywhere all the time, no matter how talented, successful and popular they are.

Another reason why I think it's difficult to compare Bad25 and Thriller25 sales is that even though Thriller is a consistent catalogue seller, there hadn't been any huge increase in its sales just before the re-release. There had to be people who had originally bought it in the 80s who did not have it as a CD or in digital format, and they might be interested in buying a new copy. Whereas with Bad25, Michael had sold an insane number of records relatively recently, in 2009. Many bought Bad then, or they bought greatest hits albums that have most of Bad's songs. I think that's part of the reason why Bad25 is a less interesting release for the casual listener than Thriller25 was at the time it was released, even though I think Bad25 is an amazing release, much better than Thriller 25.
 
Bubs said:
I have a problem with above. Are you saying that those "hard core" fans didn't buy anything after 25/2009? Everything released since then is below MJ standards, but MJ is not here to overlook what is being released, executors have to do everything in order to keep Michael's legacy alive. If there is no talk, no fuss or no one mentions MJ ever again, he is well and truly dead, including his legacy.
I have no idea what is torrent but I assume it is something that you can use to download something for free. If that happens often and too many MJ "hard core" fans use that option, executors don't have money to pay debts, the worst case scenario is that we will be crying and cursing executors for selling MJ ATV catalogue in order to pay loans etc.

I don't know am I "hard core" fan or just a fan, but even if they put out DVD that you cannot see who is performing, I would buy it, just to support Michael:D
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Some did, some did not. I bought all products (except video game) that they've released, but only This Is It was good enough. This Is It movie and DVD were absolutely amazing. Video game was great product too. Everything else was below MJ standards and I'm sure I would have done it better (not just me, but majority of fans or people who really cares about Michael). Everything released by Sony Music (from that 10 projects deal) was either OK or absolute disaster but nothing was good enough as it could have been.

This Is It soundtrack was very good, but that was a greatest hits release so that was impossible to screw up. Although they could have included more songs from the movie on the CD2 and This Is It should have been released as a single along with Demo version.

Vision was total and absolute disaster. Awful video quality, black bars, no blu-ray release.

MICHAEL was another disaster. C***** tracks, no demos released with finished versions, no Bruce Swedein, butchered Hollywood Tonight, poor promotion with low budget music videos.

Immortal was just as bad as MICHAEL. Again C***** tracks, guy working on the remixes who never worked with Michael Jackson or even met him!, and remixes were just not good enough.

Bad25 is great release but poorly executed, stores don't have albums in stock, different packages disabling album to chart on Billboard, unnecessary remixes, Pitbull, Spike Lee documentary which was a great idea is not in the theatres and it is not available although album is already out, VHS quality of the greatest show on Earth - something Michael would have never approved, poor promotion althought they had an amazing opportunity with Pepsi (one billion cans but no commercials and cans are available only in few countries and only in certain places!), no single release. And with all this mess it is still the best product released by Sony Music in 4 years.
 
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Bad25 is a success because I have it in my hands and I like it very much. Plus the estate will make money off of it. Everyone wins. Let's face it, the US public has been very fickle when it comes to Michael.
 
Chart positions so far, updates in bold:

#1 Italy
#2 Spain
#4 Germany
#5 France
#6 UK
#6 Netherlands
#10 Austria
#10 Japan
#13 Switzerland
#14 Sweden
#15 Belgium WA
#19 Hungary
#19 Ireland
#19 Taiwan
#27 Finland
#31 Belgium FL

(source: Hungarian album chart http://zene.slagerlistak.hu/top-40-album-dvd-es-valogataslemez-lista, Austrian album chart http://www.austriancharts.at/weekchart.asp?cat=a )

I'm so impressed with a #1 debut in Italy! A re-release of a 25 year old album sells better than new releases by contemporary artists? Italians have such good taste! :)
 
OnirMJ said:
Many many many hardcore fans refused to buy it because the quality is below Michael Jackson standards. Why buy something like that if they can just download DVD via torrent in that exact same quality? (I bought DVD).
Click to expand...

I find that very hypocritical. If someone does not like a release then he or she should not buy it, should not listen to it or watch it. Period. But if they download it illegally that means they do like it, whatever they claim, and they want to have it - only they do not want to pay for it. And they justify it with "boycotts", complaints against the Estate/Sony and stuff. As if that would make their theft more noble. It is not! It's just theft! And even worse: they are stealing from the very artist they allege to be "hard core fans" of...
 
Seems BAd 25th have a great success outside the U.S (again).
Sure Estate is happy about that.

For the U.S well, maybe they release too many version:
- Bad deluxe
- Bad 2cd
- Big Box at michaeljackson.com
- standalone DVD
- Wallmart version
- Taret Version.

That's too many version for a release I think

The last two don't send outside u.s, so I bought them from ebay

I just ordered the standalone DVD and the deluxe version this week,(from amazon)
Maybe after spike lee sales will pick up. When they realse the doco in January, maybe people will buy the dvd and also the CD

I'm really shocked about those U.S nummers. Immortal sold more (maybe the circus helped >??)

In that article the Estate didn't mention Bad 25 nummers in the U.S
 
Really want to know the total sales so far of the DVD. Almost #1 in every country
 
respect77 said:
I find that very hypocritical. If someone does not like a release then he or she should not buy it, should not listen to it or watch it. Period. But if they download it illegally that means they do like it, whatever they claim, and they want to have it - only they do not want to pay for it. And they justify it with "boycotts", complaints against the Estate/Sony and stuff. As if that would make their theft more noble. It is not! It's just theft! And even worse: they are stealing from the very artist they allege to be "hard core fans" of...
Click to expand...

They do like the concert, but they don't like the quality and they think that the concert should not have been released in such quality (I agree with that). I agree it's a theft.
 
thats how USA thinks about Michael

Thriller - he still was black
Bad - he wants to be white
Dangerous - he is white

CBS (sony) totaly screwed 'Bad' with that cover back then. on the original photo his face isn't that pale like on the album cover. And if you listen to those "Glenda tapes", he says "thats not me, i don't look like that".
they should have left it like is was, and not paintbrushed and make him white. this turned people, especially black people, at the time against Michael and thats why Bad didn't catch the sales of thriller in USA.
they see his videos, his skin is dark, but on the cover white. CBS wanted to catch more on the European marked and Japan.

But, if it wasn't "Bad", with Dangerous this would have happened anyway.

9ca221ff77.png


c1dcdab912.jpg
 
Great job Italians, you have good taste for music:bow:

Somebody earlier mention that Jackson family has supported other estate's products/ventures! Randy's letter signed by half of the family obviously was hit and miss then? Their pickering with the estate certainly hasn't helped if you ask me.

I wonder what is the product that can pull the whole fan base together to support Michael and only Michael?
What is the product that brings boycott Sony fans/ hate the estate fans/Jackson family fans and Michael Jackson fans together?
 
Bubs said:
I wonder what is the product that can pull the whole fan base together to support Michael and only Michael?
What is the product that brings boycott Sony fans/ hate the estate fans/Jackson family fans and Michael Jackson fans together?
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A product without C***** tracks, without remixes and if the product is a video then in blu-ray quality.
 
OnirMJ said:
They do like the concert, but they don't like the quality and they think that the concert should not have been released in such quality (I agree with that). I agree it's a theft.
Click to expand...

If it should not have been released (I disagree with that) in their opinion they have the right to leave it on the shelf. But then do not download it illegally. If it's good enough for you to you want it then pay for it.

ETA: I started another thread to put things about posthumus sales into a perspective before we panic over US sales or something. In that thread I invite you to take a look into the posthumus careers of the likes of Elvis, Lennon (Beatles) and Mercury (Queen): http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/t...ts-putting-Michael-s-prospects-into-a-context
 
lom kit said:
thats how USA thinks about Michael

Thriller - he still was black
Bad - he wants to be white
Dangerous - he is white
Click to expand...

The original photo where his skin is darker was taken in dark light, I don't know what the photoshop skills were like back then, but it looks like they just upped the contrast which removed the grey background and made him look brighter, that made his skin look lighter. It's a strange conspiracy theory required to believe they did it intentionally. I doubt they even realized.

Mandy70 said:
No one can match MJ's global sales over all.
5 of his solo albums are in the top 100 best selling worldwide and no other artist can ever beat that.
He only made a few solo albums and 5 of them being in the top 100 is really something!

However, I just got disturbed coz Wikipedia's ranking and figure of Bad sales has changed in the list of best-selling albums worldwide. It used to be rank #5 with sales of (i think) 40M. Now it's down to below top10 at 30M sales.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_worldwide
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That one counts them differently, I think it's directed at non English speakers?

This is the main wiki article, all albums have a difference in certified copies sold vs the claimed sales figures

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

I agree with others, Bad25 is a success because of the quality of the product. I just hope the estate realizes that and doesn't panic, which would be understandable really.
 
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OnirMJ said:
They do like the concert, but they don't like the quality and they think that the concert should not have been released in such quality (I agree with that).
Click to expand...

How patronising for someone (they) who nitpicks Wembley DVD quality to say or decide whether it should have or shouldn't have been released at all! The sales of the concert is not flop by any means or any chart, as a matter of fact, despite of quality, it flies of the shelves and is on top of the charts. Success!

If "they" go and start nitpicking BAD 25 album apart, they might find a reason why it didn't sell as it should have.
 
Bubs said:
How patronising for someone (they) who nitpicks Wembley DVD quality to say or decide whether it should have or shouldn't have been released at all! The sales of the concert is not flop by any means or any chart, as a matter of fact, despite of quality, it flies of the shelves and is on top of the charts. Success!

If "they" go and start nitpicking BAD 25 album apart, they might find a reason why it didn't sell as it should have.
Click to expand...

Yep. Actually the DVD seems to be the most successful part of this release.
 
lom kit said:
thats how USA thinks about Michael

Thriller - he still was black
Bad - he wants to be white
Dangerous - he is white

CBS (sony) totaly screwed 'Bad' with that cover back then. on the original photo his face isn't that pale like on the album cover. And if you listen to those "Glenda tapes", he says "thats not me, i don't look like that".
they should have left it like is was, and not paintbrushed and make him white. this turned people, especially black people, at the time against Michael and thats why Bad didn't catch the sales of thriller in USA.
they see his videos, his skin is dark, but on the cover white. CBS wanted to catch more on the European marked and Japan.

But, if it wasn't "Bad", with Dangerous this would have happened anyway.

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c1dcdab912.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm personally a bit fascinated by the US's attitude towards Michael throughout the years. I think it's mainly not about the music and it tells a lot about the US and about how things are perceived in the US vs. how they are perceived in other parts of the world.

One of those factors is certainly Michael's lightening skin. As I remember, here in Europe it was taken as some kind of eccentricity (remember, this is the Bad era, we haven't heard of his vitiligo yet), but not really a big deal. In the US, however, IMO it was a big factor in many people turning away from him. Black people thought he did not want to be black, and white people thought he wanted to be white, which was kind of threatening for many of them IMO. Maybe color really is just skin deep? Did that thought make a lot of white people in the US uncomfortable?

Same with Michael's stretching the borders of gender stereotypes. The US is a lot more conservative about this, so I can imagine how it did not come down well with many people there when they saw Michael in heavy make-up, looking androgynous on the cover of the Bad album. It's true that other artists did this before him, but during Thriller he was the "good, wholesome black boy" of America and they wanted him to stay that. But this good, wholesome boy now turned "Bad" challenging borders which made Americans uncomfortable with him.
 
Sunwalker7 said:
I don't know how useful it is to compare Bad25 sales to Thriller25 sales. Wasn't Thriller the first (semi-)new MJ release in several years? Of course there was more hunger for new MJ material than now. Bad25 is the fourth album released in just three years. Michael always took long breaks between releasing album, to build up anticipation and hype. There's never been this many MJ releases in such a short time. And it's not even just the albums, there's also the hugely successful Immortal tour, the MJ video game and pretty much non-stop drama from the Jackson family. Maybe the general public just needs a little break. That's not unusual or worrying, every artist can get overexposed if they are everywhere all the time, no matter how talented, successful and popular they are.
Click to expand...

Thriller25 came out after number ones (03), the ultimate mj (04) and the essential mj (05) so alot of the thriller singles were out already on different formats in the few years before thriller25. You can make the argument that thriller25 sold far better because it had the hot artists at the time doing their versions of mj songs which created buzz, but no one seems to be making that argument on here, lol.

Re the break, i wrote in another thread, that the contract with sony is for 10 projects i think within 10(?) yrs, so there's not going to be a mj sized break.
 
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