Latest on MJJC

Feedback Requested: Bad25 Sales. Why low sales?

My only complait would be regarding the sound mastering of the disc 1. It's just too loud and it hurts my ears.

I bought the Deluxe Edition and it's amazing. The packing, the books, everything! I just can't listen to the original BAD CD.
 
VictorMacBernik said:
you guys talks all of bad tour DVD in wembley?? DVD??? which DVD?? All i can see is a poor VHS quality, that's all. sony you have killed the bad 25 project alone with a very poor quality and no promo at all, so be angry against you and don't ask questions to the fans :)))
Click to expand...

Estate, not Sony. Sony just released what Estate gave them. Estate should have never even think about releasing something in such low quality.
 
In my case, i bought everything they released, the CDs, the deluxe, the LP, the DVD, and the wallmart and target versions. Not the case because of the price and the fact they didnt do shipments to another countries different to USA. I do think the expectations were too high, but the major reasons of the low sales are (in my opinion):

1- The promotion.
I mean there is a difference between a huge promotion and an intelligent promotion. We, the fans know the promotion was huge, but totally disconnected and totally unarranged. I live in Colombia and the Pepsi cans never came here, so i asked friends to buy those, but for them was really difficult to find them, just in wallmarts, no displays, they had to look for them or ask for them (talking about USA). And exactly the same thing with the product. Just the real fans knew about Bad 25, but other people had no idea. I asked here in the record stores and they didnt have any idea about it. Spike Lee documentary was kind of late, i never saw an advertising in TV (just snippets in fan bases).

2- Lack of credibility
Sony has to understand they did a huge mistake with "Michael" album, and all the suspicious about if Michael really recorded those songs. We know they didnt touch the unreleased songs in Bad 25 (BIG THANK YOU FOR THAT), the truth is Michael's fans still think Sony just want to make money with Michael's name. There were campaigns in Michael's fanbases asking not to buy Bad 25 because Michael wouldnt have wanted that

3- Money
I pre-ordered everything in Amazon, because at the end of the day, i didnt know why so many releases, so i didnt want to miss any of it. Core fans will buy it all but the price was high for regular buyers, if they can download songs or buy 2 or more CDs of others artists with the same money.

4- Singles Promotions
I will never understand why they never released the singles, all of them are GREAT !!! For the regular people, Bad25 was just the same Bad CD, they didnt even know there were new songs. They didnt even change very much the cover, so it doesnt even look like a different CD. People doesnt think they are buying something new, they can pass by saying "i already have that album".

5- The quality
Some fans like me pre-order everything, and others wait to see what others fans say to start to buy. The DVD was a great choice, but i think people was expecting better quality, i mean, at least better than the footage we normally see in youtube. They released a lot, DVD, CDs, Deluxe, different editions in Wallmart, Target, the Case. People was too confused about what to buy.

6- Originality
Michael is ONE OF THE KIND and he knew how to give always something different to his fans. I love all what i have buyed of Bad 25, but they have to start to give something different to the fans, something they dont have.

7- Michael is not here :(
When the artist is gone, the fans dont feel the same, i mean about the charts, why to bother if Michael is not here to see it. And unfortunely there is noone to speak for Michael to actually promote the album, for the fans be certain the Estate approves it. At this point fans dont know if Michael would have approved or not. Noone in his family say anything in public about the album, so with out Michael, fans are kind of lost about all of this stuff.

8- Social Networks
Why not to use facebook, twitter, and all of these social tools to promote the album? in Facebook maybe some link, some photo, but very random... with a strong campaign they would have reached more people of course.

I am pretty worried about the low sales, really, because the expectations were too high and i absolutly tought Bad 25 would be an amazing hit, that it would be in the first positions of the charts a lot of weeks, but it was totally dissapointing at the end. I do think Sony tried to promote the album a lot, and they did, not in a very smart way but they did, and i am pretty worried about how this will influence the future releases. because of course i am waiting for Dangerous anniversary, and History and postume albums, but fans have to stay together and support any project from now on.
 
^^
Michael's fans still think Sony just want to make money with Michael's name.
Click to expand...

Every single record company would want to make money of him. Record companies are not charity organizations but business enterprises. And Michael himself wanted to make money of his music. Otherwise he would have just made everything available for free.
 
VictorMacBernik said:
you guys talks all of bad tour DVD in wembley?? DVD??? which DVD?? All i can see is a poor VHS quality, that's all. sony you have killed the bad 25 project alone with a very poor quality and no promo at all, so be angry against you and don't ask questions to the fans :)))
Click to expand...

I respectfully but strongly disagree with you:D
BAD 25 release has something for everyone. The estate said before DVD release that concert is from 25 year old VHS.
So, our options were not to buy it,you could purchase just CD 1 &2 package without concert, or buy it as Deluxe package (which I did), there were 2 other options left for fans.
What I'm trying to say that I cannot understand some fans they feel something is not good enough for release, should stay that way, but do these fans think other fans who think these releases are good enough and are willing to spend some money to have them?
Btw, the concert was better seller than album itself, so it is not fault of poor sales.
 
For me the 2nd leg of the Bad Tour was Michael's greatest tour ever and it definatly deserved to be released. Hopefully the estate will find the film reels for one of the 88/89 shows (I don't care what show it is) and we'll get a better quailty release but if all we can get is average quality then so be it.

I'll take the average quality Bad Tour Wembley over the HD quality HIStory Tour Munich anyday
 
they didnt promote it well at all
no video clips at all and thats the main mistake
if you had put it on mtv the sales would be high
besides its hard to promote when the artist dies
take bruno mars for example:
he could promote his new album right now by performing it on x factor,the voice and some fastivals
but mj is dead so he cant
when the artist performs the song in show like that the salse are high
 
It is not acceptable that the DVD sold more than the CD combos.

It shows willful poor packaging.

This may explain why we were never told how many DVDs were sold. The gap between the DVDs sold and the CDs sold is most probably large and proves the CDs were not a priority to sell from the very beginning. They are trying to put the blame on the fans when this was their original planned outcome.
 
Last edited:
I know that this is not a nice topic to talk about but i think another reason why Michael can't reach better album sales is the fact that alot of people still believe that he was a child molester. That lie really puts a dent in Michael's legacy
 
analogue;3753563 said:
I know that this is not a nice topic to talk about but i think another reason why Michael can't reach better album sales is the fact that alot of people still believe that he was a child molester. That lie really puts a dent in Michael's legacy
Click to expand...
Michael sold out 50 concerts 2009, I think it was confirmed it had been at least 100 if Michael hadn´t said no.
Remember there were so many who wanted to see him so they began to think of a world tour.
I don´t think more people believe he was a child molester now,than they do then.
 
Another reason can be that there are no music videos for singles.
 
barbee0715 said:
I am really shocked that the numbers are low, since just reading the fan base forum would say that a lot of people were looking forward to and bought it. Personally, since funds are tight and I already bought the album in 87, the cassette tape (that I play all the time in my car) in 87, and the 2001 Special CD version I didn't invest in the whole package. I DID of course get the Wembley concert.
I would have loved to have the CD Live, and the demos (I went crazy for the demos on the Special OTW and Thriller CDs), but they didn't sell those separately. I'll probably go back and buy them later.
I still would like to thank the Estate for issuing the DVD separately-for people like me that could only buy a little.
Click to expand...

You can download the individual live songs on itunes.
 
I think some of the fan reaction and controversy over the first album "Michael" will hurt every single posthumous release. And that's too bad for the Estate and kids.
 
I think it was a great treat for the fans. Yes, the promotion didn't make sense. But even if it was right with the pepsi cans and the documentary, I don't think it would have done any better. Unles you can release an unreleased song or remix, which would do great on the radio, no point in doing Dangerous 25 or HIStory 25. They won't work.

Only potential release pending is a bluray of MJ's videos.HIS music catalog has been overexposed now.

By the way VH1 is airing a 1 hour tribute to Bad today here in India. Any idea about that?
 
respect77 said:
Generally, I also think it's a bit unfortunate that Michael had so many Greatest Hits albums in the past 10 years. Casual fans might buy those rather than any individual studio album.
Click to expand...
You have a point. I'm trying to put myself in a casual fan or non-fan's shoes here.
What comes to their mind when they see or hear of the album? Maybe they see yet another greatest hits package in it? Of course, it is not a greatest hits album, but I mean, it can look like that sorta thing, something that's not original enough esp. if they already have BAD album. Unlike many of us here, the demos don't have much value to them. Well, those who don't have the original and haven't bought BAD25, either,...I hope they become fans and buy either or both of them sometime in the future.
I think the promotion for this project shoulda focused more on drawing more potential fans to the world of Michael Jackson in general, if not this particular product. Just like that, future promotions should be done with that goal in mind.
 
1.) Release overload..........so much stuff has been released in the past few years that has completely lost the attention of non-fans........even fans are starting to ignore new releases.

2.) Not enough promotion......even in death Michael is the biggest star in the World.......and a half-baked marketing strategy will result with people thinking of it being a half-baked product.
 
Wow so MANY different opions from us fans. Which ones should the Estate ir Sony consider to help them with future products. Like I said our personal opinion are not always the best decisions when it comes to what will sell the best. Maybe your choices will please you but not for everyone as we can see by reading through this thread. Everyone is not on the same page here. It must be very difficult to come up with the perfect release and product that every one will embrace.

Myself I think BAD25 was a GREAT release and product. Based by the replies here It seems other factors in the fanbase itself beyond the product offered caused lower sales in the fansbase. Plus Their marketing and promotion to the general public is responsible for sales not being as high as they projected. That seems to be the main veiw that pops up the most in this thread.
 
I think the Estate should also look at working with a research agency prior to embarking on any project. Not sure whether this is something they already do, but to me it seems they mostly go with their gut feel, combined with fan views from forums like this. Is that the best way to go forward? Probably not, especially if they want a percentage of the general public to also buy the products.
 
If they dont celebrate Dangerous 25th i'll be very upset. Thats just like everyone is ignoring everything that Michael did in the 90's. Dangerous is great album. Most favourite by the fans and had bid impact on music back then.
That offends the album and Michaels work in the 90s.
The album deserves anniversary edition just like the Bad album did.

So please dont say "there is no point", because of B25.

I can live without History 25. But no Dangerous 25th definately deserved edition, thats just wrong.

I know after B25 chances are very low and there was never any intention of such edition.

To me the question is, sales seems low (hmmm), but did they made any lost.

And until there are no global sales, all this here is pointless and no need to upset themself and the fans.
Doesnt this unexperienced green behind the ears Sony employee know that this is not Thriller and depending of how much it sold in US, the calculation how much it did sold in the rest of the world doesnt work here.

Bring the global numbers and stop whine.

Michael didnt care how much he sell in the US back then, we dont care much less.
And there is nothing that can make the americans buy his albums. Ok it was one reason. But that wont work anymore. There are no tips on how or what to make it right or wrong.

Sorry but this thread is just another confussion of the fans for no reason.
If there were news in the previous posts about salles on the other side of the atlantic, then ok.
 
Last edited:
^^ I definitely want Dangerous celebrated and I don't care what the close minded American media and their sheep "general public" followers think of it. It's proven all over and over again that they just shut out anything post-80s when it comes to Michael, not out of merit, but because their media told them so. (It was mentioned in another thread how people in the USA gush about Motown 25 all the time while totally ignoring anything he did with that song in the 90s, while he has many LOT better performances of it in the 90s! With more dance elements (eg. the robot etc), with more precise execution of the classic elements (better moonwalk, better, longer standing on the toes etc.) and often with live singing too. What's that about if not about this close mindedness and sheepness?)

Yeah, the Estate/Sony will have to prepere that it probably won't be a big seller. So maybe projects like this should be done on the collectors' label, I don't know. But Dangerous is fans' favorite album, it absolutely HAS to be celebrated! I hope for another Spike Lee documentary. Showing the new jack swing era and how Dangerous is a part of it etc.
 
^^^^History and Invincible has to be celebrated too with documentary.

By the time those albums have reached ripe old age 25, I hope there is no more boycotting from fans against this and that and people remember it is Michael Jackson we are supporting, nothing else matters.
 
I've always favored Michael's later works because those were the albums that I was old enough to remember living through. I really hope they re-adjust sales expectations and give Dangerous, History, and Invincible the same quality projects as Bad 25 but also try to give it proper exposure with a good ad campaign. (make a bit of an investment now for some steady growth later) There are still a lot of people that don't know much about his music after the 80s and theres a real chance of getting some new fans to discover all the hidden gems in those albums.

One thing I would like to see the estate do to help is actually embracing pictures of Michael after the 80s for more of their products, and not just in silhouettes. The visuals play such a huge role in so many songs and videos.
 
Will we hear from the executive(s) regarding our feedback?

I agree that we should have been discussing only the marketing/promotion and quality of a product and its supposed low sales to the worldwide market not only the U.S. Please correct me if I'm wrong but, in the Chart thread, Bad25 didn't chart in Canada. Why is that not an issue to the executive(s)? I don't remember a dramatic increase in sales after the Spike Lee documentary aired in the U.K. either; this is not an issue?

The fault lies soley on Sony and the executors who created and decided how to market the Bad25 products, not any fans and particularly not U.S. fans. Non U.S. fans should not blame a whole country of fans for the failure of these executives when millions of MJ cds have been sold there AND we don't have transparency regarding Bad25 sales numbers worldwide.

I love the work Michael did in ALL eras and ALL FOUR decades; not only Thriller, not only Bad, and certainly, not only Dangerous.
 
^^^ The Executives and Sony Music didnt request this feed back - So most likely we wont hear from them.
 
Ivy referred to a Sony employee and LMAT referred to a person involved in the production and release of Bad25.

I'm respectfully referring to them as "executive(s)."
 
It's important that the estate acknowledge Michael's work after the 80s. The fact that it is so underrated it just has to be. A lot of people like They Don't Care ABout Us for example after seeing This is It and probably don't realise it's from History. A lot of people may like Butterflies and not realize it's from Invincible. Bad is getting the appreciation now that it didn't get when it was released. I don't know about the sales and if it's just for the US. I am sure worldwide the sales were good for a 25 year old album and the dvd seems to be success.

People let the garbage that the media and others threw take away from seeing the work he did. That has to be corrected. I don't know how or when but I feel it can be appreciated.
 
Its been mentioned several times in this thread already, but I just wanted to stress it again. I think one BIG issue was the failure to really get the word out there and promote the album. The marketing just really fell flat........if it wasn't for being a big lifelong fan and actively seeking out info about the release from places like here on the this board, I would have barely heard a word about it other than a mention here and there on a couple shows. More commercials being put into rotation across the U.S probably would have helped a bit here, as well as maybe getting the word out a little bit more about the then upcoming Spike Lee documentary (granted, the Thanksgiving broadcast was nice, but it felt it came on a little bit late IMO).......just my two cents.
 
I thought it was really good and i love it!
However, i didn't like that 3 of the "unreleased" tracks had actually already been released on a previous special edition, but that probably wasn't a problem if you hadn't already got or heard them! :)
I would have preferred to have the full concert on cd as i like to perform to them so its a little annoying in places.
I was disappointed with the low video quality of the yokohama concert as when they talked about releasing that in HD instead of wembley i was expecting good quality ; (

But otherwise i love it, i think the reason for the poor sales was partly due to er... NO ADVERTISING.. in the UK (don't know about other countries)
 
Moonwalker117 said:
I thought it was really good and i love it!
However, i didn't like that 3 of the "unreleased" tracks had actually already been released on a previous special edition, but that probably wasn't a problem if you hadn't already got or heard them! :)
I would have preferred to have the full concert on cd as i like to perform to them so its a little annoying in places.
I was disappointed with the low video quality of the yokohama concert as when they talked about releasing that in HD instead of wembley i was expecting good quality ; (

But otherwise i love it, i think the reason for the poor sales was partly due to er... NO ADVERTISING.. in the UK (don't know about other countries)
Click to expand...

I believe that people are thinking of another greatest hits album which it is. I think a live album with a HQ concert would have been much better. The next project needs to be a new album of complete tracks from Invinceable and after. NEW music is the only thing that will sell. Not demos complete great tracks! The longer they wait to do this the less effect the music will have. They will become dated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top