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Wikipedia finally updated their list of best selling artists, Michael is second behind the Beatles with 500 million

IhateTheMedia

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However they claim when Elvis reaches 260 million they'll put him at 600 million even though he's far beneath Michael and the Beatles in certifications, which is nonsense.
 
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Wikipedia didn’t update anything, some user made this change. It’s only a matter of time until someone changes it back.

Sources for sale numbers are not particularly exact, so it’s very hard to determine who has sold more between MJ and Elvis.
 
dethorro said:
Wikipedia didn’t update anything, some user made this change. It’s only a matter of time until someone changes it back.

Sources for sale numbers are not particularly exact, so it’s very hard to determine who has sold more between MJ and Elvis.
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Elvis doesn't sell anything outside the United States and has had most of his certifications updated already, he's still behind MJ and the Beatles by nearly 80 million. So no he's not even close to either of them. The admins said Michael was long past the threshold for a update which is why he got changed to 500 million. It was stated Elvis when he eventually reaches 260 million he'll be bumped to 600 million. But since MJ and the Beatles sold significantly more then him, when that time comes they will also have to be bumped up.
 
I don't understand. Please can you articulate what is your problem with it? Or why you're mad?

IhateTheMedia said:
The admins said Michael was long past the threshold for a update which is why he got changed to 500 million
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Wikipedia doesn't have admins who determine what the articles say.

Also, "Claimed sales" are just that - claims. Record companies don't know how many copies are sold, so they make up anything they like (eg "Thriller sold 100 million" when it was only on about 40 million).
 
R1chard said:
I don't understand. Please can you articulate what is your problem with it? Or why you're mad?


Wikipedia doesn't have admins who determine what the articles say.

Also, "Claimed sales" are just that - claims. Record companies don't know how many copies are sold, so they make up anything they like (eg "Thriller sold 100 million" when it was only on about 40 million).
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I'm not mad, i'm happy that it finally got changed. Also Thriller has sold at least 70 million, 100 million is absolutely possible if a re-audit were done like Eagles did were they mysteriously found over 15 million record sales for it
 
As far as I am concerned only certified sold copies count. So the top 3 as it stands is the only truth out there
 
filmandmusic said:
As far as I am concerned only certified sold copies count. So the top 3 as it stands is the only truth out there
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For most artists, other than Michael all of their US sales have been tracked. The real contentious thing regarding certifications is the number of sales outside the US that could potentially be out there. Right now
  1. Ed Sheeran - 156,000,000
  2. Michael Jackson - 108,000,000
  3. Rihanna - 104,000,000
  4. Drake - 101,000,000
These are the only artists who've sold over 100 million internationally, MJ is missing a lot however
 
filmandmusic said:
As far as I am concerned only certified sold copies count. So the top 3 as it stands is the only truth out there
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In the pre digital download and streaming era, it was very hard to keep track of exact sales, hence why we hear the term "claimed sales."
 
Realistically how do people keep track of this stuff anyway, checking store purchase from over 60 years ago? Come into my house and count how many MJ CDs I got.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Realistically how do people keep track of this stuff anyway, checking store purchase from over 60 years ago? Come into my house and count how many MJ CDs I got.
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They use media claims, realistically only MJ and the Beatles sold over 500 million and the matter of who sold more can go either way.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Realistically how do people keep track of this stuff anyway, checking store purchase from over 60 years ago? Come into my house and count how many MJ CDs I got.
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In some cases, "sales" were actually product shipped to stores, not records actually sold. Unsold stock returned to the labels might still be part of the "sales", since it was originally shipped out. Sales did not generally count cutouts (records/tapes with a slash or hole punched in the cover sold for cheap), record clubs (10 albums for a penny!), street tapes (basically bootleg cassettes & 8-tracks that were sold at flea markets or parking lots), or promo copies that were sold in some record stores & nightclubs. Although the promos had "not for sale" stamped on them, lol. Sometimes the companies that distributed the stock to stores would keep some for themselves and sell them and they would get all of the money and not the labels and/or stores. Especially with mafia run distribution. Decades ago, people also sold bootlegs of concerts they recorded or unreleased songs by artists. One popular bootleg is called A Toot & A Snore In '74, which was a recording session with Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder & a few other artists. Record stores also sold "interview discs", which were records given to radio stations. I don't think stuff like multi-artist compilations like K-Tel, Pickwick, & That's What I Call Music or songs on movie soundtracks is counted with an artist total sales. Except when it's a one artist soundtrack like Superfly (Curtis Mayfield) & Purple Rain (Prince). If a particular artist was a member of multiple bands (Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, George Harrison), each band is counted separately and not with their solo records.

Sales were also often faked before Soundscan. Payola was not just for radio airplay. Labels would also sometimes pay record stores to report to Billboard that a record sold more or less than it really did. The RIAA does not audit sales, they just go by what the labels tell them and reporting sales in voluntary. That's a reason that when Soundscan came into being, the charts totally changed. But not all stores had the Soundscan equipment, usually small mom & pop stores didn't have it. Places like Abu Dhabi, Russia, & China had black market records & tapes, which are not official. When CD burners came out, people would burn CDs & DVDs and sell them at their jobs & in their neighborhoods. Counting all of these sources, nobody really knows how much any record sold. Also for those older acts, total sales are not just albums, but physical singles too.
 
Back in the 80s chart composers would actually call record shops and ask the owners what singles are selling well. Only since the early 90s it is possible to find actual sales because of the soundscan system.
 
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