respect77;3948442 said:
@bobmoo79
To expect a posthumus MJ album to sell 5 million copies these days sounds like a VERY irrealistic expectation. The highest selling album of 2013 was Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience and it sold about 2.4 million copies in the US. Based on it's certifications in other countries I doubt it reached the 5 million mark world wide. Or if it did, only slightly. Beyoncé's much hyped current album sold about 1.4 million in the US so far. I have seen the list of top 10 best selling albums of 2013 in the US and what struck me that these days if you sell 1 million copies of an album that will put your album in the Top 10 best selling albums of the year.
And we are talking about current artists who are alive and actively make videos, tour, give interviews, promote etc etc. If you expect a posthumus MJ album to be on that commercial level or even higher then I don't think your expectations are realistic. Actually for a posthumus MJ album to sell 1 million copies would be VERY good.
You act like every Elvis and Beatles posthumus release is a commercial success. In fact, most Elvis and Beatles posthumus releases are NOT a commercial success but are targeted to hard core fans. Sometimes they score a big hit, true, but it took decades for both Elvis and the Beatles to do that. Most Beatles releases in the 80s were commercially unsuccessful. It took until 1995 until the Beatles started to sell well again. For Elvis it took until 2002. You have to accept that with artists who are not alive you cannot keep up a constant interest year after year, release after release. Most posthumus releases will not be commercially successful, not because MJ "as a commercial entity is done forever" but because it's impossible to keep up that interest for a dead artist year after year, release after release. Michael is only dead for 5 years and right after his death there was a big surge in people buying his records. After such a big surge there inevitably comes a bit of a down for years until the public again will be hungry and nostalgic for his music. That's how it works with the Beatles, Elvis and with every artist who is not alive or not a current act. To make it look like the next release is some kind of "make or break" for MJ and his long term prosepcts to me indicates that you do not really understand the nature of posthumus "careers".
Also, record sales generally are on an all time low. Artists these days do not make much money of record sales alone. Like I said an album that bareley sold 1 million copies is among the Top 10 best selling albums of the year these days.
And Michael's legacy is well and safe. I don't like the doom and gloom you paint for it just because Michael and Bad 25 weren't successful. Again, do you know how many Beatles/Elvis releases are not commercially successful?
With no anniversary, no reissue, no promotion, nothing, Thriller was among the Top 200 best selling albums of the year in the US. Immortal is a phenomenal success, as well as ONE. According to global iTunes ranking Number Ones is in the Top 10 in 19 countries right now, as we speak. His albums and DVDs constantly chart all over the world. So Michael's legacy is pretty well and alive and it will not be determined by the success of posthumus releases with previously unreleased material.
There is a bigger world out there, it doesn't revolve around the US of A. Not in music, not in fashion, not in art, not in politics. Not in lots of things.
The USA is NOT the most significant music market for MJ (and hasn't been for 25 years) and it isn't for many, many artists out there.
I was not referring to sales in the USA and hadn't even considered it at all. I was talking about global sales.
I have admit that I'm not well informed when it comes to posthumous releases, and the sales figures I mentioned in my previous post were meant to highlight a large sales differentiation, not specific sales targets.
Yes, sales have fallen in recent years BUT I have just done some quick research and 5million total sales IS possible for a highly successful album.
The biggest selling album of 2013 was Bruno Mars (Unauthadoxed Jukebox), which sold around 4million copies.
The next biggest was JT's 20/20 Experience that sold 3.2million. Behind that was Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. Beyonce sold about 2.5million copies of her recent album in about 3 weeks. It's not inconceivable that those albums could all sell 5million eventually.
In 2012 Adele had the biggest selling album, selling over 9million copies of '21'.It was followed by Taylor Swift who sold 3.8million copies of 'Red', and One Direction who sold 3.6million copies of 'Up Al Night'.
By looking at year end charts, Adeles' '21' album has sold at least 25million copies since it was released in 2011. This is truely exception these days, but shows a market is there for the right product.
In the same year Lady Gaga sold around 5.4million copies off 'Born This Way' and Michael Buble sold 5.2million copies of his 'Christmas' album. Bruno Mars sold 5.2million copies of 'Doo-Wops and Hooligans' (it also sold 1.2million in 2012, taking the total to at least 6.4million).
It is perfectly possible for a highly successful album by a living artist to sell a total of 5million copies across 2014 and 2015. IF that is possible then it is also possible for MJ to sell up to 5million copies IF it is highly successful.
Regardless of specific sales figures, my point was this: If the MJ Estate want to sell a far greater number of albums they must appeal to the wider population, not just MJ fans. Simple.
I don't pretend that EVERY Beatles and Elvis release was a great success. I know they weren't BUT I do consider that they were well respected , highly praised artists. They had good will on their side. MJ is also highly praised but faces far more ongoing controversy and criticism than Elvis and The Beatles that DOES do real damage to his reputation,legacy and commercial prospects. If you walk down the street and ask one hundred people about all 3 artists, I guarantee MJ will draw less praise and more criticsm. He will appear to be the least popular artists by far because of all those troubles. He has a distinct disadvantage. When MJ died, all he had going for him was the quality of his music, and even then only the early stuff - people liked to dismiss anything after Thriller or BAD, despite what most MJ fans will tell them. I believe that if MJ doesn't have a big success, the chances of future success are diminished. That won't stop me hoping for success on the next project, or the one after that, but I don't foresee a massive resurgence in MJ sales in 10 to 15 years time like for Beatles and Elvis.
MJ's reputation for his early achievements with OTW, Thriller and BAD are assured. Very few people (even haters) would argue against his dominance or success at that point in his career - most people still respect the 1980s MJ - but wouldn't it be nice to see a successful MJ product on the shelves once again??
