I'm absolutely sure Goodbye was Diamond in Canada it was number 1 forever and one of the biggest selling songs there ever.

 

I went based on certifications and UK sales only.

 

Holler only had 3 worldwide certifications silver for UK with 305k, Platinum in Australia for 70k and Gold in New Zealand for 5k.

 

Goodbye has a 2x platinum cert in Canada for 200k so far away from 1 million.

 

Obviously there are lots of hidden sales for the group and the girls solo efforts across the world that we simply do not know due to not being certified which will bump up sales too but by 30 million seems extreme.

 

You are also going on sales not shipments as well which is all a record label cares about as total sales. As has been said before too there was this thing called 'video club' or 'music club' back in the day where you signed up and got VHS or CDs cheaper directly from the record label but had to buy so many a month or get sent what they picked and charged for them. Artists sold millions through this and labels loved it too as they cut out the middle man of having say Asda taking a cut of the profits. Though the sales were never reported to the OCC or RIAA (US) as they were not sold through a distributor that tracked sales.

 

Then there were the countries that didn't have charts or tracked sales at all.

 

The label will ultimately know how many physicals they shipped out or sold directly in total, plus now tracking downloads and streaming sales. There will always be sales that fall through the net and aren't counted anywhere, which was a much vaster amount in the late 90s than today.

You are also going on sales not shipments as well which is all a record label cares about as total sales. As has been said before too there was this thing called 'video club' or 'music club' back in the day where you signed up and got VHS or CDs cheaper directly from the record label but had to buy so many a month or get sent what they picked and charged for them. Artists sold millions through this and labels loved it too as they cut out the middle man of having say Asda taking a cut of the profits. Though the sales were never reported to the OCC or RIAA (US) as they were not sold through a distributor that tracked sales.

 

Then there were the countries that didn't have charts or tracked sales at all.

 

The label will ultimately know how many physicals they shipped out or sold directly in total, plus now tracking downloads and streaming sales. There will always be sales that fall through the net and aren't counted anywhere, which was a much vaster amount in the late 90s than today.

 

 

So do we believe Melanie's claim she has sold 23 million solo records too then?

So do we believe Melanie's claim she has sold 23 million solo records too then?

 

No, mainly because the stats don't match at all around her claims both on her solo sales and the group... She seems to have inflated her own and then downplayed the group's sales, sadly, apart from Wannabe...

 

I wouldnt really go with what they write in the books in terms of accuracy of sales, as they always deviate so much. Also we shouldn't really just count on certifications and shipments as we know well that their certifications are well behind of actual sales across the world (see USA).

 

One thing that Mel C stats in a her book is how the legacy of the group was not taken care of since their break in 2000, at all. It is very clear how if they did take care of their business back in the day, these things would be more clear... Sadly, they absolutely and resolutely did not do anything to preserve that legacy until recently, so there is about 20 years worth of loss information and accuracy...

Edited September 19, 20222 yr by Mr.X

They or the label really should invest in updating their certs in countries like the US and Australia. It is silly to have a platinum selling GH in the US that isn't listed as so because someone doesn't want to pay for the cert.

They or the label really should invest in updating their certs in countries like the US and Australia. It is silly to have a platinum selling GH in the US that isn't listed as so because someone doesn't want to pay for the cert.

 

 

I find it weird that they haven't, especially since they are adamant that the group are now a heritage act and celebrate that... you think they would be keen to update certs etc.

 

Also Melanie actually downgraded Northern Stars sales which were announced as 3.5 million in the 00's

Edited September 19, 20222 yr by spiceboy

Sadly it seems every decision that is made by the Spice Girls or from their team or label these days is based solely on money. They as a band never do anything now based on it being good for their status or for fans.

Sadly it seems every decision that is made by the Spice Girls or from their team or label these days is based solely on money. They as a band never do anything now based on it being good for their status or for fans.

 

 

Which is just stupid because the better the status of the band the more money they can make from it! Look at bands like Abba, Queen, The Beatles etc, they are constantly promoting the interests of the group in numerous ways and they give dividends back big time.

Which is just stupid because the better the status of the band the more money they can make from it! Look at bands like Abba, Queen, The Beatles etc, they are constantly promoting the interests of the group in numerous ways and they give dividends back big time.

 

There in lies the problem, I just don't think the Girls or the label see themselves in the league of those artists, which they absolutely should. They just see 'The Spice Girls' as something that can still make money.

There in lies the problem, I just don't think the Girls or the label see themselves in the league of those artists, which they absolutely should. They just see 'The Spice Girls' as something that can still make money.

 

 

I don't either tbh, mainly due to their lack of commitment to the band and the lack of output. However I do see them as a level just below and certainly above pretty much all of their contemporaries of the era.

They or the label really should invest in updating their certs in countries like the US and Australia. It is silly to have a platinum selling GH in the US that isn't listed as so because someone doesn't want to pay for the cert.

 

I don't think the GH is eligible for Platinum in the US (yet) because 600k of those sales were to Victoria's Secret, so I'd imagine it might be at 700-800k SoundScan sales still. If they were going to bother with it, I imagine they might as well wait until it's properly Platinum (though SG haven't had anything certified since 1999 so I doubt they'd bother - Wannabe should be certified at least 3xPlatinum from downloads alone - streaming might put that number way way higher).

 

I don't think the GH is eligible for Platinum in the US (yet) because 600k of those sales were to Victoria's Secret, so I'd imagine it might be at 700-800k SoundScan sales still. If they were going to bother with it, I imagine they might as well wait until it's properly Platinum (though SG haven't had anything certified since 1999 so I doubt they'd bother - Wannabe should be certified at least 3xPlatinum from downloads alone - streaming might put that number way way higher).

 

Certs in the US are not done through soundscan, but through RIAA directly from labels so an album can be certified on shipments. Rihanna's Anti was platinum in the states before being releaded as Samsung purchased 1m copies of it digitally to give away upon release.

Wannabe has sold 3 million copies (2.91m) was the figure given in 2014 but including streams it will obviously be much higher.

 

As for the GH album the most recent update was Nov 2020 which had its total at around 800k excluding the VS 600k shipment.

I love how the Greatest Hits has continued to grow and thrive in the last 15 years.

Certs in the US are not done through soundscan, but through RIAA directly from labels so an album can be certified on shipments. Rihanna's Anti was platinum in the states before being releaded as Samsung purchased 1m copies of it digitally to give away upon release.

 

Weird they didn’t get the gold certification for the Gh in 2007 if it automatically qualified for it!

Weird they didn’t get the gold certification for the Gh in 2007 if it automatically qualified for it!

 

They don't automatically get them the label has to request the cert and show evidence of it and pay for it. Rihanna's label did of course because it looked good for the album. It of course would have looked good for the GH too but again it costs money so why bother.

I guess this is the latest total sales from Universal?

 

After their iconic 1996 debut single “Wannabe” topped the charts in 37 countries, Spice Girls’ debut album Spice went on to sell more than 31 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album of all time by a female group. The girls have gone on to sell more than 90 million records around the globe, releasing three studio albums and 11 singles and winning a host of awards including a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

 

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/spice-g...anded-editions/

Interesting they are back at 90 million now rather then 100 million (albeit over 90 it says)

Interesting they are back at 90 million now rather then 100 million (albeit over 90 it says)

 

I just wish we'd get updates for singles and albums for places like the U.S., Australia and Germany

Does anyone have a list of the Spice25 WW Chart positions? There's a few listed here but not all. Did they go Top 10 anywhere than the UK?

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I put this together last year. Don’t know if it’s what you’re looking for but there are some cd and vinyl chart positions for some countries :)