'Massive' and 'Sticky' weren't quite as hated as the rest of it tbf :P (although 'Jimmy Cooks' seemed to be the one song that got generally good reception, rightfully so as it was the best song on there, so I have some hope that a whole album with 21 Savage might actually be at least somewhat good x)

Shame Taylor never released her album at the same time as Ed or Adele

Ahead of tomorrow's update from Music Week, these are the Monday figures for Ed Sheeran, ABBA and Adele last year:

 

166,900 Adele

118,000 ABBA

84,700 Ed Sheeran

If those sales are correct, great news (though I'd have preferred them the other way round). Can't say I'm overly surprised though. In the prediction poll, I put both over 90k, the thinking being that if a completely bland turd of an album by Coldplay last year (their worst by a mile imo) could pass 100k with little hype and sh*t reviews then both of these two must stand a good chance

Taylor is on Graham Norton this week and who knows what other promo she has lined up whilst she's over here? Think that could help her get another week at #1 in the albums tbh. (Ik promo doesn't really work much in the era of streaming, but I do think it has an effect on the bigger artists like Taylor - we'll see I guess)

If their last album hadn't happened then these kind of sales wouldn't be a surprise for Arctic Monkeys, but it does just raise the question of why TBH+C opened as relatively lowly as it did. You'd think that with them clearly doubling down on that sound that was not as commercially lucrative for them they'd be heading for similar or lower sales, I'm not really sure how they're pulling off having comfortably higher sales. Maybe TBH+C was just released too early in the vinyl boom or something? I don't think they're particularly pushing multi formats any harder than they did last time but maybe I'm mistaken.

 

That last Coldplay album was also a bounce back from underwhelming opening sales for the album before (mind, it was a shift back to a poppier sound).

From the Sun…

 

Released on Friday, by midnight on Saturday 131,057 copies had been snapped up here, while Arctic Monkeys’ The Car had shifted 102,494.

 

Wow! Wasn’t expecting that for either albums. Looks like we’re in for a good week!

Since you can't snap up streams, this must be the physicals only!

It's a figure of speech. It'll include the full first day of streams + part of the second day as the Sunday midweeks always do (unless the data was delayed more than usual).

If their last album hadn't happened then these kind of sales wouldn't be a surprise for Arctic Monkeys, but it does just raise the question of why TBH+C opened as relatively lowly as it did. You'd think that with them clearly doubling down on that sound that was not as commercially lucrative for them they'd be heading for similar or lower sales, I'm not really sure how they're pulling off having comfortably higher sales. Maybe TBH+C was just released too early in the vinyl boom or something? I don't think they're particularly pushing multi formats any harder than they did last time but maybe I'm mistaken.

 

That last Coldplay album was also a bounce back from underwhelming opening sales for the album before (mind, it was a shift back to a poppier sound).

Casino was pre-vinyl madness days, The Car has quite a bunch of different formats, at least 3 vinyls... actually Taylor doesn't have that many, 5 different vinyls maybe?

 

but I'd argue a whole new generation has discovered Arctic Monkeys recently thanks to Tiktok, also linking a release with tour tix does wonders...

Yes exactly that, with a number of their older songs having been high on streaming charts for the last few months, their stock is higher than it's been for some time.

Casino was pre-vinyl madness days, The Car has quite a bunch of different formats, at least 3 vinyls... actually Taylor doesn't have that many, 5 different vinyls maybe?

 

but I'd argue a whole new generation has discovered Arctic Monkeys recently thanks to Tiktok, also linking a release with tour tix does wonders...

The 2018 Tranqulity Base tour dates also went on sale with vinyl/physical bundles IIRC

Wasn't TBH+C a bit of a surprise release? Wasn't the first single premiered the week of the album release? (Icr)

 

Also, I think competition helps tbh. People being more inclined to buy something knowing *insert artist* is releasing that same day etc..

There was no pre-release single, but it was available for pre-order months before release. I thought the pre-release singles for The Car would turn the old Monkeys fans away!

Also, I think competition helps tbh. People being more inclined to buy something knowing *insert artist* is releasing that same day etc..

Yeah, I think this and the media hype surrounding the chart battle are definitely factors, even if minor ones.

Their last album set a record for most vinyl purchases in a single week since 1993, a record it held until ABBA’s Voyage, so I’m not sure that’s the reason this album has a 20k lead over the first week sales of that album after just two days. Also vinyl was already big again in 2018 (it’s increased more since of course).

Can’t even believe this needs to be said but an artist releasing one album and one vinyl cannot be compared to an artist releasing several versions of an album and vinyl, then an extra edition of said album and vinyl with extra songs at time of release.

 

It’s common bloody sense. Can’t believe the conversations I’m seeing. It’s like no one is willing to point out the obvious.

 

Taylor is a talented artist. But it’s common knowledge that she uses every single trick in the book to maximise her first week sales. Good for her. But let’s not act like her sales can be compared to someone like Adele or Ed Sheeran who typically only release one album and one vinyl.

 

I’ll get attacked for stating the obvious, I know. But the facts are not always popular.

Edited October 24, 20223 yr by BlackNBlue

I do agree that the multi-formatting is a huge factor as to why Taylor has such high sales this time round but then again Folklore had more vinyl variants than Midnights does (I believe it was 8) and that still didn't manage anywhere near these sort of numbers. The marketing of this album with the 'Midnights Mayhem' on Tiktok and the clocks on the background of her entire discography on Spotify for the month before the album release was also massive and it was widely publicised that this was her returning to a more pop sound which has always been her best performing music commercially. Her streaming numbers are also absolutely massive, FAR bigger than any of her other releases.

 

It's not just Taylor either... Harry released 6 vinyl variants of Harry's House, along with 4 different colour CD's and 4 different colour cassettes.. I didn't see anybody discrediting his sales as a result? It's just how the industry works now. If you want big sales, you release collectibles.

 

I also don't see anybody comparing her to Ed/Adele? :huh:

Edited October 24, 20223 yr by Starlight 13

It always seems as if it's only Taylor who gets criticised for marketing and selling her album intelligently (and successfully)... :huh:

In Taylor's case, the biggest WOW is her streaming numbers obviously. The discussion about "variants" is pointless when she has several songs over 500k on Spotify even on Saturday.

In Taylor's case, the biggest WOW is her streaming numbers obviously. The discussion about "variants" is pointless when she has several songs over 500k on Spotify even on Saturday.

and this, exactly.