this is really impressive. what are the total sales numbers to this point?
Current sales figures were in another thread... I believe I saw the Backspacer sales tally at approximately 419,000 (U.S. sales). I thought global sales were around 806,000. I would just be happy if Backspacer hits 500,00 here in the U.S. That's probably still several weeks away.
Why no Letterman or SNL appearance? Perform "Just Breathe" and/or another new single, maybe "Unthought Known". I'm not sure why they're not giving another promotional push for this album. I'm especially surprised by the lack of Letterman considering they've made an appearance for every album since No Code!!
Well if they sat in on Letterman with "Just Breathe" and the string quartet it would probably send the album and song into another territory altogether....maybe not the Pearl Jam we or they (the band) are about.
Would sell a lot of additional copies of Backspacer thats for sure. :?:
^^^ yeah I was happy to see that jump. Backspacer is officially a "pacesetter" on the Billboard 200 chart.
ok, sales doesn't mean shit in the overall picture, but still, good for them. :P
Well if they sat in on Letterman with "Just Breathe" and the string quartet it would probably send the album and song into another territory altogether....maybe not the Pearl Jam we or they (the band) are about.
Would sell a lot of additional copies of Backspacer thats for sure. :?:
Appearing on Letterman would not create a huge sales spike. The audience is small, and smaller by the time 12:30 rolls around and the musical guest appears. The types of TV appearances that create big sales spikes are ones with big audiences (the Grammys; the Super Bowl halftime show; a performance at the Oscars) or ones with not-as-big audiences that are very impressionable (Oprah).
Well if they sat in on Letterman with "Just Breathe" and the string quartet it would probably send the album and song into another territory altogether....maybe not the Pearl Jam we or they (the band) are about.
Would sell a lot of additional copies of Backspacer thats for sure. :?:
Appearing on Letterman would not create a huge sales spike. The audience is small, and smaller by the time 12:30 rolls around and the musical guest appears. The types of TV appearances that create big sales spikes are ones with big audiences (the Grammys; the Super Bowl halftime show; a performance at the Oscars) or ones with not-as-big audiences that are very impressionable (Oprah).
no you're still reaching between 1-2M people on letterman
Well if they sat in on Letterman with "Just Breathe" and the string quartet it would probably send the album and song into another territory altogether....maybe not the Pearl Jam we or they (the band) are about.
Would sell a lot of additional copies of Backspacer thats for sure. :?:
Appearing on Letterman would not create a huge sales spike. The audience is small, and smaller by the time 12:30 rolls around and the musical guest appears. The types of TV appearances that create big sales spikes are ones with big audiences (the Grammys; the Super Bowl halftime show; a performance at the Oscars) or ones with not-as-big audiences that are very impressionable (Oprah).
no you're still reaching between 1-2M people on letterman
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
After fifteen weeks, "Backspacer" sits at #69 on The Billboard 200. How does this compare with prior Pearl Jam studio albums in their fifteenth week of release?
*Does not include two weeks on chart when available on vinyl only (debuted at #55 vinyl-only, then fell to #173 before leaping to #1 upon the CD release).
You know what's crazy to think?...by that time in Yield's shelf life, it had probably sold well over 1 million copies. Backspacer is ahead by rank and debuted at #1 (Yield was #2), yet Backspacer has sold about 420,000 - 440,000 copies from what I've read.
It just goes to show how vastly different the record industry is from the late 90's to today.
The cool thing is, it shows that the bands popularity is as strong now as it was then. Maybe stronger. It also, in my opinion, shows what a great record that Backspacer is. Although I have a feeling that some people on this board would disagree with me on that subject.
"Darkness comes in waves, tell me, why invite it to stay?"
You know what's crazy to think?...by that time in Yield's shelf life, it had probably sold well over 1 million copies. Backspacer is ahead by rank and debuted at #1 (Yield was #2), yet Backspacer has sold about 420,000 - 440,000 copies from what I've read.
True. It is likely that "Yield" sold more copies in its fifteenth week than "Backspacer" did, even though "Backspacer" ranks higher, just because album sales were higher across the board in 1998.
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
Wow, you sure do know everything..
'I want to hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I'm very, very frightening
and I'll overdo it'
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
Wow, you sure do know everything..
Well, I have a fair amount of experience with these matters.
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
Wow, you sure do know everything..
Hehe, I was thinking the exact same thing...I'm slightly amused by it, as none of us know how the Backspacer charting will play out. Let's face it, in this musical landscape where the album is only available in 2 places, NONE OF US has any idea just how to gauge this current run. We can try and compare to a different time, but it doesn't work. The best method we have to see how the album is doing is to simply look at weekly jumps, or drops in sales.
I know people like to turn it into some kind of science to back their claims, but Backspacer is doing better than any of us thought after releasing "Just Breathe" as a 2nd single.
The really impressive run is Susan Boyle's 4 straight weeks or so at 500,000+ sales all of Dec. THAT was incredible on any level. But, I guess we can just attribute most of that to Dec. X-mas sales, right?
Appearing on Letterman would not create a huge sales spike. The audience is small, and smaller by the time 12:30 rolls around and the musical guest appears. The types of TV appearances that create big sales spikes are ones with big audiences (the Grammys; the Super Bowl halftime show; a performance at the Oscars) or ones with not-as-big audiences that are very impressionable (Oprah).
no you're still reaching between 1-2M people on letterman
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
i was never anticipating they would be on something as big as the oscars. but when you're averaging somewhere around 10-15k copies per week...and then you get an extra 20k based on your calculation there, i'd have to say that would be considered a pretty big spike in my book. more than doubling your normal output.
40,000 copies would certainly move them way up in the charts right?
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
I wouldn't be suprised if the Letterman scandal thing had something to do with them not playing the show....
i'd be really surprised. letterman's ratings went up a bit after that. plus, what does pearl jam care if he cheated on his then girlfriend in the past? :wtf:
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
Wow, you sure do know everything..
Hehe, I was thinking the exact same thing...I'm slightly amused by it, as none of us know how the Backspacer charting will play out. Let's face it, in this musical landscape where the album is only available in 2 places, NONE OF US has any idea just how to gauge this current run. We can try and compare to a different time, but it doesn't work. The best method we have to see how the album is doing is to simply look at weekly jumps, or drops in sales.
I know people like to turn it into some kind of science to back their claims, but Backspacer is doing better than any of us thought after releasing "Just Breathe" as a 2nd single.
The really impressive run is Susan Boyle's 4 straight weeks or so at 500,000+ sales all of Dec. THAT was incredible on any level. But, I guess we can just attribute most of that to Dec. X-mas sales, right?
I have actually maintained pretty consistently that "Just Breathe" was the track with the best chance of leading to an expansion of sales beyond the core fan base. There are probably 25 posts from me to that effect in various places on this board.
Having said that, your point about the limited availability of the album is important. Even if PJ made a TV appearance, any sales spike would be even less than it otherwise would be because of the Target exclusive.
As far as Susan Boyle is concerned-- yes, Christmas, but also that her audience skews older and remains album-oriented.
I wouldn't be suprised if the Letterman scandal thing had something to do with them not playing the show....
Or maybe they're blacklisted for going on Conan, Letterman's head-to-head competitor. There was a lot of that between Letterman and Leno.
Letterman doesn't hate Conan like he does Leno. So that can't be it. And Letterman won't turn down big guests.
It's not necessarily the hosts themselves who engage in the blacklisting. It's the networks. Anyway, I'm not sure that booking Pearl Jam is that much of a coup. It would not make that much difference in the ratings. Very few acts would.
I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
Hehe, I was thinking the exact same thing...I'm slightly amused by it, as none of us know how the Backspacer charting will play out. Let's face it, in this musical landscape where the album is only available in 2 places, NONE OF US has any idea just how to gauge this current run. We can try and compare to a different time, but it doesn't work. The best method we have to see how the album is doing is to simply look at weekly jumps, or drops in sales.
I know people like to turn it into some kind of science to back their claims, but Backspacer is doing better than any of us thought after releasing "Just Breathe" as a 2nd single.
The really impressive run is Susan Boyle's 4 straight weeks or so at 500,000+ sales all of Dec. THAT was incredible on any level. But, I guess we can just attribute most of that to Dec. X-mas sales, right?
I have actually maintained pretty consistently that "Just Breathe" was the track with the best chance of leading to an expansion of sales beyond the core fan base. There are probably 25 posts from me to that effect in various places on this board.
Having said that, your point about the limited availability of the album is important. Even if PJ made a TV appearance, any sales spike would be even less than it otherwise would be because of the Target exclusive.
As far as Susan Boyle is concerned-- yes, Christmas, but also that her audience skews older and remains album-oriented.
yup...great point about the target thing. i just don't understand exactly what they were thinking. if they wanted to sell more records (as they did say) why do an exclusive with a store not necessarily known for selling music?
i was never anticipating they would be on something as big as the oscars. but when you're averaging somewhere around 10-15k copies per week...and then you get an extra 20k based on your calculation there, i'd have to say that would be considered a pretty big spike in my book. more than doubling your normal output.
40,000 copies would certainly move them way up in the charts right?
Sure, 40,000 copies would get you close to the top 10, maybe even in the top 10 depending on the week. But that's some fuzzy math. The album's actual weekly sales level is under 10,000. It got a boost from Christmas shopping and iTunes promotion and pricing that jumped it to 14,000 and change. Add 20,000-- a generous estimate based on historical performance, the current retail climate and the Target exclusive-- and you get maybe 30,000. But you're right, that would still be a spike.
I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
i was never anticipating they would be on something as big as the oscars. but when you're averaging somewhere around 10-15k copies per week...and then you get an extra 20k based on your calculation there, i'd have to say that would be considered a pretty big spike in my book. more than doubling your normal output.
40,000 copies would certainly move them way up in the charts right?
Sure, 40,000 copies would get you close to the top 10, maybe even in the top 10 depending on the week. But that's some fuzzy math. The album's actual weekly sales level is under 10,000. It got a boost from Christmas shopping and iTunes promotion and pricing that jumped it to 14,000 and change. Add 20,000-- a generous estimate based on historical performance, the current retail climate and the Target exclusive-- and you get maybe 30,000. But you're right, that would still be a spike.
yeah, either way 25-30k would be pretty decent. and if they couple that with snl the following saturday night, the numbers should be even higher.
Someone posted that it was discounted on iTunes. That's the most likely explanation.
Following up on this now that I have more info, it was not only discounted on iTunes, but iTunes promoted it in its Tuesday e-mail promotion. Overall "Backspacer" sales were up 67 percent in the week where it jumped from 123 to 77, but downloads of the album increased 412 percent.
Imagine what they could sell if Target did anything to promote the album. I don't get why Target is content to let so much product sit and rot on the shelves.
Comments
Current sales figures were in another thread... I believe I saw the Backspacer sales tally at approximately 419,000 (U.S. sales). I thought global sales were around 806,000. I would just be happy if Backspacer hits 500,00 here in the U.S. That's probably still several weeks away.
Why no Letterman or SNL appearance? Perform "Just Breathe" and/or another new single, maybe "Unthought Known". I'm not sure why they're not giving another promotional push for this album. I'm especially surprised by the lack of Letterman considering they've made an appearance for every album since No Code!!
2000: 8/15, 8/18, 10/9, 10/11, 10/12
2003: 6/18, 6/21, 6/22
2005: 9/9, 9/28
2006:5/16, 5/17, 6/26, 6/27
2007: 8/5
2009: 8/23, 8/24
2010: 5/3, 5/4, 5/21
2011: 9/3, 9/4, 9/11, 9/12
2013: 7/19, 11/16
2014: 10/3, 10/9, 10/12, 10/17
2016: 4/16, 8/20, 8/22
2018: 8/18, 8/20, 9/2
2022: 9/18
2023: 8/31, 9/2, 9/5
Would sell a lot of additional copies of Backspacer thats for sure. :?:
ok, sales doesn't mean shit in the overall picture, but still, good for them. :P
Someone posted that it was discounted on iTunes. That's the most likely explanation.
Appearing on Letterman would not create a huge sales spike. The audience is small, and smaller by the time 12:30 rolls around and the musical guest appears. The types of TV appearances that create big sales spikes are ones with big audiences (the Grammys; the Super Bowl halftime show; a performance at the Oscars) or ones with not-as-big audiences that are very impressionable (Oprah).
http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/billb ... r=position
no you're still reaching between 1-2M people on letterman
Right-- which is not a big enough audience to generate a huge sales spike. If one-half of one percent (which is actually an overestimate of the amount of sales generated by TV appearances) of the 30 million people (roughly) who watch the Oscars buy a record, you'll sell 300,000 copies. If one-half of one percent of an audience of 2 million buy a record, you'll sell 20,000 copies.
"Vs.": #14
"Vitalogy": #18*
"Backspacer": #69
"Yield": #77
"No Code": #77
"Binaural": #141
"Pearl Jam": #157
"Riot Act": #199
"Ten": Not charted
*Does not include two weeks on chart when available on vinyl only (debuted at #55 vinyl-only, then fell to #173 before leaping to #1 upon the CD release).
It just goes to show how vastly different the record industry is from the late 90's to today.
The cool thing is, it shows that the bands popularity is as strong now as it was then. Maybe stronger. It also, in my opinion, shows what a great record that Backspacer is. Although I have a feeling that some people on this board would disagree with me on that subject.
True. It is likely that "Yield" sold more copies in its fifteenth week than "Backspacer" did, even though "Backspacer" ranks higher, just because album sales were higher across the board in 1998.
- Mr. Edward Vedder 7/11/03
Wow, you sure do know everything..
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I'm very, very frightening
and I'll overdo it'
This is really great!
In Canada, Backspacer even went up to #33 this week.
Or maybe they're blacklisted for going on Conan, Letterman's head-to-head competitor. There was a lot of that between Letterman and Leno.
Well, I have a fair amount of experience with these matters.
Hehe, I was thinking the exact same thing...I'm slightly amused by it, as none of us know how the Backspacer charting will play out. Let's face it, in this musical landscape where the album is only available in 2 places, NONE OF US has any idea just how to gauge this current run. We can try and compare to a different time, but it doesn't work. The best method we have to see how the album is doing is to simply look at weekly jumps, or drops in sales.
I know people like to turn it into some kind of science to back their claims, but Backspacer is doing better than any of us thought after releasing "Just Breathe" as a 2nd single.
The really impressive run is Susan Boyle's 4 straight weeks or so at 500,000+ sales all of Dec. THAT was incredible on any level. But, I guess we can just attribute most of that to Dec. X-mas sales, right?
Letterman doesn't hate Conan like he does Leno. So that can't be it. And Letterman won't turn down big guests.
i was never anticipating they would be on something as big as the oscars. but when you're averaging somewhere around 10-15k copies per week...and then you get an extra 20k based on your calculation there, i'd have to say that would be considered a pretty big spike in my book. more than doubling your normal output.
40,000 copies would certainly move them way up in the charts right?
i'd be really surprised. letterman's ratings went up a bit after that. plus, what does pearl jam care if he cheated on his then girlfriend in the past? :wtf:
I have actually maintained pretty consistently that "Just Breathe" was the track with the best chance of leading to an expansion of sales beyond the core fan base. There are probably 25 posts from me to that effect in various places on this board.
Having said that, your point about the limited availability of the album is important. Even if PJ made a TV appearance, any sales spike would be even less than it otherwise would be because of the Target exclusive.
As far as Susan Boyle is concerned-- yes, Christmas, but also that her audience skews older and remains album-oriented.
It's not necessarily the hosts themselves who engage in the blacklisting. It's the networks. Anyway, I'm not sure that booking Pearl Jam is that much of a coup. It would not make that much difference in the ratings. Very few acts would.
yup...great point about the target thing. i just don't understand exactly what they were thinking. if they wanted to sell more records (as they did say) why do an exclusive with a store not necessarily known for selling music?
Sure, 40,000 copies would get you close to the top 10, maybe even in the top 10 depending on the week. But that's some fuzzy math. The album's actual weekly sales level is under 10,000. It got a boost from Christmas shopping and iTunes promotion and pricing that jumped it to 14,000 and change. Add 20,000-- a generous estimate based on historical performance, the current retail climate and the Target exclusive-- and you get maybe 30,000. But you're right, that would still be a spike.
yeah, either way 25-30k would be pretty decent. and if they couple that with snl the following saturday night, the numbers should be even higher.
Following up on this now that I have more info, it was not only discounted on iTunes, but iTunes promoted it in its Tuesday e-mail promotion. Overall "Backspacer" sales were up 67 percent in the week where it jumped from 123 to 77, but downloads of the album increased 412 percent.
Imagine what they could sell if Target did anything to promote the album. I don't get why Target is content to let so much product sit and rot on the shelves.
i would think if it were to happen it would be next year when the album could be up for awards. still, i don't think it has a chance of happening.