US chart this week:

25. Rolling Stones, A Bigger Bang: 35,861 (228,030)
166. Rolling Stones, Jump Back: 5,967 (567,537)

Macca down 6-16 with 49k in his second week (140k total)

It's still #1 in Germany ....

Yet Bon Jovi sells over 200, 000 in their first week...what a topsy-turvy world.

I hope Mick and Keith realise after this tour that, sadly, it's over and end the Stones with some dignity. They're playing great, their shows are selling pretty well, but from here on out they are a nostalgia act a la the Beach Boys. Their records are going to sell worse and worse, no matter how good they are.
If a great record like "A Bigger Bang' barely sells over 200, 000 copies in 3 weeks, why bother?

Keith...the wheels have fallen off. What a bummer.

Jack Knife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> If a great record like "A Bigger Bang' barely
> sells over 200, 000 copies in 3 weeks, why
> bother?
>
>
>

probably for the same reason they started the band....the love of the music




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-09-29 02:35 by Leonard Keringer.

No impressive numbers at all, but respectable in today's market.

The problem with airplay and charting here in the US is the way radio stations are now formatted. The longevity of the Stones now hurts them with American radio. You can hear all the warhorses you want on the "classic" rock stations but because of their format, they will not play the new material, anything after Tattoo You. The stations that play "new" rock ( disgusting) don't play the new Stones material because most of those people don't know who the Stones are, unless they are our kids. Long gone are the days of calling up your local station and having your request played, no matter if it's 40 years old or 4 days old.

Who really cares about all the ratings crap anyway? We all know this is the best stuff from the Stones in decades.

Greg

"thank you Jesus, thank you LORD!"

Very disheartening to me - and I'd never understand how Bongiovanni could enter at #2, with his last one selling merely 700,000 total.

Hey, at least Bon Jovi are a real band with genuine talent...if you can manage to look past their goofy poodle-haired 80's image, you'd find some awesome pop rock/metal tunes.

Jack Knife, ABB was #1 WORLDWIDE in the first (680,000 copies sold) and the second (431,200) week. If i remember correctly Bon Jovi in his second week sold 108,400 copies. (# 21 worldwide). If i make mistake, georgelicks will tell us.

ABB SELLS VERY, VERY WELL everywhere EXCEPT the USA. Do you think that the USA is something bigger than the whole world? Also, do you you think that these sales, in today's american market, is a tragedy? Madonna's last album have sold less than 750,000 copies. Pearl Jam's last album have sold less than 450,000 copies. The last album of Oasis have sold only 160,000 copies. As you know, in the middle 90s Oasis were the best album sellers, as Coldplay now are. I am sure that in 2015 Coldplay and Killers will be the today's Oasis...

The fact that the Stones are two weeks #1 worldwide with new stuff is denying the dogma about "nostalgia act". The Stones never had been huge album sellers. Their stability after 43 years is admirable. They still are the best selling and most popular live act in the world and that's in my opinion is TRULY GREAT...

God... ABB #1 worldwide but we are nagging for the @#$%& USA charts...

The bottom line- if the album sells well worldwide, they will do another one. Its really not any individual chart, its worldwide what they are looking at. If a 43 year old band has sold 1.2 million in 3 weeks, and they will be on the road for a year promoting this thing, i think it will do fine when all is said and done.

I remember Jagger saying something like " we sell about 2 million worldwide with each release...some bands do better, others do worse" in a Rollingstone interview in 1978.

Well, people in the media will pounce on any excuse to take a cheap shot at the Stones...

"They're old, they're tired, they're ugly, their albums don't sell anymore, just retire...blah blah blah."

"Well, people in the media will pounce on any excuse to take a cheap shot at the Stones..."

keefriff99, a lot of people in the media do something like that since ...1972. So what? The Stones are here, alive and kicking! Also, we have to admit that there are NOT only negative comments around.

keefriff99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, people in the media will pounce on any
> excuse to take a cheap shot at the Stones...
>
>"They're old,

They said that in 1966

>they're tired,

They said that in 1975

>they're ugly,

They said that in 1963


>their albums don't sell anymore,

They've always said that.

> just retire...blah blah blah.

They will, . . . one day.

Jack Knife wrote: "Their records are going to sell worse and worse."

I don't think that there is a straight waning line into the time. If the statistics of Jens Backlund's site are correct (if they aren't, georgelicks will set me rihgt!), then B2B (3 million copies worldwide) sold more than Emotional Rescue (2 m ww) and Undercover (2 m ww). Voodoo Lounge sold more than every album since Tattoo You (except Steel Wheels ??? I am not sure). In fact, only 3-4 albums of the Stones had an "extraordinary" success: SG, TY, VL and perhaps SW. So...

>>>I don't think that there is a straight waning line into the time. If the statistics of Jens Backlund's site are correct (if they aren't, georgelicks will set me rihgt!), then B2B (3 million copies worldwide) sold more than Emotional Rescue (2 m ww) and Undercover (2 m ww). Voodoo Lounge sold more than every album since Tattoo You (except Steel Wheels ??? I am not sure). In fact, only 3-4 albums of the Stones had an "extraordinary" success: SG, TY, VL and perhaps SW. So...

Well, here are my stats since 1978:
Some Girls - 10m ww
Emotional Rescue - 4m ww
Tattoo You - 8m ww
Undercover - 2m ww
Dirty Work - 2m ww
Steel Wheels - 6m ww
Voodoo Lounge - 5.5m ww
Bridges To Babylon - 3.5m ww
ABB - 1.1m ww


I think that the album it's selling very well worldwide, except US and UK.
The big problem is the INCREDIBLE BAD promotion: no video, bad release date, no real single.
Bon Jovi's got a lot of TV promo last week, and they did a good job with the digital single on Itunes, it's #58 on the Hot 100 singles with big digital downloads.
Where is RJ or SOL on Itunes?
Both songs didn't sell more than 1000 copies, a terrible performance, even Bruce charted on the Hot 100 for a week with his single thanks to digital sales.

stickydion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Well, people in the media will pounce on any
> excuse to take a cheap shot at the Stones..."
>
> keefriff99, a lot of people in the media do
> something like that since ...1972. So what? The
> Stones are here, alive and kicking! Also, we have
> to admit that there are NOT only negative comments
> around.

Yes, but because they haven't aged gracefully (Charlie excepted) and become somewhat boring, button-downed artists (like say Clapton), they're a bigger target.

Mick can still kick ass live, prancing and running and dancing with the body of a teenager. Keith is still an elegantly wasted pirate who stalks around the stage, defying death with every step. And Ronnie a clown prince, full of piss and vinegar. In short, they are outrageous, and that's why we love 'em, but I can understand some people looking at them and saying, "Oh please, grow the @#$%& up."

Some people simply find it ridiculous that 62 year old men are bouncing around onstage like they're in their 20's...me?? I think it's @#$%& fantastic

Anyway, it seems the Stones have already transcended the "too old to rock" jokes (which are as tired as the comedians who spout them)...after 6 hugely successful world tours since '89, people can't say anything except "damn, they may be old but they @#$%& rock."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2005-09-29 06:34 by keefriff99.

You're all out of your heads..It's not about the sales, because records do not sell in general anymore. It's about the music! First off, the album was available free to those who sought it out a month in advance. Hell, the Stones had it on there site a week prior, iTunes had 3 singles out for .99 a pop, including Rough Justice, the only song to get real airplay...Blah Blah @#$%& Blah....

The fact of the matter is A Bigger Bang is a very good Rock n' Roll record. Not their best, but no record will every equal the output of 67-73. It's the most coheisive Stones album since Goat's Head Soup. Mick and Keef together and obvisouly having fun. Sure 20-30% of the album is crap, but so what? Most everything else out there is 70-100% shit.

Thanks georgelicks. I suppose every album in 60s and 70s (except SG, of course) sold 2- 4 m ww, not more. Right?

I see the bad promotion. Forget the release date, let's see the future: can we presume that a video (even now) + the tour + the pre-Christmas market will promote NOW the album in the USA?

PS Finally, how many copies has sold Bon Jovi worldwide in his first 2 weeks?

keefriff99 says:
"Some people simply find it ridiculous that 62 year old men are bouncing around onstage like they're in their 20's...me?? I think it's @#$%& fantastic

Anyway, it seems the Stones have already transcended the "too old to rock" jokes (which are as tired as the comedians who spout them)...after 6 hugely successful world tours since '89, people can't say anything except "damn, they may be old but they @#$%& rock."


Agree 1000%!!!

I am just mad and frustrated with MY FELLOW AMERICANS...not the rest of the world. After all, they ARE playing HERE...and they ARE the biggest rock'n roll band in the world...so how come people like Bon Jovi and U2 sell better??

I know there's nothing I can personally do about the idiots that are the American record buying public, but I'll never understand how the Stones put more asses in seats than U2 or Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen...yet those "oldies" sell more albums. I could understand if 'A Bigger Bang' wasn't very good like say 'Bridges to Babylon,' but the fact is it's a great, great album. Why don't they get the respect from the American record-buyers that Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan did on their last few studio releases? Why aren't the young people who were curious about them curious about the new Stones release?

And really...where the HELL are the videos and other promotion for the album? I never saw a single TV commercial for 'A Bigger Bang,' though there was supposed to be one, but Barbra Streisand has her puss on the TV every 10 minutes pushing her new one, and Bon Jovi's really annoying video is on every time I flip past VH1.

I'm HOPING that if there is an Expanded Edition for Christmas, they'll do a LOT better job promoting it...PUT A SONG OR TWO IN SOME COMMERCIALS! That's the only way most people hear them anymore!

ok they love the stones but getting old new songs have to et old if playedsweet non ceon they died radio is sick natives wl sell free concert may help the album rise again nw ingle not on the album plus play rain fall down every night boys i see that it can be a smash just play it

and exile dd not sell well it will grow

>>PS Finally, how many copies has sold Bon Jovi worldwide in his first 2 weeks?

The first week is still going on!
So far they sold a lot: 200k in USA, 160k in Japan, 60k in UK, 25k in Canada... plus many more worldwide. They have a REAL & SMART label behind, sadly the Stones didn't get US #1's for BAD release date (see 40 Licks)
Sorry, but I can't stand Virgin.

It is still number one in sweden!
[www.aftonbladet.se]

I think one must realize that Bon Jovi's fan base is overall alot younger than the Stones is. Younger fans are generally the ones that buy the albums. I'm sure that he'll have a couple good weeks to start off where all his die hard fans go out and buy the album then it'll fade.

The marketing machine for BJ was exceptional, the marketing for the Stones was the worse EVER, that's the difference.

How can such astute businessmen be so bad at promotion?? Do they just not care? They're by far one of the wealthiest bands on the planet, yet they can't string together a minimally competent marketing strategy??

It's absolutely senseless to me. You can hear the effort put into the album...why not put equal effort into promoting it? You would think at least Mick would understand that.

"A bigger bang" still doing very well in Europe!. Whats the reason?

Stickydion your points are valid, its much like the 'half-full' perspective I described a few weeks ago, when ABB debuted at "merely" # 3 in the US.
BTW Exile (like every RS studio lp beginning w/ SF until the string was broken by Undercover) was # 1 in the US. For several weeks.
The outrage is that the band is touring the US right now and it doesn't seem to help. Even crusty Robert Christgau gave the new album an A minus. When I saw them do great shows at Fenway 8/21 & 8/23, they played 4 new ABB tracks (plus 1 new cover & 3 from the '90s), very generous I thought. But since the album was released they have kept it at either 4 or sometimes 3. I think it would be useful to play minimum 4, better 5 or 6 (if Mick believes, as he says in RS mag "'People say, 'I much prefer to hear Brown Sugar than some new song.' Well I don't give a shit what you prefer...'") Also this week that # 25 represents is mostly the week they played no gigs. They need to add a couple new ones, and do some sort of TV concert, pay-per-view or MTV Ten-spot, whatever, as they've done each tour since '89. That usually spikes sales a bit. Especially right before the holiday break.

Havo//

The success in Europe is due to better marketing (thats one main reason anyway). I´ve seen a lot of promo the last 3-4 weeks (Sweden), and its just the way its supposed to be.

Secondly they get more airplay than in US(i think).

And the "Crap"-music culture isn´t holding a wet blanket over decent quality musiq here (for a number of reasons).