A Question about "Charts"

[GNDM]

I will admit to having no idea how charts, like Billboard, work. I looked up W2MN on Billboard 200 a week ago that it was around 160 after three weeks. It is gone from that list now. My question is....what does it mean? Starting at #22 seemed good, but lasting only 4 weeks...is that bad or normal? Since I do not have a clue how "sales" are counted nowadays...what do charts like Billboard use as criteria? In short - how is the album doing in sales? Anyone?

[Si]

It's pretty normal for a rock album. It's well known that rock fans buy albums in quantity as soon as they can, while pop fans need the exposure of radio before they buy it. Rock albums that go UP in the charts normally do so on the strength of a big hit single.

As to what it all means, nowadays it means very little.

[darkmenace]

It was great to see so many fans buy the album in the first week but in some ways that was to be expected with all the built-in buzz the album had.

At this stage I'm disappointed by the lack of promotion for this album. ACAS had that great video that featured three songs that has nearly 600,000 views on youtube. The video for IBYFO is just concert footage and has nothing to do with the nightmare concept and so far it has only 100,000 views.

I've been assuming they'll release a single and video for WBW but haven't heard anything.

If nothing else happens this was truly a lost opportunity to have a bigger comeback.

[A_MichaelUK]

>At this stage I'm disappointed by the lack of promotion for this album.

I don't think you've been paying attention.

>ACAS had that great video that featured three songs that has nearly 600,000 views on youtube. The video for IBYFO is just concert footage and has nothing to do with the nightmare concept and so far it has only 100,000 views.

Yet "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" has sold more copies than "Along Came A Spider" did. How do you explain that?

[Devon]

ACAS had that great video that featured three songs that has nearly 600,000 views on youtube. The video for IBYFO is just concert footage and has nothing to do with the nightmare concept and so far it has only 100,000 views.

That's an extremely lopsided comparison that you really should have thought about before you posted. The "ACAS" video was published over 3 YEARS ago. Of course it's had time to get that many views. "I'll Bite Your Face Off" video hasn't even been up for 2 months. Are you really going to make that comparison?

[Robbie]

I am (fortunately) old enough to remember when chart positions had some meaning / credibility. There were only maybe fourteen or fifteen number ones in a year as a record may have held sway for five or six weeks as the biggest selling single (never mind the occasional Bryan Adams or Wet Wet Wet distortion). By the late nineties this became a nonsense as it appeared as if each number one, usually an anodyne dance act "featuring", as was the fashion, some equally long forgotten solo "artist lasted only one week at the top of the charts. These top selling records lasted for only a week to be replaced by another equally unmemorable single as various talentless nobodies proclaimed themselves to have had x number of chart topping singles. For what it is worth GNDM I recall listening to an interview with the lead singer of the Rubettes who said a modern chart act needed to sell 50,000 records in a week to achieve a number one. He pointed out that the Rubettes sold this number IN A DAY when they charted with "Sugar Baby Love" in the 70's. Am with Si on this one -the charts now are virtualy meaningless.

[darkmenace]

I'll stand by what I said: the video promo for ACAS is far superior to anything that has been released for W2MN and given the greater potential for W2MN that's surprising.

[Devon]

The video was well done, but then a different set of circumstances which helped the production of that video too.

However, absolutely nothing has even precluded the possibility of a W2MN featurette next year.

[darkmenace]

I hope so and I hope to see WBW released as a single and maybe even get a video.

[Devon]

Right, but you do acknowledge that the video view count comparison between the ACAS mini video and the "Bite Your Face Off" is not a very feasible or reasonable comparison right?

[A_MichaelUK]

> Am with Si on this one -the charts now are virtualy meaningless.

I was saying that long before he was!

[Spot and Jerome]

The video was well done, but then a different set of circumstances which helped the production of that video too.

However, absolutely nothing has even precluded the possibility of a W2MN featurette next year.

Also, if I remember it right, the ACAS video was released after the album came out, maybe a month or two? IBYFO instead was available before W2MN. So MAYBE we may get some more video thing in the future, or maybe not, who knows...

[darkmenace]

Yes, I agree that you can't compare views for ACAS video and IBYFO at this stage but I predict that IBYFO won't have anywhere near 600,000 views in 3 years. It's not a great song and it's not nearly as interesting as 3 songs in a kind of "movie" format with a story linking them.

I'm not saying ACAS is a better album than W2MN, I'm saying the promo video is far superior.

[Devon]

It's not a great song

Most reactions suggest that others feel differently.

[kevinuk81]

IBYFO is one of Alice's best ever.