This Week’s Sales

1. Ciara "The Evolution"

Sales this week: 340,263
Debut

Evanescent pop that will be driven by hit singles. She’s got one moving up the chart right now. This should carry her through Christmas, but not at this inflated sales number. After Christmas?? Then we find out how strong her label’s promotion department really is.

2. Eminem "Eminem Presents The Re-Up"

Sales this week: 293,288
Debut

Wow, this guy is toast. Even if he put out a great album instead of this mish-mash that trades on his name but really is..?, he wouldn’t sell tonnage. Eminem was of a time and place. Most of his music sounds dated. Awful management. But is Marshall unmanageable?

3. Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

Sales this week: 252,264
Debut

It’s stuff like this that is supposed to save the record industry. Gwen is supposed to swoop down and say it’s all about talent, all about charisma. But how talented is Gwen really? Isn’t there a lot of IMAGE involved? As for charisma… She made it by being ANTI-CHARISMA! This record was trumpeted in every medium known to man, with this type of exposure ‘N Sync sold two million records in a week. This number, with the single all over radio (the track is at number 6) and all over MTV, is just shy of pitiful. Marketing no longer sells records, word of mouth does. Oh, I’m overstating the case, but it’s important to note the change. Most people are immune to the hard sell. And, when the sell ends, NOBODY cares. Just like with Beyonce’s album, just like with Gwen’s previous album, without a single blistering the airwaves, the album has no sustained sales.

15. "Dreamgirls"

Sales this week: 104,143
Debut

Not an impressive number…yet. This is considered the movie of the season, if not the YEAR! If the flick catches on, this could end up being a juggernaut, selling millions. But lower your expectations, just a few years later, you can’t do "O Brother, Where Art Thou"’s 5 million. 3 million tops, 2 million is a good number.

Let’s see what happens when the movie is released, and people have their gift cards in their pockets.

17. James Taylor "James Taylor At Christmas"

Sales this week: 97,713
Percentage change: +55%

The people still care.

Sold at Hallmark Stores two years ago, in the neighborhood of a million, but that didn’t cover the market. If James came out with great new material, he’s platinum no problem. If it’s sold a la Tony Bennett, it’s DOUBLE PLATINUM! This audience doesn’t care about singles, not even radio, unless it’s NPR, they buy BRAND NAMES! Eminem, even Jay-Z, they’re not in the LEAGUE of the brand name acts of old. Who can sell out venues WITHOUT new material, YEARS after their peak.

18. Jay-Z "Kingdom Come"

Sales this week: 96,072
Percentage change: 28%

It’s over.

Sales definitely won’t bounce significantly until after Christmas. Will they then? Never discount the efforts of desperate promotion men. But Jay-Z feels done. But if a new single DOES fly, what kind of fucked up business do we have where the means of selling records relies on old school techniques, driving Top Forty airplay, when most people have tuned out, when so many people are finding out about music from friends and the Web. Focus on the latter, they’re the future.

19. Rascal Flatts "Me And My Gang"

Sales this week: 92,251
Percentage change: +38%

Could this be the biggest album of the year because you can SING THE SONGS??

21. Tony Bennett "Duets: An American Classic"

Sales this week: 88,960
Percentage change: +9%

Wouldn’t sell shit if it weren’t the fourth quarter…

The perfect holiday gift for those who don’t listen to music.

26. Hinder "Extreme Behavior"

Sales this week: 79,049
Percentage change: +29%

Funny how albums out for a while are getting a bounce, but the new releases are tanking.

Anyway, you may wince when you hear their Nickelback-styled hit ballad, but I think they’re on to something here. Beats seem to be no match for rock. Yup, meat and potatoes rock. That you can pull up on the jukebox and swig a beer to, that you can dance to. You think the guys in Hinder are blue collar, on your wavelength, you can’t RELATE to the popsters/rappers. Follow this formula all the way to the bank. Sign bar bands, doctor their songs, wait for the money to come in.

27. Snoop Dogg "The Blue Carpet Treatment"

Sales this week: 72,549
Percentage change: -14%

Come on, Snoop’s not about music, certainly when he doesn’t work with Dre.

These rappers are so far from the records is it any wonder that everybody no longer needs the discs?

Mainstream rap, if not dead, is down for the count, it’s over, it will never dominate like it did again. While the main purveyors became empires, the music became a cartoon and everybody moved on but those in the business.

29. Trans-Siberian Orchestra "The Lost Christmas Eve"

Sales this week: 68,560
Percentage change: +25%

A fucking annuity. Credit David Krebs, who built this into a juggernaut. He had a vision, and helped execute it, and was blown out once it was up and running.

Sales every year. Multiple touring companies. All based on ROCK!

Maybe you could make it with rock too. Not Deftones unintelligible rock, but the arena rock of YORE!

36. Evanescence "The Open Door"

Sales this week: 60,311
Percentage change: +27%

A complete stiff on any label but Wind-Up. They invested, they NEEDED this. They DELIVERED, for an act that lost its SONGWRITER!!!

37. Trans-Siberian Orchestra ""Christmas Eve & Other Stories"

Sales this week: 59,699
Percentage change: +30%

See number 29 above.

38. The Game "The Doctor’s Advocate"

Sales this week: 57,090
Percentage change: -7%

Need any more evidence that rap has been dethroned? There’s not even any BUZZ here. Somebody needs to SHOOT SOMEONE! (Then again, the public no longer thinks that’s dangerous, just STUPID!)

39. Incubus "Light Grenades"

Sales this week: 56,133
Percentage change: -67%

That shows you how meaningless a number one album is. These guys didn’t deserve ANY press. This is cult band feeding its fans, no more, no less. This album ain’t NEVER going back up the chart!

43. Christina Aguilera "Back To Basics"

Sales this week: 52,101
Percentage change: +11%

I’d like to say this demonstrates why you shouldn’t release double albums, but people will pay ANYTHING for a hit, and this package just doesn’t have enough of them.

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