The information you requested is only available to subscribers.
Accessing this information requires a subscription to Billboard.BIZ
OVER THE COUNTER: MADONNA MAKES GLOBAL CHART NOISE
05/17/2008
Given the sales pattern of recent years, there is no shame in first-week sales of 280,000 for her new "Hard Candy" coming in softer than first-week sales of her last studio album.
After all, with album sales in 2007 down 15% from 2006, and this year's pace off by 11%, artists who have topped the Billboard 200 in recent months have often done so with slower starts than they saw earlier.
In March, for example, Janet Jackson's 181,000-unit opener for "Discipline" was 39% lighter than the launch of her 2006 chart-topper "20 Y.O.," while recent No. 1 bows by Alan Jackson, Jay-Z and Rascal Flatts each began with smaller starts than their prior albums had.
To continue reading this article, you must be a subscriber.
|
Not a Billboard Subscriber? Get Access Now!
Billboard.biz keeps you connected to what's happening in the music and entertainment industry as it happens.
 51 issues throughout the year PLUS special coverage editions
Billboard.biz - complete online access to industry news
Daily Billboard Bulletin now including Chart Alert
Billboard Chart Alert available on Wednesday
Archives dating back to 1946
|
