How Will TLOS Chart? - UK And US

[shelter]

IIRC Wonderful was a limited edition of 3000 or 4000, and most sold out in that first week.

And not even all of these copies ended up in the UK. I bought two copies in a Dutch record store. So unless that store got them from a British store, those didn't even count for the UK charts.

[absinthe_boy]

The 7" Wonderful was a UK only release...so if a Dutch store got hold of some, they were from a UK source. Whether it counted towards the UK charts is another matter.

You have to sell very few singles these days to get into the top 40 in the UK. There's no doubt in my mind that there was no manipulation of the charts for Wonderful or SMiLE.

[shelter]

You have to sell very few singles these days to get into the top 40 in the UK.

Legal downloads count too for the single charts nowadays.

[The Heartical Don]

We're sure to have sold a million copies by January.

[elnombre]

For anyone interested, TLOS is currently at #22 on the US iTunes chart.

[Empire Of Love]

The regular TLOS CD is #6 in music at Amazon.   The Deluxe is appox #25, and vinyl is #1000+.  For the official/Billboard/whatever count, does each regular, deluxe, and vinyl copy count as a sale in their total?

[Ethan]

On the selves of Woolworths and WH Smith today at 19 and 20.

[Empire Of Love]

Amazon: 8, 38, 1008 for regular, deluxe, vinyl, respectively.

Again, does anyone know whether the Billboard numbers include sales of each version?

[shelter]

It just entered the Dutch album chart at #55.

And it's #27 on the "Droomlijst" (dream list), which is the Dutch top 40 for alternative albums. Isn't it funny how Brian Wilson was as mainstream as could be 40-45 years ago and that at some point in time his music apparently became 'alternative'?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Amazon: 8, 38, 1008 for regular, deluxe, vinyl, respectively.

Again, does anyone know whether the Billboard numbers include sales of each version?

Billboard charts are compiled from sales of all formats - CD, vinyl, download and, for all I know, cylinder. 

[DonnaK]

Andrew, what are you feelings/thoughts on having all of the different variants on TLOS?? Fair, not so fair, bad, etc. ? All I know is that I spent alot of moola on 3 versions, when I should have only bought one and waited. I've emailed many bonus tracks to the UK yesterday and am tired!!!

[Andrew G. Doe]

Marketing. That's all it is. The record company have invested in the product and artist, and have a right to market it as they see fit. Not quite sure how the Best Buy/iTunes versions fits into this scenario, but anyway, I figure it took about ten minutes for someone to compile a CDR of the 5 bonus tracks and two live version from the DVD.

Essentially, they're milking the collector/hard-core fan - they know there are people out there who will buy this stuff on principle and doubtless budget accordingly. Back in the day, you got a pic sleeve on your single if you were lucky... but granted, the market wasn't so fragmented then, and vinyl wasn't merely king, it was essentially all there was. I would hope that when Capitol put out Last Wilson Standing - The Best Of Brian 1986-2008 sometime next year, there's a bonus disc of all the odds & ends from this period.

[lance]

Eh? Is that in the works? If there were bonus cuts/non-LP songs I would definitely buy that sh*t.

[Andrew G. Doe]

OK, I made the title up, but I'd be seriously surprised if something along those lines didn't happen very soon - after all, a 'best of' aside, what else is there left except for The Smile Sessions 1966-67 ?

And that'll happen too...

[The Heartical Don]

May I humbly chime in with a 'sensitive' question? I am absolutely not in the financial position to acquire all the bonus material AGD refers to above (can't afford the vinyl either, much as I'd want to). So: is there a good Samaritan that would, um, be willing to, um, PM me?

(I hate to beg, honest. You may scold me for doing so and ban me for 24 hours too.)

[Rich Panteluk]

I have the itunes bonus tracks and would love to discuss them if someone would be willing to discuss the Best Buy bonus tracks with me.  I have ordered the best buy version but it hasn't arrived yet.

[absinthe_boy]

Marketing. That's all it is.

And they have to gague how to get it right. For example 3 different colours of the "Wonderful" single at under two quid each was not too bad. I bet a bunch of us bought all three. If some people just bought one, that's cool as the musical content is the same for all three.

SMiLE was very special, and I was more flushed with cash than now....so I bought the CD (x3, two for friends as gifts), the vinyl (x2 just in case), the special UK picture box edition (that was crap), and the DVD...as well as attending a concert. This time around I have bought the vinyl TLOS and I am humming and harring about the CD.

BUT...around the same time I was investigating buying a Bowie single I liked and it was available in about 5 different versions, all with different "B-sides" and different verisons of the "A side". I honestly couldn't decide which to buy....not being as huge a fan of Bowie as I am Wilson...so I bought none. I already had the album, I liked the single and would have bought one in the hope of "helping" it up the charts. From the descriptions available online there didn't seem to be a "standard" version. So, a marketing failure there...and IIRC the single didn't chart well, at a time when Bowie was doing well (Heathen).

Capitol are bound to try to milk us, and to get the most from having signed Brian. They can do that in several ways....hope that Brian will release more high quality material (who knows?).....release special editions of TLOS and/or related material.....release compilations of other Brian-related material they own the rights to or can cheaply buy the rights to...in the end we have to decide what to buy, knowing full well something "better" may come along in another five years, or ten years.

[Wirestone]

It's hanging tough at #5 on Amazon music. Not bad.

[Shady]

It's hanging tough at #5 on Amazon music. Not bad.

Even New Kids On The Block have slipped to 10,

This is more than impressive!!

But I bet i'm alone on that statment 

[alovisi]

New entry at #37 in the UK album chart...

[Beach Bum]

Hits Daily Double. Don't know if many of you have checked this out before, but it compiles sales on Monday and Tuesday of each week from record chains, and then releases a chart on Wednesday. Right now, it shows Lucky Old Sun to be at #32 in the US, although this changes every 5 minutes as updates arrive.

FWIW, their week-ending charts on Wednesday typically mimic Billboards fairly accurately.

Here is the link: http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/salescht.cgi

[Beach Bum]

At day's end, the Daily Double put Brian at a very respectable #22. You can bet that Billboard will fall somewhere in there - although I don't know if the on-line sales are figured into that.

[lance]

Holy cow, 22 is not bad at all!!

[absinthe_boy]

Its not Billboard, but if the Billboard number is somewhere close....holy cow Brian, you have a palpable hit on your hands!

When the &(*^ does Billboard publish its chart?

[armona]

Apparently on Thursday.

Hot 100 (from wiki)

The the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Thursday. Each chart is dated with the "week-ending" date of the following Saturday.

Example:
Monday, January 1 – sales tracking-week begins
Wednesday, January 3 — airplay tracking-week begins
Sunday, January 7 – sales tracking-week ends
Tuesday, January 9 – airplay tracking-week ends
Thursday, January 11 – new chart released, with issue date of Saturday, January 20.