After selling through an impressive 166,000 copies of the anniversary edition of ‘Thriller’, Michael Jackson will not feature on this week’s Billboard 200 chart due to a technicality. Check out the report via our friends over at SOHH below:According to New York’s Daily News, even though Jackson’s 25th anniversary album sold 166,000 copies this week, according to Nielsen’s SoundScan, Billboard categorized the album as a catalogue- or oldies album, making it uneligible for inclusion in the Billboard 200.
Jackson’s label, Sony, argues that this should not be the case because in addition to classic hits like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” the album also contains six new songs.
One label source explains, “Michael went into the studio and recorded with Kanye West, Fergie, Akon, Will.i.Am – and there’s a brand-new song from Michael, and videos. It beat Grammy winners Amy Winehouse and Herbie Hancock, with 167,000 crossing the counter. Yet for reasons unfathomable to folks in the music industry, Billboard has decided to relegate it to the catalogue chart. Catalogue makes it look like the same ol’ same ol’, but with a “new cover.”
According to Billboard chart expert, Geoff Mayfield, “We were approached by Sony and Sony BMG to consider ‘Thriller 25’ as a current album. But we had to be consistent with hundreds, if not thousands, of reissues that have come to the market. There have actually been new issues of classic albums that include even more new material. We didn’t just make the decision on our own. We contacted major retailers [like Wal-Mart and Best Buy], and that was the consensus.”
Still Mayfield adds that Jackson should find comfort in knowing, “It’s the largest sum for an album on the catalogue chart to be sold in 10 years.”
BS, if you ask me. Then again, I guess it’s the inner-stan that’s making me see this as some kind of injustice?? As the article points out, though, this should come as good news to Michael and his (prospective) label; with next to no appearances, performances etc, Michael still can chart so high. Bring on that new album already.
Any thoughts?
They cheated Britney, too, you know!
Screw Billboard, they did Britney over too.
Thriller has been released so many times since it came out, it was rereleased when invincible cam out and etc.
like when the emancipaction of mimi ultraplatinum edition came out it was counted as the same album thats always been done you have to have over a certain amount of new material to be considered a new album instead of a rerelease.
I think of you have to have over like 6 new songs for it to be considered a new album, if not it will be considered a rerelease of the old version and the sales will go to that album.
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