Future may have lawsuits and baby mama drama, but musically he’s winning.
The tally has been counted for last week’s new releases and the Rap star has come up on top.
His numbers, as well as those of Remy Ma, Fat Joe, and Jidenna, await below…
Released with 48 hours notice, Future’s self-titled album will open at #1 on the Billboard 200 with a Sales Plus Streaming figure of 139,338. On the pure sales front, the father of five remains atop with 56,865 units sold; meaning well over 50% of his final SPS number was sourced from on-demand streams.
If only streaming could have served as the saving grace of two of the week’s other notable Urban releases…
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Powered by the Platinum certified ‘All The Way Up,’ Remy Ma and Fat Joe’s joint effort ‘Plato O Plomo’ debuts disappointedly at #44 on the SPS count. Its combined numbers on that chart came in at 11,158. As for the project’s pure sales debut, that figure sat at a shocking 7,978. Although, this was enough to lift its placing on sales-only chart to #25.
The sole caveat here, however, is that the album was released independently. Hence, a higher slice of the returns go directly to the artist.
One does have to wonder, though. With such low numbers, plus a presumed 50/50 split between Remy and Joe, how much – if anything – is left?
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Elsewhere, Jidenna’s overdue debut ‘The Chief’ opens at #14 with 14,347 SPS. Its pure sales (8,655) sees the Epic Records artist sit at #24 – one spot above Remy and Joe on the sales-only chart.
Its 2017 release has confused some, given the 2015 omnipresence of his break-out hit ‘Classic Man.’
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Two things are abundantly clear from this week’s numbers.
The first is that streaming is, at this junction, an undeniable vehicle to success – especially for acts whose sales fuel is in limited supply (see: Future). Any artist ill-equipped on the streaming front will more than likely suffer the consequences.
Just ask Remy, Joe, and Jidenna – all of whom released great bodies of work, but have fallen victim to changing consumption patterns and…
Ill-advised release dates.
In keeping it 100, ‘Plato O Plomo’ should have dropped during the window ‘All The Way Up’ was on fire. While ‘The Chief’ almost seemed destined to this fate when a 2016 release did not take place. Extending the ‘Classic Man’ momentum one year was pushing it, but almost two? That’s trying it.
In any case, enough of the ranting.
Rashad‘s in-depth Chart-Check on all of the week’s movers and shakers is coming shortly. Pending then, what are…