iTunes sent the fan bases of some of Pop music’s most revered divas into battle mode last week when it announced a flash $4.99 sale of prized entries from their respective discographies.
After jaws dropped once reports surfaced Mariah Carey‘s 2008 album, ‘E=MC2,’ topped the real-time iTunes chart, fans of Janet Jackson and Madonna rushed to buy their albums as well, which resulted in their respective ‘Control’ and ‘Bedtime Stories’ sets soaring on the tally as well (as we reported here).
As fans wait with bated breath to learn where the new sales activity will land the projects on next week’s Billboard 200, the publication delivered a report to indicate it’s quite unlikely such will occur – especially given the absence of a streaming boost to assist.
“According to initial sales reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, E=MC2 sold about 2,000 copies total across all retailers in the U.S. in the week ending April 30. About half of that sum was driven by digital sales on April 27, the day the album topped the iTunes tally.
As for Bedtime Stories, it shifted a little over 1,000 copies for the week, while Control sold just under 1,000. Again, the bulk of each album’s sales were driven by digital sales — nearly 1,000 for Bedtime Stories on April 30 (the day it was No. 1 in the iTunes Store) and a little under, 1,000 for Control across three days (April 28-30).
It doesn’t necessarily take a large number of sales to reach No. 1 on the iTunes Store’s Top Albums ranking, especially considering album sales have been on the decline for years, and it was a particularly soft week for new releases on April 24.
None of the albums are expected to re-enter next week’s Billboard 200 chart, despite their surge on the iTunes Store…“
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Although Britney Spears enjoyed a sales boost with her 2016 album, ‘Glory,’ without a $4.99 discount (as we reported here), it too will likely miss re-entering the Billboard 200.