Jul 04 2009
Jackson Album Sales a “Thriller”
As expected, sales of Michael Jackson’s albums skyrocketed in the three days following his unexpected death at the age of 50.
Three Jackson albums topped the 100,000-unit mark- Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller (which was re-released last year to commemorate its 25th anniversary). In fact, they were the only albums in the USA to scan more than 100K, according to Nielsen Soundscan, marking the first time since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991 that a catalog title sold more than a current album. Being catalog titles, however, renders them ineligible to chart on the Billboard 200; the three titles do lead Billboard’s all-encompassing Comprehensive Albums chart.
One Michael Jackson album did debut on the Billboard 200 this week- compilation Gold, which like most albums in the Gold series never made it onto the big chart upon its 2008 release, entered at No. 191.
On Top Pop Catalog Albums, Jackson/Jackson 5 titles hold down the top nine positions, more than any other act in the chart’s 18-year history. After his top three sellers, finishing in positions four through nine and selling notably less were Off the Wall, the Jackson 5’s Ultimate Collection, Bad, Dangerous, Greatest Hits: HIStory- Vol. 1 and Jackson’s 2004 box set The Ultimate Collection. All in all, Jackson’s albums sold more than 415,000 copies last week, nearly 40 percent more than what his albums had sold from the beginning of the year through June 21.
Jackson’s songs also moved massive amounts last week (2.6 million); on the Hot Digital Songs chart, Jackson/Jackson 5 titles occupied no less than 25 slots on the 75-position listing. The top five sellers were “Thriller” at No.2, with 167,000, followed by “Man in the Mirror” at No. 3 (165,000), “Billie Jean” at No. 4 (158,000), “The Way You Make Me Feel” at No.6 (136,000) and “Beat It” at No. 7 (134,000).
Jackson’s musical catalog will continue seeing big sales, but not to the extent of the immediate commercial reaction to his death.
