Madonna's "MDNA" 2nd week sales drop by record amount, accused of inflating 1st week sales
by Aaron Zorgel
April 11, 2012
Madonna’s newest record MDNA debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 last week, selling over 359,000 units. This was enough to clinch the top spot for Madge, above Lionel Ritchie’s Tuskegee, which sold 200,000 units, earning him his best first-week debut in over 20 years.
Madonna’s newest record MDNA debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 last week, selling over 359,000 units. This was enough to clinch the top spot for Madge, above Lionel Ritchie’s Tuskegee, which sold 200,000 units, earning him his best first-week debut in over 20 years. Given that MDNA has failed to produce a truly successful radio single, her #1 debut seemed suspect to Forbes contributor Roger Freedman.
Friedman revealed that Madonna’s label Interscope and Live Nation (who owns Ticketmaster) collaborated on a clever promotional move with MDNA, giving a copy (physical or digital) of the record away with every ticket sold to Madonna’s 2012 concert tour. Regardless of ticket price, every purchase came with a copy of MDNA. This is brilliant marketing on behalf of Interscope and Live Nation, but it surely inflates the numbers that gave Madonna the #1 spot on Billboard over Lionel Ritchie.
In MDNA‘s second week of sales, the numbers indicate a record drop of 88% — from 359,000 to just 46,000. Tuskegee sales dropped just 47%, which Friedman notes is “normal” for an album in its second week.
So, did Madonna, Live Nation, and Interscope deny Lionel Ritchie a #1 debut? All signs point to yes. Perhaps it’s time for Billboard to amend their rules as to what constitutes a true “sale” in 2012. I’m sure Madonna’s not sweating these accusations — she’s about to embark on a highly profitable tour at the end of May.
[via Forbes]
