SoundScan (US) sales-figures

[Mael]

Year | Title | Registered SoundScan - US - sales (May 1991-Sept 2010)

- (1956) Elvis Presley - 108.000
- (1957) Loving You - 46.000
- (1958) Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1997 re-issue) - 281.000
- (1993) Double Feature Series - Love In Las Vegas / Roustabout 70,000
- (1996) Elvis 56 237,000
- (2002) Elvis: 30 #1 Hits 4,673,798
- (2003) Christmas Peace 174,000
- (2007) Essential Elvis 348,357
- (2010) Viva Las Vegas 20,430

Comment: My source pointed out that he thought the figure for the 'Love In Las Vegas/Roustabout' album was unexpectedly low, and added that there’s a possibility that there's another listing somewhere else (not included).

_______________________________________________________
SoundScan?

Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Data is collected weekly and made available every Wednesday to subscribers, which include executives from all facets of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV, and artist management. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts, making it the official source of sales records in the music industry.

Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991.The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Music charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991.
_______________________________________________________

Martin

[Josee]

Year | Title | Registered SoundScan sales (US)

- (1956) Elvis Presley - 108.000
- (1957) Loving You - 46.000
- (1958) Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1997 re-issue) - 281.000
- (1993) Double Feature Series - Love In Las Vegas / Roustabout 70,000
- (1996) Elvis 56 237,000
- (2002) Elvis: 30 #1 Hits 4,673,798
- (2003) Christmas Peace 174,000
- (2007) Essential Elvis 348,357
- (2010) Viva Las Vegas 20,430
Comment: My source pointed out that he thought the figure for the 'Love In Las Vegas/Roustabout' album was unexpectedly low, and added that there’s a possibility that there's another listing somewhere else (not included).

_______________________________________________________
SoundScan?

Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Data is collected weekly and made available every Wednesday to subscribers, which include executives from all facets of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV, and artist management. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts, making it the official source of sales records in the music industry.

Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991.The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Music charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991.
_______________________________________________________

Martin

Thank you for this update. But for which period is it? "Elvis Presley" "Loving You" and "Essential Elvis" are all three certified GOLD
according to EPE. And "Essential Elvis" was released after 1991, right?

[Mael]

Year | Title | Registered SoundScan sales (US)

- (1956) Elvis Presley - 108.000
- (1957) Loving You - 46.000
- (1958) Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1997 re-issue) - 281.000
- (1993) Double Feature Series - Love In Las Vegas / Roustabout 70,000
- (1996) Elvis 56 237,000
- (2002) Elvis: 30 #1 Hits 4,673,798
- (2003) Christmas Peace 174,000
- (2007) Essential Elvis 348,357
- (2010) Viva Las Vegas 20,430
Comment: My source pointed out that he thought the figure for the 'Love In Las Vegas/Roustabout' album was unexpectedly low, and added that there’s a possibility that there's another listing somewhere else (not included).

_______________________________________________________
SoundScan?

Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Data is collected weekly and made available every Wednesday to subscribers, which include executives from all facets of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV, and artist management. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts, making it the official source of sales records in the music industry.

Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991.The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Music charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991.
_______________________________________________________

Martin

Thank you for this update. But for which period is it? "Elvis Presley" "Loving You" and "Essential Elvis" are all three certified GOLD
according to EPE. And "Essential Elvis" was released after 1991, right?

No problem. As for your question(s);

SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991 (as can be read in the 'SoundScan?' part of my last post), and consequently, these sales-figures are only including sales from the period May 1991- Sept 2010. That explains why neither ”Elvis Presley” nor "Loving You" have sales-figures in excess of 500k. Regarding the "Essential Elvis" album, yes it was released in 2007 (and certified GOLD in 2010), however, it is a double CD album, and consequently, it was certified for 250,000 copies shipped (=500,000 discs).

Hope this helps,
Martin

[Josee]

Year | Title | Registered SoundScan sales (US)

- (1956) Elvis Presley - 108.000
- (1957) Loving You - 46.000
- (1958) Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1997 re-issue) - 281.000
- (1993) Double Feature Series - Love In Las Vegas / Roustabout 70,000
- (1996) Elvis 56 237,000
- (2002) Elvis: 30 #1 Hits 4,673,798
- (2003) Christmas Peace 174,000
- (2007) Essential Elvis 348,357
- (2010) Viva Las Vegas 20,430
Comment: My source pointed out that he thought the figure for the 'Love In Las Vegas/Roustabout' album was unexpectedly low, and added that there’s a possibility that there's another listing somewhere else (not included).

_______________________________________________________
SoundScan?

Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Data is collected weekly and made available every Wednesday to subscribers, which include executives from all facets of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV, and artist management. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts, making it the official source of sales records in the music industry.

Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991.The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Music charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991.
_______________________________________________________

Martin

Thank you for this update. But for which period is it? "Elvis Presley" "Loving You" and "Essential Elvis" are all three certified GOLD
according to EPE. And "Essential Elvis" was released after 1991, right?

No problem. As for your question(s);

SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991 (as can be read in the 'SoundScan?' part of my last post), and consequently, these sales-figures are only including sales from the period May 1991- Sept 2010. That explains why neither ”Elvis Presley” nor "Loving You" have sales-figures in excess of 500k. Regarding the "Essential Elvis" album, yes it was released in 2007 (and certified GOLD in 2010), however, it is a double CD album, and consequently, it was certified for 250,000 copies shipped (=500,000 discs).

Hope this helps,
Martin

THANKS!

[jbnva58]

And the "Viva Las Vegas" soundtrack released earlier this year is,considering the music is 40+ years old,doing pretty damn good.
Wonder what the other re-issues are selling?
Thanks Mael!

[NikkiTCB]

I would say the Viva Las Vegas on this list is the 2 CD set released a few years ago. The one with the live
Feb. 72 Vegas recordings and the second disc with the AWESOME unreleased '69 show.

Nikki

[Jove]

Thanks for the update, Mael!!
Regarding Love In Las Vegas / Roustabout DF, wouldn't that be the UK release?
Do you have figures for other albums aside from these 9 titles?

[stupot]

Re: Love in Las Vegas/Roustabout... It was one of four double features sets released in 1993. A further three followed in 1994. All these sets must have sold similar amounts. And yes Mael the figure does seem a little low considering that the Viva Las Vegas re-issue has sold 20,000 units so far this year.

iAnyway it was also part of a limited edition 4xcd tin-can set from 1993.
Cheers for the update Mael.

[Marko]

Thanks for the info! Nice to see.

It would be also interesting to see how much From Elvis In Memphis (Legacy Edition), On Stage (Legacy Edition) and Viva Las Vegas (the live compilation from '07) have sold.

[midnightx]

"Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was a big seller, but I would imagine it didn't quite meet BMG's sales expections at the time. BMG truly believed it was going to rival "Beatles 1" which clearly it did not. And of course, with the constant introduction and flow of new compilations, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" has become an afterthought rather than an essential title for casual and curios fans and music consumers. This of course does not take into account the numerous flaws with the disc, but in theory such a title could have been a significant seller for years to come.

[Ramiro]

"Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was a big seller, but I would imagine it didn't quite meet BMG's sales expections at the time. BMG truly believed it was going to rival "Beatles 1" which clearly it did not. And of course, with the constant introduction and flow of new compilations, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" has become an afterthought rather than an essential title for casual and curios fans and music consumers. This of course does not take into account the numerous flaws with the disc, but in theory such a title could have been a significant seller for years to come.

"Beatles 1" had the biggest amount of publicity I've ever seen. All the media were obsessively enthusiastic with it. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" had only some promotion, but lightyears far from "Beatles 1" and the media were, at the best, weak about it.

[midnightx]

"Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was a big seller, but I would imagine it didn't quite meet BMG's sales expections at the time. BMG truly believed it was going to rival "Beatles 1" which clearly it did not. And of course, with the constant introduction and flow of new compilations, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" has become an afterthought rather than an essential title for casual and curios fans and music consumers. This of course does not take into account the numerous flaws with the disc, but in theory such a title could have been a significant seller for years to come.

"Beatles 1" had the biggest amount of publicity I've ever seen. All the media were obsessively enthusiastic with it. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" had only some promotion, but lightyears far from "Beatles 1" and the media were, at the best, weak about it.

That is quite an excuse you have asserted. I don't recall The Beatles having a "new" number one, international, hit single (which was also part of a World Cup Nike commercial) help lead off the marketing campaign for their upcoming hits album. The "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was massively promoted and clearly the initial sales were impressive due to the promotion/marketing blitz. The Beatles' title sold more, but it has nothing to do with Elvis receiving only moderate promotion.

[Jove]

"Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was a big seller, but I would imagine it didn't quite meet BMG's sales expections at the time. BMG truly believed it was going to rival "Beatles 1" which clearly it did not. And of course, with the constant introduction and flow of new compilations, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" has become an afterthought rather than an essential title for casual and curios fans and music consumers. This of course does not take into account the numerous flaws with the disc, but in theory such a title could have been a significant seller for years to come.

"Beatles 1" had the biggest amount of publicity I've ever seen. All the media were obsessively enthusiastic with it. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" had only some promotion, but lightyears far from "Beatles 1" and the media were, at the best, weak about it.

That is quite an excuse you have asserted. I don't recall The Beatles having a "new" number one, international, hit single (which was also part of a World Cup Nike commercial) help lead off the marketing campaign for their upcoming hits album. The "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was massively promoted and clearly the initial sales were impressive due to the promotion/marketing blitz. The Beatles' title sold more, but it has nothing to do with Elvis receiving only moderate promotion.

Maybe Ramiro is speaking about the promotion in his country, Spain
midnightx, you're right, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was promoted, BMG even came out with a radio promo, a 3 hour program titled Elvis the One. A local DJ burnt me the 3 cds.

[L Ray]

I would say the Viva Las Vegas on this list is the 2 CD set released a few years ago. The one with the live
Feb. 72 Vegas recordings and the second disc with the AWESOME unreleased '69 show.

Nikki

What you say is logical but the release date is 2010, which would make it the movie soundtrack (although my cd says 2009).

[NikkiTCB]

Hi L Ray!
I noticed the release date, but with the album titles being the same, it would be easy to mix up the two when tallying units sold. I'm not saying that is what happened, but it sort of makes more sense that way.

Nikki

[Hank]

The album I'm curious about is the "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack: Did the 1997 CD reissue sell at a rate even approaching that of its 1961 counterpart?

[Ramiro]

"Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was a big seller, but I would imagine it didn't quite meet BMG's sales expections at the time. BMG truly believed it was going to rival "Beatles 1" which clearly it did not. And of course, with the constant introduction and flow of new compilations, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" has become an afterthought rather than an essential title for casual and curios fans and music consumers. This of course does not take into account the numerous flaws with the disc, but in theory such a title could have been a significant seller for years to come.

"Beatles 1" had the biggest amount of publicity I've ever seen. All the media were obsessively enthusiastic with it. "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" had only some promotion, but lightyears far from "Beatles 1" and the media were, at the best, weak about it.

That is quite an excuse you have asserted. I don't recall The Beatles having a "new" number one, international, hit single (which was also part of a World Cup Nike commercial) help lead off the marketing campaign for their upcoming hits album. The "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was massively promoted and clearly the initial sales were impressive due to the promotion/marketing blitz. The Beatles' title sold more, but it has nothing to do with Elvis receiving only moderate promotion.

Maybe Ramiro is speaking about the promotion in his country, Spain
midnightx, you're right, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" was promoted, BMG even came out with a radio promo, a 3 hour program titled Elvis the One. A local DJ burnt me the 3 cds.

Here in Spain, promotion for "ELV1S" was almost zero compared to "Beatles 1". And even if outside Spain the promotion for "ELV1S" was bigger, it surely was lightyears far from the immense publicity "Beatles 1" had. And I'm not only talking about "paid publicity", I'm adding too all the free one that all the media gave and that lasted not only one or two weeks but many months.

Also, of course, "Beatles 1" was a "first time" in Beatles' discography while "ELV1S" was one more of hundreds of compilations. And furthermore, Beatles even don´t need any promotion, their unanimously adored image sells for itself. There's no mistery in the difference of sales between both releases; in fact, I was positively surprised with "ELV1S" sales".

[epf]

I would say the Viva Las Vegas on this list is the 2 CD set released a few years ago. The one with the live
Feb. 72 Vegas recordings and the second disc with the AWESOME unreleased '69 show.

Nikki

The exact title of that release is Elvis Viva Las Vegas, not Viva Las Vegas. So i tend to go with the re-release of the movie soundtrack (VLV) of this year.

[midnightx]

And even if outside Spain the promotion for "ELV1S" was bigger, it surely was lightyears far from the immense publicity "Beatles 1" had. And I'm not only talking about "paid publicity", I'm adding too all the free one that all the media gave and that lasted not only one or two weeks but many months.

Wrong again.

[ECC83]

I remember I was no fan of Elvis back then and the marketing was huge, it was probably around the time I started to take notice of him. I don't think I ever heard of him since I was like 5 years old until the early 2000's after the massive promotions.

[jbnva58]

I would say the Viva Las Vegas on this list is the 2 CD set released a few years ago. The one with the live
Feb. 72 Vegas recordings and the second disc with the AWESOME unreleased '69 show.

Nikki

The exact title of that release is Elvis Viva Las Vegas, not Viva Las Vegas. So i tend to go with the re-release of the movie soundtrack (VLV) of this year.

Mael has confirmed on his website that the "Viva Las Vegas" numbers quoted here are for the 2010 release.

[jbnva58]

I would say the Viva Las Vegas on this list is the 2 CD set released a few years ago. The one with the live
Feb. 72 Vegas recordings and the second disc with the AWESOME unreleased '69 show.

Nikki

The "Elvis Viva Las Vegas" set had scanned 56,251 copies by 2007.

[NikkiTCB]

That's good sales on both releases then. Thanks for the clarification!

Nikki

[jbnva58]

That's good sales on both releases then. Thanks for the clarification!

Nikki

You are very welcome!
Thanks also to Mael!

[Daryl]

Year | Title | Registered SoundScan - US - sales (May 1991-Sept 2010)

- (1956) Elvis Presley - 108.000
- (1957) Loving You - 46.000
- (1958) Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1997 re-issue) - 281.000
- (1993) Double Feature Series - Love In Las Vegas / Roustabout 70,000
- (1996) Elvis 56 237,000
- (2002) Elvis: 30 #1 Hits 4,673,798
- (2003) Christmas Peace 174,000
- (2007) Essential Elvis 348,357
- (2010) Viva Las Vegas 20,430

Comment: My source pointed out that he thought the figure for the 'Love In Las Vegas/Roustabout' album was unexpectedly low, and added that there’s a possibility that there's another listing somewhere else (not included).

_______________________________________________________
SoundScan?

Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Data is collected weekly and made available every Wednesday to subscribers, which include executives from all facets of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV, and artist management. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts, making it the official source of sales records in the music industry.

Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991.The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Music charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991.
_______________________________________________________

Martin

Is it possible that the Viva Las Vegas set mentioned in the above quote is the single disc release that featured various artists performing Elvis' classics such as Bruce Springsteen (Viva Las Vegas), Joe Perr/Toby Keith (Mystery Train), Chris Isaak/Brandi Carlisle (Love Me Tender), Peace In The Valley (Faith Hill), Suspicious Minds (Daughtry), Love Me (The Little Willies) and Jailhouse Rock (Miranda Lambert) along with Elvis' own version of these songs. This also featured Patti Scialfa's "Looking For Elvis." I'm more inclined to believe that is what this listing is referring to, rather than either the single disc or double disc that featured the 1970 and 1972 live recordings (the Wal-Mart second disc featured the August, 1969 live concert) or the 2010 Viva Las Vegas budget CD that actually featured songs from the film Viva Las Vegas.

Daryl