[2006] Complete Weekly Sales Data for some Ayu albums..
 

I don't know if this is considered as news or not, feel free to move this thread. It's the complete weekly sales for some Ayu albums, which some of us might have looked for. I know I did.

Ayumi Hamasaki
A BEST

2001/04/09 # 2 ( 2,874,870 )
2001/04/16 # 1 ( 510,160 )
2001/04/23 # 2 ( 240,950 )
2001/04/30 # 3 ( 130,390 )
2001/05/07 # 4 ( 103,250 )
2001/05/14 # 5 ( 89,550 )
2001/05/21 # 9 ( 37,020 )
2001/05/28 # 9 ( 30,890 )
2001/06/04 # 9 ( 24,260 )
2001/06/11 # 16 ( 20,140 )
2001/06/18 # 17 ( 18,370 )
2001/06/25 # 16 ( 14,960 )
2001/07/02 # 21 ( 13,840 )
2001/07/09 # 23 ( 12,570 )
2001/07/16 # 23 ( 10,840 )
2001/07/23 # 21 ( 11,630 )
2001/07/30 # 26 ( 9,530 )
2001/08/06 # 34 ( 8,030 )
2001/08/13 # 30 ( 7,500 )
2001/08/20 # 31 ( 8,060 )
2001/08/27 # 24 ( 10,370 )
2001/09/03 # 37 ( 7,330 )
2001/09/10 # 40 ( 7,880 )
2001/09/17 # 45 ( 5,270 )
2001/09/24 # 48 ( 4,360 )
2001/10/01 # 55 ( 3,820 )
2001/10/08 # 52 ( 5,010 )
2001/10/15 # 42 ( 5,070 )
2001/10/22 # 38 ( 5,040 )
2001/10/29 # 41 ( 4,980 )
2001/11/05 # 76 ( 3,630 )
2001/11/12 # 78 ( 3,490 )
2001/11/19 # 87 ( 3,090 )
2001/11/26 # 95 ( 2,440 )

[3 weeks off charts]

2001/12/24 # 74 ( 3,980 )
2001/12/31 # 68 ( 4,910 )
2002/01/14 # 47 ( 16,270 )
2002/01/21 # 55 ( 4,380 )
2002/01/28 # 72 ( 3,440 )

[42 weeks off charts]

2002/12/23 # 242 ( no data )
2002/12/30 fell from TOP 300
2003/01/13 # 280 ( no data )
2003/01/20 # 254 ( no data )
2003/01/27 # 281 ( no data )

[63 weeks off charts]

2004/04/26 # 133 ( no data )
2004/05/03 fell from TOP 300
2004/05/10 # 293 ( no data )
2004/05/17 # 293 ( no data )

Total sales: 4,291,244

I find it amazing that the album charted for several years. Astonishing. But I don't understand the fact that it was off charts for 42 weeks after being out of the top 100. Does that mean Oricon did not start displaying sales from #101 to #300 until the year 2003?

Ayumi Hamasaki
I Am...

2002/01/14 # 1 ( 1,751,360 )
2002/01/21 # 2 ( 186,780 )
2002/01/28 # 2 ( 104,780 )
2002/02/04 # 4 ( 66,530 )
2002/02/11 # 6 ( 51,050 )
2002/02/18 # 9 ( 30,170 )
2002/02/25 # 12 ( 25,070 )
2002/03/04 # 22 ( 16,050 )
2002/03/11 # 33 ( 10,830 )
2002/03/18 # 45 ( 8,350 )
2002/03/25 # 41 ( 7,420 )
2002/04/01 # 53 ( 6,590 )
2002/04/08 # 76 ( 5,230 )
2002/04/15 # 68 ( 4,500 )
2002/04/22 # 66 ( 3,890 )
2002/04/29 # 56 ( 3,850 )
2002/05/06 # 79 ( 4,190 )
2002/05/13 # 63 ( 5,060 )
2002/05/20 # 80 ( 3,350 )
2002/05/27 # 71 ( 3,210 )

[4 weeks off]

2002/07/01 # 100 ( 2,760 )

[24 weeks off]

2002/12/23 # 298 ( no data )
2002/12/30 # 251 ( no data )
2003/01/13 # 256 ( no data )
2003/01/20 # 264 ( no data )

Total sales: 2,308,112

And this album debuted with sales of (miss)understood multiplied by two. Scary. In a good way. Didn't chart as long as A BEST but damn, it's amazing.

Ayumi Hamasaki
Rainbow

2002/12/30 # 1 ( 1,016,482 )
2003/01/13 # 1 ( 571,027 )
2003/01/20 # 3 ( 96,368 )
2003/01/27 # 3 ( 57,028 )
2003/02/03 # 7 ( 32,780 )
2003/02/10 # 16 ( 21,207 )
2003/02/17 # 22 ( 15,748 )
2003/02/24 # 26 ( 11,171 )
2003/03/03 # 37 ( 6,991 )
2003/03/10 # 59 ( 5,894 )
2003/03/17 # 74 ( 4,364 )
2003/03/24 # 56 ( 4,384 )
2003/03/31 # 110 ( 2,951 )
2003/04/07 # 147 ( 2,318 )
2003/04/14 # 136 ( 1,789 )
2003/04/21 # 162 ( 1,270 )
2003/04/28 # 166 ( 1,092 )
2003/05/05 # 207 ( 1,117 )
2003/05/12 # 189 ( 1,314 )
2003/05/19 # 223 ( 907 )
2003/05/26 # 256 ( 717 )

Total sales:1,856,919

This one charted a lot less and sold less but when compared to today's artists, it's still crazy. I ordered my copy!

Ayumi Hamasaki
A BALLADS

2003/03/24 # 1 ( 561,127 )
2003/03/31 # 3 ( 129,241 )
2003/04/07 # 5 ( 71,053 )
2003/04/14 # 4 ( 38,427 )
2003/04/21 # 4 ( 22,316 )
2003/04/28 # 6 ( 15,730 )
2003/05/05 # 16 ( 11,627 )
2003/05/12 # 16 ( 11,756 )
2003/05/19 # 23 ( 7,109 )
2003/05/26 # 25 ( 5,708 )
2003/06/02 # 46 ( 4,927 )
2003/06/09 # 49 ( 4,193 )
2003/06/16 # 62 ( 3,013 )
2003/06/23 # 58 ( 2,604 )
2003/06/30 # 81 ( 2,118 )
2003/07/07 # 104 ( 2,452 )
2003/07/14 # 106 ( 2,261 )
2003/07/21 # 93 ( 2,283 )
2003/07/28 # 96 ( 2,328 )
2003/08/04 # 127 ( 1,982 )
2003/08/11 # 135 ( 1,761 )
2003/08/18 # 156 ( 1,523 )
2003/08/25 # 121 ( 2,152 )
2003/09/01 # 166 ( 1,304 )
2003/09/08 # 158 ( 1,580 )
2003/09/15 # 189 ( 1,091 )
2003/09/22 # 188 ( 1,073 )
2003/09/29 # 205 ( 1,051 )
2003/10/06 fell from TOP 300
2003/10/13 # 292 ( 764 )
2003/10/20 # 255 ( 745 )
2003/10/27 # 222 ( 822 )
2003/11/03 # 283 ( 703 )
2003/11/10 # 275 ( 731 )

[6 weeks off]

2003/12/29 # 255 ( 977 )
2004/01/12 # 210 ( 2,876 )
2004/01/19 # 190 ( 1,318 )
2004/01/26 # 240 ( 892 )

[12 weeks off]

2004/04/26 # 279 ( 624 )

Total sales: 924,242

Yeah, A BALLADS. Rumoured to be a million copies presently, it's possible. But it sold this much while it charted. There you have it.

Ayumi Hamasaki
Memorial Address

2003/12/29 # 1 ( 524,028 )
2004/01/12 # 2 ( 306,521 )
2004/01/19 # 3 ( 63,471 )
2004/01/26 # 6 ( 36,190 )
2004/02/02 # 7 ( 24,121 )
2004/02/09 # 16 ( 17,520 )
2004/02/16 # 22 ( 11,479 )
2004/02/23 # 25 ( 9,993 )
2004/03/01 # 36 ( 6,899 )
2004/03/08 # 49 ( 5,537 )
2004/03/15 # 65 ( 3,662 )
2004/03/22 # 64 ( 3,718 )
2004/03/29 # 77 ( 3,259 )
2004/04/05 # 104 ( 2,658 )
2004/04/12 # 90 ( 2,934 )
2004/04/19 # 76 ( 2,793 )
2004/04/26 # 63 ( 2,711 )
2004/05/03 # 101 ( 2,037 )
2004/05/10 # 100 ( 2,476 )
2004/05/17 # 124 ( 1,781 )
2004/05/24 # 134 ( 1,392 )
2004/05/31 # 165 ( 1,142 )
2004/06/07 # 196 ( 1,132 )
2004/06/14 # 168 ( 1,177 )
2004/06/21 # 181 ( 1,088 )
2004/06/28 # 187 ( 1,052 )
2004/07/05 # 282 ( 947 )
2004/07/12 # 198 ( 1,294 )
2004/07/19 # 238 ( 983 )
2004/07/26 # 226 ( 1,023 )
2004/08/02 # 231 ( 1,190 )
2004/08/09 # 144 ( 1,635 )
2004/08/16 # 135 ( 1,601 )
2004/08/23 # 169 ( 1,379 )
2004/08/30 # 156 ( 1,421 )
2004/09/06 # 253 ( 971 )
2004/09/13 # 247 ( 871 )
2004/09/20 # 236 ( 888 )
2004/09/27 # 244 ( 779 )
2004/10/04 fell from TOP 300
2004/10/11 # 256 ( 894 )
2004/10/18 # 292 ( 655 )
2004/10/25 # 249 ( 885 )
2004/11/01 # 274 ( 747 )

[2 weeks off]

2004/11/22 # 298 ( 609 )

[4 weeks off]

2004/12/27 # 225 ( 1,042 )

[2 weeks off]

2005/01/17 # 289 ( 1,712 )

Total sales:1,062,297

The first mini-album to reach 1 million copies and probably the only one. Extremely long chart life too.


All credits to UKMIX forums... Thank god for google too. I was looking for Mika's LEGEND first week sales and got all these. Never got LEGEND's though. Until ~K+ came along. He's a good fella.

I wonder what the odd surges in sales were caused by.. possibly concerts? :O

OMFG statto. :eviltongu

Where do you get all these info from anyway?

truehappiness: Concerts, new single/album releases etc.

So the 'official' number for A BALLADS is still below 1 million. I know people have said that Oricon confirmed A BALLADS was a million seller, but can someone please find the thread/news about that. I can't seem to find it.

Like A BEST, where the tiny sales suddenly spiked up to 16,000 the next week. Maybe concerts or TV spots? Or dome tours?
I'm jesus. Sue me. :lech Oh god I love statistics.

If Ayu can debut at 500k+ and keep stable sales from there decreasing by about 30% a week.. then she could hit a million with the next album. I foresee that happening if she has good covers and promotion :]

thanks for the numbers MC ;)

Thanks for sharing!!

T_T still missing I Am Album
thanks for the infos

Thank you, it's really nice to see this data!

No, Duty is still missing. Like LOVEppears.

Thanks!!!!!

Quite thorough, thanks MC!

wow..it's hard to believe that some of these albums sold over a million in one week yet (miss)understood can't do it in several months :(.

She have good promotion. And good covers aren't as important as people think, I mean, Loveppears doesn't have a good cover and it's her best-selling original album. Seasons is her best-selling a-side single, A is her best-selling single. Did they have anything special on their covers? No!

What she needs: good music. People don't like the music Ayu is making now.

Anyway, I don't think her next album will cross the 1 million mark.

ugh... let's go back to those first week million sales days.

I think that it was a bad decision to sell (m)u after Christmas ;D They could've gotten a lot of sales then :] I wonder how much a few weeks' difference could make in sales..

D:

How do you know that? >>

I think that's pretty wrong, by simply looking at the stats presented here each week... :).

I agree. Some people might not like her music anymore, but lot`s of people love her music; always have and always will :)

^ I think
Bold & Delicious Hesitated some people to buy the album.

'cause she didn't sell a million with missunderstood even though it was an original album...:)

No, Duty is her best selling original album.

Imo, sales would be the same even if it was released before X'mas.

Yes, your right. I actually meant Duty and the horrible leopard cover.

Reading reviews in Amazon.co.jp and reading blogs and opinions and this board. Oh, and looking at the sales, obviously.

Being logical, of course. I mean, how can I know the majority of people don't like the music Ayu is doing now? Well, it's impossible to know for sure. But you can be logical, that's the way it in case you don't know.

I guess those negative reviews/blogs represent the majority... :)

Yes, they do. It's not like I search for blogs and reviews that say negative things, that's not it. I just find mostly bad reviews. People comment all the time that her music quality have dropped, that they barely listened to My Story and decided not to buy (miss)understood among other things (and no, I'm not talking about western blogs before people come with the "japanese people have a very different taste" excuse). And if opinions on the internet aren't a good proof, then just look at album and single sales and please don't come with the "waah.. but the ilegal downloads and iTunes are the reason" because they're not. Ayu don't have any Top 10 yearly single anymore or Top 5 yearly album, so it's obvious there's not as many people interested in her music (and that wasn't my initial point, my initial point was that people didn't like the music she was doing since My Story, but because people always think this info come out of the blue and they don't want to believe that, I have to be more especific).

Do you have any proof that it has not always been the disappointed people who have always been the most loud-mouthed, for every release? hehe.

Ah well, I know, she ain't selling as much, but she is definately not making bad music, even if the majority of the reviews say so. My words might not matter to you, but they do to me, she is not making bad music. You can go listen to your blogs if you want :P.

Haha, no, I'm not freaking out, just being a bit... tired xD

Do ANY females even GET CLOSE to Top 5 Album of the Year or Top 10 single? No, because the market seems to be focusing on the male artists nowadays. IMHO, Ayu's still going strong as one of the few females to consistently rank up there with the 'big boys' :]

very true. when is the boy-band phase gonna die?!

Tomorrow!

*secretly plant bombs under every boyband HQ*

When we're all old, Ayu's super-enigma-girl-child is gonna rule the charts. :3

And then the boybands will be phased out by the awesomeness.

yeah i think so too...

I don't think she's performing badly (regarding albums) as a big picture overall, but there are many people that didn't like (m)u in general, and that's why it didn't get to a million.

I wonder if Ayu's 'average' sales would plateau at around 1 million if everyone liked it (unlike (m)u)..

I hate boybands too, and I wish they'd just die out. Ugh. They're eating up everyone's money, leaving them poor and unable to purchase Ayu CDs.

Of course, people are more driven by hate than love. So it's only natural that you see negative blogs on (miss)understood.

True. :yes

Personally, I liked (M)U. Yes, other people might think it's bad music. Yes, it's not selling as much as her past albums. Yes, the cover is crappy. But really, who cares what other people thinks?

Anyways, females haven't really been in the top 20s that much anyways. As much as I love some of the boyband, the female-dominating era needs to be back.:o

Not to accuse anyone or point fingers, but people that generally didn't like the albums are normally the loudest.

As the sales of (m)u are around 300,000 copies lower than the ones of MS I belive at least a few of those 300k that didn't buy it is disappointed enough to make a few blog posts thrashing the album. "Only" selling 875k copies and creating a lot of negative blog posts doesn't make it bad music.

"Only" selling 875,000 copies. How "sad". I hope Ayu announces and confirms her next single soon or Kumi's going to completely eclipse her. I went to the bookstore yesterday and it was Kumi all over magazines like ViVi and some chinese ones.

And just for laughs (uncomfortable ones), here's the sales for Utada's First Love.

Utada Hikaru
First Love

1999/03/22 # 1 ( 2,026,870 )
1999/03/29 # 1 ( 717,610 )
1999/04/05 # 2 ( 761,340 )
1999/04/12 # 2 ( 614,440 )
1999/04/19 # 1 ( 428,520 )
1999/04/26 # 1 ( 222,230 )
1999/05/03 # 2 ( 229,550 )
1999/05/10 # 2 ( 238,270 )
1999/05/17 # 1 ( 298,360 )
1999/05/24 # 1 ( 258,780 )
1999/05/31 # 2 ( 205,270 )
1999/06/07 # 3 ( 188,810 )
1999/06/14 # 4 ( 121,810 )
1999/06/21 # 5 ( 91,380 )
1999/06/28 # 2 ( 127,430 )
1999/07/05 # 4 ( 132,830 )
1999/07/12 # 5 ( 121,700 )
1999/07/19 # 7 ( 71,750 )
1999/07/26 # 8 ( 55,780 )
1999/08/02 # 12 ( 41,330 )
1999/08/09 # 14 ( 37,050 )
1999/08/16 # 15 ( 28,980 )
1999/08/23 # 9 ( 47,320 )
1999/08/30 # 8 ( 42,500 )
1999/09/06 # 6 ( 41,270 )
1999/09/13 # 7 ( 35,680 )
1999/09/20 # 13 ( 23,400 )
1999/09/27 # 14 ( 21,150 )
1999/10/04 # 14 ( 26,250 )
1999/10/11 # 13 ( 20,820 )
1999/10/18 # 9 ( 20,430 )
1999/10/25 # 11 ( 19,930 )
1999/11/01 # 21 ( 10,170 )
1999/11/08 # 25 ( 10,210 )
1999/11/15 # 32 ( 9,750 )
1999/11/22 # 30 ( 9,880 )
1999/11/29 # 38 ( 6,980 )
1999/12/06 # 42 ( 7,100 )
1999/12/13 # 41 ( 8,300 )
1999/12/20 # 39 ( 9,670 )
1999/12/27 # 30 ( 12,070 )
2000/01/03 # 21 ( 17,560 )
2000/01/17 # 14 ( 53,380 )
2000/01/24 # 14 ( 12,240 )
2000/01/31 # 25 ( 9,010 )
2000/02/07 # 31 ( 8,490 )
2000/02/14 # 36 ( 6,350 )
2000/02/21 # 34 ( 7,710 )
2000/02/28 # 50 ( 4,500 )
2000/03/06 # 64 ( 5,430 )
2000/03/13 # 61 ( 4,020 )
2000/03/20 # 64 ( 3,960 )
2000/03/27 # 76 ( 3,190 )
2000/04/03 # 81 ( 4,400 )
2000/04/10 # 84 ( 3,990 )
2000/04/17 # 67 ( 4,150 )
2000/04/24 # 59 ( 4,140 )
2000/05/01 # 62 ( 4,530 )
2000/05/08 # 65 ( 3,900 )
2000/05/15 # 52 ( 5,310 )
2000/05/22 # 70 ( 3,550 )
2000/05/29 # 68 ( 3,450 )
2000/06/05 # 72 ( 3,650 )
2000/06/12 # 87 ( 2,890 )
2000/06/19 # 94 ( 2,460 )
2000/06/26 # 78 ( 3,070 )
2000/07/03 # 97 ( 3,150 )
2000/07/10 # 66 ( 4,230 )
2000/07/17 # 69 ( 4,020 )
2000/07/24 # 63 ( 3,860 )
2000/07/31 # 97 ( 2,860 )
fell from TOP 100
2000/08/14 # 93 ( 2,600 )
2000/08/21 # 92 ( 2,710 )
2000/08/28 # 86 ( 2,890 )
fell from TOP 100
2000/09/11 # 98 ( 2,610 )

[25 weeks off]

2001/03/12 # 92 ( 3,070 )

[3 weeks off]

2001/04/09 # 43 ( 8,160 )
2001/04/16 # 52 ( 4,660 )
2001/04/23 # 51 ( 4,740 )
2001/04/30 # 63 ( 3,840 )
fell from TOP 100
2001/05/14 # 96 ( 3,120 )

[58 weeks off]

2002/07/01 # 81 ( 3,400 )
2003/02/17 # 290 ( no data )
2003/02/24 # 291 ( no data )

Total sales: 7,650,215

Any artist who can get sales like the bolded text for a single album should be shot.

Now THAT's pretty wicked sales... o_o

I think her parents ran around Japan stabbing people, threatening them.. ;D lol

I don't see how she sold so much :/

Oh well. I think that Koda is just on all those magazines cause uh.. SHE JUST RELEASED SOMETHING D: lol

Wow talk about stability...

:roflmao That must be true, because the album sold 4 million in 10 weeks.

I don't see who the heck was buying all those copies.. o____o;

I don't see how the heck they MADE those 2 million in a week. They must have oompa-loompas working for them.

Well her singles sold like crazy, so they probably has a huge first press. :o

Her parents should be in the olympics for Japan's team if they can run around and threaten to stab 2 million people in a week O____________O

Well, you get the whole Utada family involved. XD

And you get giant cannons that shoot knives to force people to do things XD

The Utada Syndicate.

*shivers*

SO.

How's them Ayu sales? Pretty good for someone who was sort of like 'hey look i sing karaoke' and then went to become 'hey look i sing for 250k people' XD

thank you
i really want this

Ooh, conspiracy. Other than knives, there's always poisonous gases and puffer fish venom.
It's not that bad. :roflmao Any artist who can sell as much as her should also be shot.

So in order to not be shot, an artist needs to sell as low as Mika? :p

Desperate try to get this back on topic :P?

Indeed... what a career, what a life... I wonder how it feels, looking back at the past, when you've made such success.

No, her albums sell a million, she too must be shot. The world only has room for one mega-seller, and that's Britney Spears. She rules.



jk

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I RULE THE WORLD!!!!!

jk

^rofl... I can so imagine Ayu seeing herself as the ruler of the world, looking down at her cattle (fans), doing as she please with every new release because there'll be enough copies sold no matter what she makes.

:D

even the grandparents?

*sigh* although AYu didn't want to release a best it has to be her best sales...just look at her sales now. and she even has more freedom with her music now.

So true. MOO.

"2001/12/31 # 68 ( 4,910 )
2002/01/14 # 47 ( 16,270 )
2002/01/21 # 55 ( 4,380 ) "

I'm going on a mission to find out why this happened because it'll just keep buggin me if I don't. :) It couldn't have been concerts, as it jumped that much in only the span of a week.

I agree, what is most important is the music, but I disagree about the covers. They are extremely important. When you go to a music store and look at the shelves, what is your eye attracted to? The best cover. If someone is deciding between two cds, they are often likely to chose the one with the best or more eye catching cover. Or if the buyer is an impulse shopper, having a good cover is extremely important. Also I disagree about Loveppears - I think that cover is awesome and it is certainly eye catching.

Personally, since they counted two weeks that week.. I imagine that a few things probably attributed to it.. :3 Including the 2nd[?] CDL..?

Yeah, I just noticed that it was 2 weeks. But even still, thats 8000+ per week up from 4000. Hmmm, what happened those two weeks? Must label the dates of my tv appearances better....

edit: Ok, there were no tv performances durring that period and no concerts either. I'm stumped.

"2001/12/31 # 68 ( 4,910 )
2002/01/14 # 47 ( 16,270 )
2002/01/21 # 55 ( 4,380 ) "

Well, if you add two weeks that are worth about 4800 or so, you get 9600 or so.. That leave 7k to possibly be purchased during the 2 CDLs, when perhaps 3.5k individuals purchased it in each CDL performance give or take..

Just a thought.

Any CDL purchases would have taken place the week of 12/31. And plus, CD sales at concerts have never counted that much generally - especially not for an album that had come out a year ago which most people going to an Ayu concert would have already purchased.

I guess the only logical explanation could be that the release of the I Am.. album boosted sales - quite a boost though.

Great!! I love your job man, I love these stat!

To some extent I agree with you, but not all. Yeah her current music is no longer as wonderful as the previous IMO. But it's still strong and great. I mean the level has never went down. It is her popularity that goes down results in the sales decreasing. Plus the fact that the whole recording market is not as active as before also makes her album sales go down.

And! I strongly believe that she's still able to make a million hit album this winter!:yes

Maybe a recut single? First Love? Or maybe just some TV specials showcasing her life. Or some Utada news making headlines.

She could always cover First Love and sell 2 million of that single XD

Ooh, or her marriage. Maybe Ayu and Hikki should make a duet.

Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada Hikaru & Mika Nakashima
Fading Stars Of Yesterday
01/01/2007

1. fell with amazing grace
2. Once Upon A Time (We Hit One Million)
3. Dethroned
4. fell with amazing grace ~instrumental
5. Once Upon A Time (We Hit One Million) ~instrumental
6. Dethroned ~instrumental

I'd really like to see some sort of worldwide sales rankings for all artists throughout the world, my guess is ayu would be somewhere in the 50s, worldwide.

I never talked about "bad music". And if people like it, they'll write positive things too, you know?

And MY STORY sold 700k less than her last studio album (Memorial Address is a mini-album).

You have a good point but if you have good tie-ins, good promotion and good music, you'll sell well even without an eye-catching cover (A, Seasons and even singles by other artists like DEAR WOMAN by SMAP). That's why I think a good cover is the less important thing when talking about sales (but I love good covers, of course, and I hope the next album cover will be better and much more creative than (m)u cover).

:roflmao

I agree. If an artist is in f.ex the rock section and you like rock and the cover is very interesting it might make you pick up the CD. It almost happened to me with Björks Vespertine. The main big sales won't come from the cover, but it can increase the sales a bit. And yeah, the LOVEppears cover is certainly eye-catching, allthough it's tackey and not really very artistic. =P

Here, have the internet. You win XD

Well, sales were down a lot by the time MY STORY was released. No longer were people normally selling 2 million in terms of albums.. they were struggling to even hit a million!

I mean just look at Hikki's situation o_o

ah, thanks you very much!

i find sales figures really interesting

Ok, so look at the yearly rankings. Ayu was always in the Top 2, then, magically, she fell of the Top 5.

Well, boybands / best albums sort of have something to do with that o_o;

Hikki's is saddest. :weep ALL her albums debuted at ridiculous amounts except Exodus and Ultra Blue. I have Distance's sales data, and that one is like O___o with the highest first week sales in Japanese history. (3,002,000)

Figures are going up.=P

^ Err. No they arent.

Thats sad then...i thought i can add one to the sales.=/

No, check the first thread, it isnt about BLUE BIRD. o__o Did you read the first thread?

LOL! how did you find these? interesting, A BEST was like.. i don't want to be on the charts. okay, i do. no, i don't like it. okay, let me back on.

let's hope (m)u is the next A BEST :D with a long chart life ;)

^ :roflmao You'd wish.

Well, I mean it will never reach that sales ever. But the chart life.. Who knows? I think (m)u might chart for around 50 weeks in total.

err, i meant the chart life, not the total sales ;)

Thank you for the numbers,very good numbers.

could you post ULTRA BLUE's sales? I've never been able to find it, and i was curious to how it did...

As for ayu, I think as long as she keeps the singles to a minimum this year (may be a single A side for goodness sake?), then I believe she can get a million selling album. I think (m)u's sales were affected by the lack of new songs, with it being a studio ablum of course. But that was probably leveled out with the PB and DVD...

don't forget B&D, it is also a major factor ;)

That and maybe Kouhaku? (Although she performed 'Dearest'...)

2006/06/26 - 500,317 - (#1)
2006/07/03 - 156,978 - (#1)
2006/07/10 - *80,351 - (#2)
2006/07/17 - *42,744 - (#3)
2006/07/24 - *26,505 - (#8)
2006/07/31 - *17,449 - (#5)
2006/08/07 - *12,105 - (#14)
2006/08/14 - **8,285 - (#23)

TOTAL: 844,734

^ a sad sad sad failure in comparison to her previous albums before exodus. Sadness.

theres nothing wrong with B&D in fact, for some people B&D sound fresh and bring new fans to AYU.. altough for us AYU FANS B&D sure sound :headache

But still not a major factor of MU failure..:yes

(m)u imho didn't fail :/

I think her next album might sell more than (m)u.. :]

but i always thought that (miss) understood was better than RAINBOW.. :( really sad to see it not pass the million mark.

I think what he meant was that B & D was released too close to the album date.

I think it would have been wiser if B & D was kept off the singles discography. Avex took a HUGE gamble with making it a single.

As for ULTRA BLUE, I find it pretty sad that it did so terrible. I would ahve thought it would have made at least 1 mil. For that album, I believe that the digital "This is Love" release affected it.