In our effort to keep you, the future media mogul, in touch with the news that lets you know what’s really going on in the industries you care about, sans record label hype or hoopla, we at SphereMagazine.com will be reporting on the weekly Soundscan numbers, as well as providing our own in depth analysis of the most significant movers and shakers on the charts. Why? Because unlike your favorite record label exec, numbers don’t lie, and it’s these numbers that tell you whether or not your favorite artist has a chance of being back again next year (that is, unless they get outside the current industry paradigm of “SINGLE, ALBUM RELEASE, REPEAT”…hint hint, nudge nudge). So put on your math caps, ladies and gentlemen; it’s about to get bumpy.

This week saw a major debut for Ne-Yo, strong holds for crossover artists across the board (hint hint, nudge nudge), and the standard drops for anyone sitting comfortably in their genre (that group of people who will buy an album in week one just because of the name on the cover is getting smaller and smaller…) And now, for the commentary…

ANALYSIS

1. Ne-Yo - Because Of You - 251,264 (debut)
Posting numbers that are unheard of for any R&B artist not named Akon, Ne-Yo returned this week, making it halfway to gold in his sophomore set’s first week of release. Proof that it takes neither massive hype (Lloyd’s first single had WAY more airplay…354,587 in 8 weeks) nor unbelievable vocal talent (Marques Houston has the better voice…141,393 in 7 weeks), Ne-Yo is only one single deep. Not to mention that the album is being compared to early works of legends like Michael Jackson. Instead of climbing into the cookie cutter mold that would have been so easy for him to fall into, Ne-Yo stretched his songwriting over the past year, and the fruits of his honing his craft can be seen throughout Because Of You.

11. Akon - Konvicted- 45,391, TOTAL: 2,274,361 (25 weeks)
See the above paragraph. When the entire industry is struggling to find out a magic formula to avoid the now standard 50% sales dive in weeks 2 and 3 of release, Akon seems to have already found it: MAKE CATCHY MUSIC THAT HIGHLIGHTS YOUR SKILLS. Write your own stuff, produce your own tracks, and avoid being boxed in to what your A&R tells you to do.

17. Robin Thicke - The Evolution Of Robin Thicke- 33,345, TOTAL: 1,045,696 (31 weeks)
Debuting to the tune of four figures, some A&R at Interscope looks a whole lot smarter for not rushing a marketing budget to capture early sales, instead letting tours and critical praise showcase a wildly talented singer. We no longer live in the era of blockbuster sales over the course of the first five weeks, but that’s no reason why there can’t be success for the little guy.

18. Fergie - The Dutchess- 33,821, TOTAL: 1,846,782 (33 weeks)
25. Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape- 25,673, TOTAL: 1,234,918 (22 weeks)
Do not try to bend the genre; that is impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth…there is no genre. Not quite pop, not quite R&B, not quite hip-hop, all money for Interscope.

134. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away- 6,178, TOTAL: 386,613 (15 weeks)
171. Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer’s Block- 4,357, TOTAL: 54,005 (5 weeks)
Mark my words, these bands and their labels are THRILLED with these numbers. Could you pick Peter, Bjorn and John out of a line up? Probably not, but they’re five weeks in, halfway to solid sales for an indie album, and they saw a 6 percent increase in sales. Meanwhile, The Shins are 15 weeks in, and experiencing mild 7 percent drops. The race doesn’t always go to the swift, especially when they trip after two laps.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE TOP 200 BY CLICKING HERE

BY ZAC SOTO

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 8:24 am and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.