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Hello MJD!
I was just reading this analysis of Beyoncé numbers and I have to say I'm surprised by some of them. Namely, the digital sales figure of "Irreplaceable". Would you mind doing a breakdown of its sales per country? I noticed you said it sold 3.5 million in downloads and ringtones each, in the US alone, however the 2008 IFPI report has it at 4.6 million sales, and they make it clear that that number includes audio and video mastertones, as well as ringtones. Furthermore, IFPI's tracking period was Dec 2006 - Nov 2007, which was basically Irreplaceable's golden age seeing as it was released as a single in December and shortly after became a hit. I really doubt it has sold over 6.5 million ever since 2008, because it's evident that its streaming stats pale in comparison to Beyoncé's other 2000s hits. Can you explain how you got to 11 million?
Hi Lucy!
You need to consider that downloads market in 2007 was still fairly weak, so most big hits from that time still got most of their downloads in later years. It's the same as how top streaming hits from 2012-2014 have got way more streams in 2015-2018, because the market increased more than their popularity faded.
In the US, the song sold just over 2 million for the IFPI period and is now close to 3.7 million. That's the US, the market were downloads were developed by 2007. Some 844 million DLs were sold there that year, against 1336m at the peak of the market. In Australia though, the market went from 16 million in 2007 to 110 million at its peak, in France from 6 million to 44 million, in Canada from 26 million to 116 million, etc. In all these markets the song sold way more after 11/2007 than before.
About the mastertone, the song topped Akon's I Wanna Love You and Don't Matter in Billboard's YEC, they were at #7 and #8 against #6 for Irr, and both songs went 3xP in this format in 2007/2009. Irr itself went 3xP in 2007, so these figures are as safe as you can get.
A last point about the IFPI figure, in all likelihood it excluded the Spanish version of the song, Irreemplazable, which charted on its own in most markets. In this article both versions are merged.
Halo surpassed 600 millions WW on Spotify. How far is It from Diamond certification in US?
This so dumb because Apple Music is local and it's more urban-leaning than Spotify. Of course, it's gonna do better.
The list that was posted on Billboard about the most streamed albums on Apple Music worldwide was actually proven to be quite inaccurate. When you check reputation versus Beyoncé's self-title's daily chart placements on Apple Music worldwide, there's not one day where Beyoncé was ahead of reputation.
Also important to note reputation charted in significantly more countries on their year-end charts and had better placements. Reputation was #40 on the 2018 year-end list in the US (one of reputation's worst placement for major markets), but Beyoncé's self-title was literally N/A. Beyoncé's self-title was also N/A in Canada while reputation was #17. It's hard to believe Self-title somehow managed to overtake reputation despite not charting in North America, which represents half of Apple Music users.
Before Beyoncé released her new live album, Self-title was out of the top 500 daily albums on Apple Music USA and was only charting in the top 200 of 7 countries. reputation was charting in the top 200 of 74 countries when I wrote this and was #142 on Apple Music USA. Please explain how it's possible that Self-title was magically outstreamed reputation on Apple Music in 2018 despite all the facts proving otherwise?
Hey MJD, in the article on the race to 100 CSPC you noted how Beyoncé's career had somewhat stalled and that her numbers were growing very slowly, especially compared to her peers. How do you think Homecoming: The Live Album and the placement of Lemonade on Spotify will affect these numbers?
Hi MJD, could you uodate the article now that Lemonade's on Spotify?
What do you think of:
- Lemonade's performance on Spotify?
- The underperformance of her Lion Kings soundtrack? Is this a sign that her status is decreasing?
Look forward to hearing your reply ^^
Should The Carters' Everything Is Love be counted in her discography? Because the album underperforms, many Bey fans are claiming it is a side project - shouldnt be included in her solo discography.
- If Destiny's Child sales nor included in Bey solo career, should the same happen to EIL above?
- What type of song she should release next: a pop-R&B-AC ballad like Halo/ If I were a Boy/Listen or a trendy, uptempo like 7/11 / Apeshit? I feel like her songs' appeal became quite limited, exclusively to only her fans
- Who'd the most beneficial choice for a collaborator: Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Khalid , Drake or The Weeknd?
- 4 was a successful era, but I feel like she hasnt exploited that album well enough
Sorry for the long reply, I feel like her career is at a transitonal point and very interesting to follow. Madonna managed to have a U-turn with Ray of Light at 40, very curious to see if Beyonce can re-invent same way. At the same time, with streaming making music more available / easier to find, current artists' era/ peak carrer could be shortened compared with past artists as well
Hi Rey!
Everything is Love will be included in her solo total once updated, we consider it as something very different than the Destiny's Childs. That's her side project, it's not her moving to solo from another act which preceded her. We will do the same as with the Bad Meets Evil album for Eminem, meaning putting it as an orphan release.
Lemonade is doing well, so did her live release. The Gift is bombing.
I find it interesting that you ask about the most beneficial choice for a collaborator, since I feel it's precisely her problem right now. When we think about her, we think about a business woman who sells products, does collabs, makes deals, rather than records proper studio albums. The point is that she has been off from the traditional pop business for too long.
Her last organic top 10 hit was Drunk In Love, and before that it was Sweet Dreams, which is 10 years old. That's the summary of her last 10 years: 1 true top 10 hit in her homeland, where she is seen as an absolute powerhouse.
In general, I'm very negative about duets. Historically, they took off more potential album buyers than they added singles buyers. You can check huge duets from the past, you will notice they hardly ever boosted an album, because the general public do not identify them with the sound of an artist. Even if features look like a better idea in the streaming era to benefit from the followers of the other artist. It is even more the case with Beyoncé at the moment. What the public wants from Beyoncé is Beyoncé. Not The Carters, not a 'Gift', not even a 'video album'.
Nowadays we talk about our favorite artists so much online with more people who love them that we feel he/she is still insanely popular. The general public doesn't go to fan boards though. The thing is, it has been years since Beyoncé hasn't got a single on popular radio stations. People don't hear about her new music since many years. That's her main goal if she wants to sell a lot again, get a single on high rotation. For that, she needs a strong hit with a pop hook, a Single Ladies, a Crazy In Love, etc.
Something important too about Beyoncé is that a great part of her fame power lays on the fact she was some kind of a spokeswoman for females cause. Pop hits get viral / mark an era when their message is in sync with the overall public awareness, like several former Beyoncé hits. Routing for females rights 10 years ago was the way to go. By now, luckily, that males and females should be equal in rights and morals is a given for the general public. If you listen to lyrics of Billie Eilish, they are simply more modern. Beyoncé can't loop back to her previous trademark, she needs to adapt.
If you put everything together, she must go back to the popular sounds that characterize her, while still adjusting to our era. It's not as easy as it seems while writing it down, but Beyoncé as most artists we studied belong to these stars skilled enough to rebound so I would personally not rule her out for a strong comeback!
Hi MJD,
I was just wondering why u feel like duets are not favorable for albums. I mean, Beyonce first solo hit was Crazy in Love, a duet with Jay Z, then there's Love The Way You Lie by Eminem & Rihanna which contributed greatly to his album sales, also there is Usher's Yeah a colloboration with Lil John and Ludacris, which contributed a lot to Confessions diamond certifications. I believe many of the duets you mentioned before, were due to the song itself not being that well received by the public and smashed only because of colloborations between 2 popular artists (Example like Me Against The Music - Britney & Madonna). However if the song itself was great and the colloboration was between two great global superstars, I believe it contributed greatly to album sales. The examples Confession, Dangerously in Love, etc prove that if it is done right, then it can contribute greatly to album sales. Its just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Hi Michael!
I wasn't mentioning flop singles but indeed true hits. Both Yeah and Crazy In Love come from an era where "feature" wasn't meaning the same. At the time it was still the norm to put "Beyoncé & Jay-Z" for duets. A feature meant it was the song of one artist only, and that some lesser known singer had 20 seconds to shine. I remember these songs very well when they came out, back then nobody knew Jay-Z in France, let alone Lil John and Ludacris. The general regarded these songs as Beyoncé and Usher hits.
As for Love The Way You Lie, it's actually a very interesting case. Many people think it sold tons of copies of Recovery because both records smashed. The truth is different though. Of course having a hit always helps, but in way weaker proportions. Back then I followed the album's trajectory very closely, and the fact is that Recovery did well where... Not Afraid did well. In countries where that song smashed, the album smashed immediately. When only LTWYL was successful, like in Spain (#1 for 3 weeks, 38 weeks charted, against #39 peak and 1 week charted for Not Afraid), the album sold very poorly by Eminem's standards (it peaked at #13 there and sold barely more than Relapse). The real traction behind Recovery in markets like the US and Canada was indeed the lead single. It's logical, an intimate hit, with a song more in line with his genre, where he states that his last album was back (implicitely telling that the new one was better) is a much better incentive to buy an album that a standard pop song from two superstars.
If you look at songs like Ebony & Ivory, Endless Love, Up Where We Belong, Baby Come to Me, Say Say Say, Separate Lives, All for Love, they were all huge Hot 100 #1 hits, yet none of them generated big sales for their singer. If I'm provocative, even a song like The Boy Is Mine did poorly. Never Say Never with 6 US singles including a second #1 hit barely outsold her debut that had 4 singles and none that went higher than #4. Same for 4 Minutes, the single did well, but Hard Candy was hardly a great seller by Madonna's standards. Her remaining albums that got a lead (solo) single with similar peaks all sold way more. That's the point: all these hits would have fueled more album sales if they had been solo singles in first place.
Hi there, I was just on the spotify numbers and realised non of her Cadillac Record and dreamgirls(except for Listen) numbers were included on the listing.
