ABBA Archives - ChartMasters

The hidden sales of Eastern Europe during the Cold War

Did people under the iron curtain buy western music? What are flexi-discs and postcard-discs? And what sales records exist?

We’ve dug into archive material and pictures to shed a light on some of the most mysterious, yet sizable records sales.

Eminem albums and songs sales

CSPC Eminem albums and singles sales totals

If you wonder how big Eminem is, just think that among the artists who debuted in the last 30 years, he is the obvious #1.

The iconic rapper shaped an entire generation with songs that are still massively popular today, such as The Real Slim Shady, Lose Yourself, Without Me, and Love The Way You Lie.

Going through South Africa’s top foreign albums sellers of the 80s

Who’s popular in South Africa? A lot of information is available for many countries from Europe and America, but what about the main African market?

One would instinctively expect hugely popular black artists from the decade to dominate, like Michael Jackson and Prince, but in truth sales were mostly driven by British expatriates. Should we expect to see Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley in full force then?

Going through South Africa’s top foreign albums sellers of the 70s

Who’s popular in South Africa? A lot of information is available for many countries from Europe or America, but what about the main African market?

The few bits of data which emerged relate to artists from the 80s onwards, with the likes Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Celine Dion doing very well there. Who was at the top of the game before them, during the 70s?

Going through Italy’s top foreign singles sellers of the 70s

Which artists were popular in Italy during the 70s? From the break-up of the Beatles to the domination of disco music, who did the best there? Today we review the top selling singles of the decade, year after year, in rankings full of global superstars.

Amy Winehouse albums and songs sales

CSPC Amy Winehouse albums and singles sales

This month marks 8 years since British songstress Amy Winehouse sadly passed away at the age of 27.

Everybody remembers the iconic Back to Black. Despite being released nearly 13 years ago, the album is still making yearly sales rankings. How much have all of her albums sold across all formats? That’s what we are going to analyse today.

Going through Mexico’s top foreign singles sellers of the 70s

After analysing the performance of foreign albums in the Mexican market during the 70s, it is time to give the singles market some time because, after all, this format used to have a bigger market in terms of total units sold.

Going through Mexico’s top foreign sellers of the 70s

Do you have any idea of what was popular in Mexico during the 70s? Which international music star struck them the most? Was it Simon & Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, or Elton John? Where they crazy about the former Beatles, or instead more into ABBA? Or Queen, or the Bee Gees? What about Pink Floyd then, was there a mania surrounding them as it happened in many places? Last but not least, how strong was the impact of Elvis Presley‘s passing?

ABBA’s global heatmap

The ABBAmania took over the World in the second half of the 70s. The Swedish quartet ABBA broke various sales records in many countries with their success being compared with the one of the Beatles a decade earlier, except in the US. Some 40 years later, their catalog is still hot enough to release massively popular comedy musicals based on it. How global the band really is though? Have they at last broke over the US as much as abroad? Are they still beloved more in Sweden than anywhere else?

38 Must-Buy 70s Albums

The decade-old streaming service Spotify is now close to 200 million active monthly users. While new music is always preferred, these subscribers still show plenty of love to 70s classics. If the Beatles were inevitable during the 60s, one can wonder who takes over the throne of the decade of hard rock music and disco?