Forums > Prince: Music and More > Independent website listed the 50 Biggest Selling Artists and Prince wasn't even mentioned even though he sold over 150
Thread started 08/13/19 5:13pm
cjmc2006
Independent website listed the 50 Biggest Selling Artists and Prince wasn't even mentioned even though he sold over 150
Prince sold over 120-150 million records and yet Foreigner and Chicagonate mentioned, even Bob Dylan and Prince sold more than Dylan
https://www.independent.c...46531.html
SquirrelMeat
Sales don't equal talent. Stevie and Bowie are just two that prove that.
Influence is a greater benchmark. How many artists list Chicago as career influencing or genre shaping?
If the lead singer of Foreigner died tomorrow, would it be headline news all around the world and could they be referred to in one word or phrase and everyone would know who you mean?
You're right, I'm mostly surprised that BON JOVI has sold that many records. Anyhow, in order to matter, you would have to sell a certian amount of records and we know PRINCE sold at least in the top 25!
Garth Brooks sold a shit ton for some bizarre reason - lots of American country artists have. Zero cultural clout and half the country doesn't even know who they are, but they still sell records in a major way.
A certain kind of mellow.
MotownSubdivis
luv4u
MotownSubdivision said:
Edmonton, AB -
Mod Goddess of the SNIP & BAN Making Moves - OF4S
Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture!
REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince
"I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben
funksterr
Lists and awards usually mean bought and paid for.
MickyDolenz
Mikado said:
I listen to country music. Country has always had an audience in the US. But it probably started to get a more mainstream audience with the Hee Haw TV show in the 1970s and then with the crossover success of Kenny Rogers in particular. Kenny became so popular, they made a TV movie about his song The Gambler. Also, westerns were really popular for decades in the USA until the around maybe the early 1970s. That's a reason why the music is called "country & western", it was originally called "hillbilly". There's been popular country/rural movies & TV like Ma & Pa Kettle, Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Smokey And The Bandit, Urban Cowboy, Dukes Of Hazzard, The Waltons, Convoy, BJ & The Bear, etc. There's southern rock like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eagles, 38 Special, Poco, Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, etc. 1960s rock bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, & CSNY had songs with country elements. Elvis Presley had country songs too. Nashville session musicians played on country and R&B records. Farm Aid concerts go on to this day. Dollywood is a popular amusement park. Many places have rodeos and NASAR tends to have a country related audience too, so does monster truck shows. So I don't know what you mean that country has no cultural clout. You've never seen people wearing a Johnny Cash flipping the bird t-shirt, a mechanical bull on TV or a band performing behind chicken wire? Country music is even popular in Jamaica and in some countries in Africa. In the early 1990s the dance music group KLF got Tammy Wynette to sing on a song.
For 65 years straight, the #1 genre in music, selling wise, was rock n' roll worldwide. Last year (2017) in June, it got de-crowned by hip hop. Hip hop is the #1 genre. It's hip hop - rock - country - pop or pop - country. ~ Pras
nextedition
cjmc2006 said:
Prince sold over 120-150 million records and yet Foreigner and Chicagonate mentioned, even Bob Dylan and Prince sold more than Dylan https://www.independent.c...46531.html
Please, these are US sales.
Prince never sold 120 million records in the US.
jaypotton
"We compiled this list by ranking the most successful acts in music history according to their total certified album units sold in the US, as provided by the RIAA."
So not worldwide sales.
Saying that Prince was not that big a seller (some exceptions) but the volume of releases all adds up.
Interesting the top 30 only has three non-White artists. Americans also clearly love their rock and country music!
'I loved him then, I love him now and will love him eternally. He's with our son now.' Mayte 21st April 2016 = the saddest quote I have ever read! RIP Prince and thanks for everything.
emesem
At first I found it a bit odd Prince didnt make the list. I figured that PR alone is good for 25-30million. But now I see that the 24million figure I'm familiar with was worldwide and in the US was only about 15million.
This should not be a surprise however. Aside from a '84-86, Prince, all-told, was somewhat a niche artist who has a much greater influence on music than his sales alone would lead you to beleive.
feeluupp
RIAA USA CERTIFICATIONS FOR THE 80s
DIRTY MIND - GOLD
CONTROVERSY - 1 M
1999 - 4 M
PURPLE RAIN - 13 M
ATWIAD - 2 M
PARADE - 1 M
SIGN O THE TIMES - 1 M
LOVESEXY - GOLD
BATMAN - 2 M
His USA numbers were low except for 1999 and Purple Rain. But world wide was somewhat avarage, for example world wide 1999 sold 7 million total. Purpe Rain sold over 21 million total, Parade over 4 million total.
Keep in mind many of his albums have not been recertified by RIAA when they should.
Purple Rain still stands at 13x Platinum, last certification was 1996. It should be at least 16x Platinum in USA by now, if not more!
Dirty Mind was never recertified, it should be at least Platinum by now. TVBOP is the largest selling album since Prince's death with sales past 3 million in the U.S. alone but only stands at 1x Platinum still.
nextedition said:
PRINCE sold 48.9 million records in the US ALONE
feeluupp said:
He def sold more than BOB DYLAN. RIAA isnt counting everything. PR sold 16 million in the US ALONE and 1999 has sold over 5 million. TVBOP has sold over 3 million
https://chartmasters.org/...nalysis/6/
RIAA isnt counting everything.
The RIAA doesn't count anything. It's not a requirement that labels report their sales to it, it's always been voluntary. The labels have to pay a fee for those certifications anyway, which some might not want to do. When Berry Gordy ran Motown he generally didn't report to it. Neither did Syd Nathan at King Records. If a label reports what a record has sold, then they have to pay the artist royalties for the sales. If the label doesn't report the sales for certifications, the acts do not know what they sold and so cannot ask for more money.
Wish there was better Prince news than this...
purplethunder3121 said:
There is. Look at the Previous Comment! It's all good now.
All right...but I was wanting to hear breaking news about a Prince album I've never heard before...
jaawwnn
SquirrelMeat said:
Well, a certain musician from Minneapolis for one
Joking aside though, you are 100% correct. Why people care about this is beyond me, Kenny G is on that list and I don't see people foaming at the mouth for reissues of his catalogue. Take it as a compliment that Prince was too cool to appeal to all the people all of the time.
jaawwnn said:
Kenny G is on that list and I don't see people foaming at the mouth for reissues of his catalogue.
Kenny G has sold way more than LaToya Jackson, but she has several deluxe CD reissues of her albums. So there's a demand for a lot of things
Thanks for orgnoting me the link, TC.
This really ain't an issue though. Aside from '82-'86 and '91, P wasn't a big seller. Despite that he's one of the most popular names in music, past or present and is held in very high regard by critics and fans alike to this day.
He sold enough.
MickyDolenz said:
Um, yes, thank you for taking my point and rewording it to say the same thing.
Not really. My point is that if there are people who want reissues of LaToya, whose albums weren't popular when they were originally released. What makes you think that there aren't people who want remasters of Kenny's albums? His albums sold multiplatinum. Adult R&B stations still play his music and smooth jazz in general on the Quiet Storm program. Kenny was even on the rap battle show Drop The Mic not that long ago and had a battle with Richard Marx. Adult contemporary songs are popular with weddings too.
Fair point. Embarrassing for some people, but fair point.
How is that? I've never understood this kind of thinking that somebody has to like a so-called "high class" type of music or if it's not then it's a "guilty pleasure". I don't feel embarrased about anything I listen to or watch and don't believe in guilty pleasures. I use the name Micky from The Monkees. Music is for people to enjoy. It doesn't matter if they like opera or Soulja Boy. It's all good if it makes a person happy. Music snobs never make any sense to me. I have a few Kenny G records and he played on other records I have from people like Whitney Houston, Kashif, & Johnny Gill.
kewlschool
Don't they count single sales and album sales?
Also, all songs he penned and sung by others count as a Prince sale? Both in an album or single sale?
He songs are on best selling artists albums which would add to his sales numbers, no?
99.9% of everything I say is strictly for my own entertainment