Yes I did!  LOL!  Of course zero promotion hurt, but that is a whole other story.  Of course the Best Buy deal was a good move for the label, any business move which shields liabilities is good.  Of course, the Best Buy deal is diminishing sales--just think, everyday 20 million people or so are exposed to a $9.99 ACDC disc, and only 3 or 4 million people are exposed to CD--if that.  The impulse, and common shopper purchases are what really drive sales for an album, and this album is not getting nearly as many as a Wal Mart exclusive, or non-exclusive would.  The name GNR is big, still, and many would have no problem forking out $9 bucks, if they saw it.

Very interesting, though, it virtually held steady around 50K units scanned, which is about what it did last week.  The glutton of albums released for Holliday shopping is what drove the chart position down.  Real interested to see where it holds for the next few weeks:  I would guess, around 25-40K.  Not that it matters--we have the album, it rocks, and if the masses like it fine, if they don't, that's fine as well.:peace:

The smart move would be release it tomorrow, prior to the busy upcoming shopping weekend.  But, I don't think GNR worries about scanning units, as much as they do getting the art piece right--which is admirable.

Whole different ball game there.  Live shows are different.  BTW, the 2006 tour was a top ten world tour.  Also, they were overbooked in the U.S. by Merck (booking Ames, IA in between a Chicago and Minneapolis show for example)--play half those shows, and every date would have been sold out.  And just for you, I will re-post this for you.  BTW, Best Buy bought 1.3 million one way, and yes, of course it was great for UMG, but again, that is not what we are discussing.  We are talking about scans, now that it is in store, and how that is being affected by the decision to distribute through Best Buy.  Good day:beer:

I've never read so much vacuous bull shit, void of any understanding of product distribution and retail marketing, presented as fact in my life.  A few of you, and you are chronic haters, and blinded so much by your hatred (god knows why you post here, that's a whole other issue), that you ignore reality and facts if they digress from your predetermined notion of what the truth is.  Really, between the Axl nutswingers, and the haters, reality is tough to find on GNR boards.  The truth of the matter is Wal Mart put together one of the best marketing campaigns in history for Black Ice, and ACDC and their management matched Wal Mart's efforts in promotion of their album and tour promotion.  That combination launched this effort.  Combine that with the fact that the demographics (rural, white, working class) of Wal Mart shoppers match up perfectly with ACDC fans for the most part.  It was a match made in heaven.  Considering that the new ACDC album is mediocre at best, sounds identical, if not slightly inferior, to their past two efforts and it becomes clear that the distribution and roll out made this thing.  Their last release sold 170K first week, and it is better than Black Ice. Wal Mart is a powerhouse, and they pushed the shit out of this in all the right ways.  One cannot leave Wal Mart without seeing "ACDC" at least ten times, hearing it, seeing awesome merchandise for the band, and basically being brainwashed into thinking they are the coolest hard rock band that any teenager should love.  We all know that is far from the truth as these guy's are in their 60's, but perception is everything, and the marketing makes them feel uber-cool.  Moreover, Wal Mart and Sam's have over 5000 locations in the U.S.

Best Buy's demographics (more urban, higher educated, techie-latte loving, upper middle class)  alone, do not benefit GNR.  Wal Mart's demographics, for the most part, would be more favorable to GNR; although GNR is far more "hip" than ACDC is, and more well respected in the underground and on college campuses.   Best Buy only has 900 stores, half of which are on the verge of bankruptcy and, in turn, are operating like funeral parlors.  The in-store marketing was pathetic, their national marketing (tv, radio) was nowhere to be found, and the firm quite frankly had $0 money available when they needed it to market this--they are in big financial trouble.  Combine that with the fact that GNR has a massive amount of fans in more rural areas, where poverty abounds and transportation to the cities is not easily attainable, and you have less fans who would be willing to buy the product for ten bucks even looking at it.

This is not to diminish the fact that Axl's lack of publicity did not help--it didn't at all, in fact it hurt the album, almost as much as Best Buy's pathetic effort did--although I should mention, the 5000 stores vs. only 900 urban stores thing is highly significant---not to mention that Wal Mart has about fifteen times more "eyespace" for ACDC per store than Best Buy does for GNR.

Bottom-line is this, anyone in their right mind, stating that the Best Buy exclusive did not drop domestic sales by upwards of  40% is not living in a world based on facts, figures, business models, science and math.  The major fallout from the bad press alone, with every Axl hating editor chomping at the bit every day to write headlines with no context stating "Rose bombs", "Chinese Democracy dramatically dropping in sales", "Axl kills Best Buy", etc. is now hurting it and adding to the pain.   In other words, this deal which saved UMG, has turned into a perfect storm  damaging the disc from an in-store sales and publicity stand point.

The silver lining is this, many critics like the album and many alternative and underground critics have warmed to the quality of the work.  Moreover, the band and album still have a good shot at coming back strong next year.  Also, last week's figures are real interesting.  It is quite shocking that the drop-off last week was very minimal, and it hovered around 50K of sales.  That may not mean that it is not headed down to 10K next week, but shocked me and I am sure some suits in the biz, as it was a very stable week, in the face of some bad press.  Enough already, the album rocks!!  Enjoy it!

I've never read so much vacuous bull shit, void of any understanding of product distribution and retail marketing, presented as fact in my life.  A few of you, and you are chronic haters, and blinded so much by your hatred (god knows why you post here, that's a whole other issue), that you ignore reality and facts if they digress from your predetermined notion of what the truth is.  Really, between the Axl nutswingers, and the haters, reality is tough to find on GNR boards.  The truth of the matter is Wal Mart put together one of the best marketing campaigns in history for Black Ice, and ACDC and their management matched Wal Mart's efforts in promotion of their album and tour promotion.  That combination launched this effort.  Combine that with the fact that the demographics (rural, white, working class) of Wal Mart shoppers match up perfectly with ACDC fans for the most part.  It was a match made in heaven.  Considering that the new ACDC album is mediocre at best, sounds identical, if not slightly inferior, to their past two efforts and it becomes clear that the distribution and roll out made this thing.  Their last release sold 170K first week, and it is better than Black Ice. Wal Mart is a powerhouse, and they pushed the shit out of this in all the right ways.  One cannot leave Wal Mart without seeing "ACDC" at least ten times, hearing it, seeing awesome merchandise for the band, and basically being brainwashed into thinking they are the coolest hard rock band that any teenager should love.  We all know that is far from the truth as these guy's are in their 60's, but perception is everything, and the marketing makes them feel uber-cool.  Moreover, Wal Mart and Sam's have over 5000 locations in the U.S.

Best Buy's demographics (more urban, higher educated, techie-latte loving, upper middle class)  alone, do not benefit GNR.  Wal Mart's demographics, for the most part, would be more favorable to GNR; although GNR is far more "hip" than ACDC is, and more well respected in the underground and on college campuses.   Best Buy only has 900 stores, half of which are on the verge of bankruptcy and, in turn, are operating like funeral parlors.  The in-store marketing was pathetic, their national marketing (tv, radio) was nowhere to be found, and the firm quite frankly had $0 money available when they needed it to market this--they are in big financial trouble.  Combine that with the fact that GNR has a massive amount of fans in more rural areas, where poverty abounds and transportation to the cities is not easily attainable, and you have less fans who would be willing to buy the product for ten bucks even looking at it.

This is not to diminish the fact that Axl's lack of publicity did not help--it didn't at all, in fact it hurt the album, almost as much as Best Buy's pathetic effort did--although I should mention, the 5000 stores vs. only 900 urban stores thing is highly significant---not to mention that Wal Mart has about fifteen times more "eyespace" for ACDC per store than Best Buy does for GNR.

Bottom-line is this, anyone in their right mind, stating that the Best Buy exclusive did not drop domestic sales by upwards of  40% is not living in a world based on facts, figures, business models, science and math.  The major fallout from the bad press alone, with every Axl hating editor chomping at the bit every day to write headlines with no context stating "Rose bombs", "Chinese Democracy dramatically dropping in sales", "Axl kills Best Buy", etc. is now hurting it and adding to the pain.   In other words, this deal which saved UMG, has turned into a perfect storm  damaging the disc from an in-store sales and publicity stand point. 

The silver lining is this, many critics like the album and many alternative and underground critics have warmed to the quality of the work.  Moreover, the band and album still have a good shot at coming back strong next year.  Also, last week's figures are real interesting.  It is quite shocking that the drop-off last week was very minimal, and it hovered around 50K of sales.  That may not mean that it is not headed down to 10K next week, but shocked me and I am sure some suits in the biz, as it was a very stable week, in the face of some bad press.  Enough already, the album rocks!!  Enjoy it!