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Re: Axl Rose vs. Kanye West
Guns N' Roses Vs. Kanye West: Axl's Got A Secret Weapon In The Race For #1
Chinese Democracy's label is making a sly move to beat 808s & Heartbreak in first-week sales.
It was shaping up to be an epic battle between two of music's biggest heavyweights, with Kanye West — the Louis Vuitton Don, and the man we crowned the Hottest MC in the Game — standing in one corner, wearing the gold trunks and white Shutter Shades, ready to drop 808s & Heartbreak. And in the other: Axl Rose — sporting the black trunks, a Los Angeles Raiders jersey, red cornrows and a little album called Chinese Democracy.
Who will walk away with the championship belt? Chances are, it won't be 'Ye.
Fans are excited, critics and industry watchers look on with great anticipation, and even oddsmakers have jumped into the fray, casting Guns N' Roses as the favorite. But, at the 11th hour, GN'R are making things a bit interesting in this race toward Billboard's peak position. That's because Axl's got a secret weapon: the Eighth Day.
After years of false starts and broken promises, Geffen Records will finally issue Guns N' Roses' eagerly awaited album this coming Sunday, a day before West's latest hits stores. And a spokesperson for Geffen told MTV News that first-day sales figures for Chinese Democracy will not be reported to Nielsen SoundScan until November 30, the same day West's label will report his week-one sales.
Typically, albums are released in the U.S. on Tuesdays, and SoundScan tracks weekly sales data from Monday through Sunday, meaning that most albums' debut spots on the Billboard chart are based on six solid sales days. At first, most assumed day-one sales of Chinese Democracy — which took Rose more than 16 years to complete — would be reported next week and released the morning of November 26. But GN'R's label is holding off on releasing those sales figures until the following week, setting the stage for an extra boost in the chart standings announced on December 3.
West's only chance at a third consecutive #1 debut is the fact that Chinese Democracy will be available exclusively at Best Buy's Web site and stores, whereas 808s will be everywhere.
This is a different game from last fall, when Kanye and 50 Cent released solo albums on the very same day. After weeks of hype leading up to their showdown, West's Graduation pushed 957,000 copies, easily besting Curtis, which sold 691,000 copies in week one.
Before Geffen's plan was known, MTV News reached out to U.K. betting company Ladbrokes and online-gaming purveyors Bodog Entertainment to see which album they favor for a #1 opening. Despite West's immense popularity, the numerous leaks of Chinese Democracy over the years and GN'R's Best Buy deal, oddsmakers from both companies said Guns' LP has the best chance of scoring a chart-topping debut.
Bodoglife.com Sportsbook manager Richard Gardner put the odds at -130 in favor of Guns — which is basically the same thing as saying there's a 56 percent chance that Axl will outsell West. Meanwhile, he put the odds at -110 for a Kanye West win, or a 52 percent chance that his album will enter the chart at the peak position.
"We would quote 1/3 on Guns N' Roses, and 5/2 on Kanye West," said Nick Weinberg, head of Ladbrokes' novelty betting division. "So we make Guns N' Roses the favorite to top the charts in the week immediately after the release, due to the massive sense of anticipation surrounding the album. A lot of people have been waiting a long time for it."
Re: Axl Rose vs. Kanye West
YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH FOR GNR....... They forget to mention the fact that It will instantly go 3x Platinum by default on its opening day due to the BB deal !
They didn't forget to mention that because it wont. Albums that are purchased by consumers is what counts towards sales.
This would have been cool had this "showdown" been promoted weeks ago. Could have built up some decent hype leading up to both releases. Both artists will benefit though.
My money is on Kanye taking the number one spot. White boys that wear their jeans down to their knees buy more albums than the typical GNR fan.
- tejastech08
- Rep: 194
Re: Axl Rose vs. Kanye West
Take a look at the iTunes chart. Fucking pathetic. Not even in the top 25 now. No way in hell it beats Kanye.
- shotgunblues1978
- Rep: 11
Re: Axl Rose vs. Kanye West
Stepvhen wrote:YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH FOR GNR....... They forget to mention the fact that It will instantly go 3x Platinum by default on its opening day due to the BB deal !
They didn't forget to mention that because it wont. Albums that are purchased by consumers is what counts towards sales.
This would have been cool had this "showdown" been promoted weeks ago. Could have built up some decent hype leading up to both releases. Both artists will benefit though.
My money is on Kanye taking the number one spot. White boys that wear their jeans down to their knees buy more albums than the typical GNR fan.
I'd be inclined to agree with that if this was a rap album, but I think Kanye leaving hip hop behind for an entire album of vocals sung through a vocoder will hurt him in the teenage male demographic which is one of the demographics he sells the most records to
- shotgunblues1978
- Rep: 11
Re: Axl Rose vs. Kanye West
There's no doubt about it, iTunes is a big deal
That being said, I'd be willing to bet that a lot smaller % of GnR's total buyers will pick the album up off the internet than Kanye West's
Does anyone know when Kanye's album went on sale for pre-order on iTunes? Because in the case of pre-orders I've noticed they usually spike really high in the first week then go downhill pretty quick. I noticed that this happened to The Killers, GnR and Beyonce
Re: Axl Rose vs. Kanye West
I'd be inclined to agree with that if this was a rap album, but I think Kanye leaving hip hop behind for an entire album of vocals sung through a vocoder will hurt him in the teenage male demographic which is one of the demographics he sells the most records to
I''m not even a fan of his, so I have no idea of the various direction his music takes. Not really a fan of male rappers for many reasons.
However, in this day and age, rap owns pop culture like rock used to so Kanye will win simply by default.
Only band that could knock Kanye out of a number one debut is U2, and their album comes out next year.
I wouldn't bet on Itunes to be a prediction for album sales.
Two of the biggest music events this year were Rihanna and M.I.A.'s success with Paper Planes.
Tracks from both artists were one and two on the Itunes chart.
Itunes is a great indicator of artist interest. Any paid download service is, Itunes being the biggest makes it THE download chart.
