Metal Sludge The Power and the Glory
Guns n’ Roses "Chinese Democracy" sales look grim
The bad boy falls short of #1
Axl Rose has went AWOL according to the UK Sun, and his record label is rumored to be pissed about it. It appears as though the sales of this long awaited disc have shown this as well.
Billboard is reporting the following below. Full article is found >HERE<
While mainstream media is touting that the Black Friday weekend started the holiday selling season with a bang, music merchandisers certainly didn’t have that experience.
Music sales were down anywhere from 10% to 30% and hit albums released for Black Friday didn’t perform up to expectations, according to merchants contacted by Billboard. Sources say Kanye West’s "808s & Heartbreak" will sell in the range of 425,000-450,000 units, significantly down from 700,000-975,000 units previously projected.
Guns N’ Roses’ "Chinese Democracy" is expected to clock in at 250,000-260,000, which is also down from expectations that it would sell anywhere from 300,000-784,000 units.
With 69% of sales counted Hits Daily Double is reporting >HERE< that Axl n’ Roses currently sits in 3rd place behind Kanye West and Taylor Swift.
LW TW artist / album label power index
– 1 KANYE WEST ROC-A-FELLA/IDJMG 423,367
808S & HEARTBREAK
4 2 TAYLOR SWIFT BIG MACHINE 181,503
FEARLESS
– 3 GUNS N’ ROSES GEFFEN 176,164
CHINESE DEMOCRACY
Another projected chart below shows the release sitting in 4th place.
– 1 KANYE WEST ROC-A-FELLA/IDJMG 443,559 -808S & HEARTBREAK
4 2 TAYLOR SWIFT BIG MACHINE 257,047 +23% FEARLESS
1 3 BEYONCE COLUMBIA 254,555 -50% I AM… SASHA FIERCE
– 4 GUNS N’ ROSES GEFFEN 254,341 – CHINESE DEMOCRACY
– 5 LUDACRIS DEF JAM/IDJMG 212,551 -THEATER OF THE MIND
– 6 KILLERS ISLAND/IDJMG 189,970 – DAY & AGE
The Sun from the UK is reporting that the label heads are pissed because Axl went AWOL for the 2 months previous to the release of "Chinese Democracy" read the story >HERE<
RECORD label bosses are fuming after GUNS N’ ROSES frontman AXL ROSE went missing for two months – costing the band a No1 album.
After spending 15 years and £15million recording their big comeback Chinese Democracy, only top spot was good enough.
But they lost out to THE KILLERS’ Day & Age in Sunday’s UK album chart rundown — with BRANDON FLOWERS’ group notching up sales of 200,000 during the week — 80,000 more than Guns N’ Roses.
Bosses at label Geffen are blaming unpredictable Axl for the disappointing sales after he went AWOL for two months before the release date.
Despite all the effort put into one of the most extravagant rock albums of all time, staff could not contact Axl to get him to promote his rock epic.
In fact, they failed to make contact with him from the day he delivered the final cut.
Chinese Democracy’s first week US sales are between 300,000 and 500,000. Yet their 1987 debut album Appetite For Destruction went on to sell a staggering 28million, so they have a long way to go with their new effort.
Genius
An insider said: “Everyone knows Axl is a bit of a maverick genius and won’t do anything he doesn’t want to do.
“The label is really glad to have him back. But it is frustrating because the album would have had a much better chance of going to No1 if he had only been prepared to show his face.
“People have been trying to contact him for two months and he’s been completely AWOL.
“You would have thought after spending 15 years on an album you might do a few weeks promotion.”
Better news for the label’s bean counters is the elusive Axl is rumoured to be trying to get the band’s first line-up back together.
Guitarist IZZY STRADLIN has said he is keen to see the original members back together and axe legend SLASH’s involvement in his current band VELVET REVOLVER looks shaky after they were dropped by their label.
If Axl has been spending the last two months of his time reuniting the original members for a world tour, I think Geffen might just forgive him.
As long as they don’t have to wait another 15 years.
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