Sales Numbers: Sandinista VS Tiny Music

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Ok, here's the scenario:

Counting the Clash's Sandinista as 3 per unit sold and STP's Tiny Music as 1 per unit, which title do you think sold the most?

― hyde park records (colonel), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 21:54 (twenty years ago)

Sold: The Clash
Sold then traded back then resold: STP

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:07 (twenty years ago)

What's the logic behind calculating 3 Sandinista's for every 1 TM? Regardless of the # of LPs, it's still one purchase of one album...

― musically (musically), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:09 (twenty years ago)

It's really for argumet's sake. It's between a co-worker and I. The LP of Sandinista was 3 LPs, Tiny Music 1 (I think).

― hyde park records (colonel), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:13 (twenty years ago)

Check http://www.riaa.com - they have a searchable database of gold and platinum certifications.

― Lotta Continua (Damian), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:22 (twenty years ago)

NUMBERS! I NEED NUMBERS!

― hyde park records (colonel), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:26 (twenty years ago)

tiny music went double platinum, sandinista gold - that's with most of sandinista's sales coming as three units on vinyl with the cd being two units. riaa counts as units sold ie. only half a million copies of a double album have to sell before it goes platinum ie. the number of people who bought sandinista is closer to 250,000 than 500,000 (and obviously a far cry from 2 million). even if all of sandinista's sales came on cd and then you converted to make it vinyl units it's still just 750,000. any way you add it up tiny music blows it out of the water.

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:34 (twenty years ago)

OH, SNAP!

― hyde park records (colonel), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:40 (twenty years ago)

The numbers aren't available unless you're willing to pay $$$$$...that's why there are all sorts of "all time" album charts with all sorts of different figures; very little transparency by the otherwise charming RIAA.

― musically (musically), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:42 (twenty years ago)

riaa only hands out platinum and gold records and then only when the label ponies up or submits - tiny music goes gold the same day it goes platinum, it didn't take however long to sell half a million copies and then lo and behold a few hours later it had sold a half million more. for the hard numbers (which are gonna be sketchy as hell pre-91 or so) you gotta go soundscan, which costs $$$$ and gets weirdly protective of their data too.

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:46 (twenty years ago)

And the numbers have little to do with how many are in the hands of consumers/listeners. RIAA counts when the mfr. sells to warehouse/distro/chain-store and then generously doesn't count returns. Sandinista could have held the secrets to the second coming and no way were the distro going to shell out up front $$ for a 3-lp/2-cd package by a (popularity at the time)2nd or third tier band.

So, if the argument is which one took up more rack space at the jobber, Tiny Music wins!

Here's another question, though. What possible relevancy can there be in comparing a 3-lp set released in 1980 with a cd released in 1996?

You got too much time on your hands in that record store.

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Thursday, 27 April 2006 10:20 (twenty years ago)

RIAA counts when the mfr. sells to warehouse/distro/chain-store and then generously doesn't count returns.

most bands who are selling records & are on mid-level or higher labels fill out Soundscan sheets, so sales at venues also count

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 27 April 2006 11:41 (twenty years ago)

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