UPDATE Paul Simon did get his first number 1 album in 41 years today. “Stranger to Stranger” sold 65,000 copies in CDs and paid digital downloads. Fans wanted to own his album so they bought it. Paul’s last number 1 album was “Still Crazy After All These Years” in 1975. “Graceland” and “Rhythm of the Saints,” back to back hits in the 1980s, went top 5 but never hit the top of the charts.
Concord Records did a great job marketing the album, reviews were terrific, and Simon is on tour– all of that added up to this triumph. “Stranger to Stranger” is a tour de force, and we’d better see it nominated for Album of the Year come December.
“Stranger to Stranger” finished third when streaming was counted into sales. Simon had only 2,000 streams, making his total total 67,000. Streaming bulked Drake up from 31,000 paid to 135,000– 100,000 streams. Beyonce was bulked up from 47,000 to 69,000. So many streams for Drake! His fans don’t seem to need his music in their phones or computers permanently.
The Monkees album fell 67% and sold only 8,000 copies after that first big week. Rhino has to work the album now, and a single. A video will help too.
Next week, Tom Corson, president and COO of RCA Records, and Peter Edge, chairman and CEO of RCA Records, will be honored at UJA-Federation of New York’s Music Visionary of the Year Award Luncheon for their leadership and philanthropy at work and in the community.
Among those attending to honor will be Alicia Keys, Elle King, Jack Antonoff, Baz Luhrmann, and Sony Music chairman Doug Morris. I’ve known Tom and Peter a long time, and they deserve all the honors they can get. Bravo!Â
