Facts & Fiction In Music
Contributed anonymously:
It’s really hard to come up with accurate & unbiased facts nowadays that fans tend to exaggerate or imagine some things that tend to uplift their idols. Don’t blame them because of too much hype in the media or rumors often circulating in the business. If that’s the case then it’s enlightening to set things straight. We must draw a line between facts & perceived facts or what we call fiction. Oftentimes made-up facts are usually associated with the biggest stars like Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina or Mariah because these artists have huge fan-bases which occasionally spread false achievements so as to promote the artist they support.
Pop Fiction#1:
CDs sold in the U.S. are more relevant because they cost more than in countries outside America or developing countries. Therefore, an artist that sells 5 million in the U.S. is perceived to have better sales than an artist that sells 5 million in Europe or Asia.
Pop Fact#1:
CDs sold in the U.S. are just equivalent to a CD sold in Europe, Japan or Africa because currency rates dictate the price. Total sales are what counts. For example Celine Dion’s ‘A New Day Has Come’ is more successful sales-wise than ‘The Emancipation Of Mimi’ because it sold 12 million Globally.
Pop Fiction#2:
The Billboard Charts is the holistic basis of chart sales & success.
Pop Fact#2:
The United World Charts is the more accurate sales charts because it tallies the 32 Biggest Music Markets. If you can get first-hand info from the IFPI it’s the most accurate source because it tallies sales from over 100 countries but it’s not available to everyone.
Pop Fiction#3:
The Biggest Selling Album is the album that sold the most according to Billboard Magazines year end report.
Pop Fact#3:
The Biggest Selling Album of the year is an album that has sold the most worldwide. Therefore the source should be either the United World Charts or IFPI. For example, according to the United World Charts ‘Greenday’ was the Biggest Selling Artist of 2005 (32 biggest music markets) but IFPI states that ‘Coldplay’ are the Biggest Selling Artists (more than 100 countries)-therefore ‘Coldplay’ is the Biggest Sellers because their sales included almost all the countries. Mariah’s ‘Emancipation’ isn’t the Biggest Seller.
Pop Fiction#4:
IFPI isn’t reliable because it cannot be 100% sure that they can compile all the sales from around the world. Therefore, IFPI cannot say that the Beatles are the Biggest Selling Artists of All Time or Madonna is the Biggest Selling Female.
Pop Fact#4:
IFPI has connections to legitimate national music bodies from over 100 countries. Therefore, it is still the most accurate international body. Of course it cannot cover all countries because there are war-torn countries or countries in extreme poverty (of course they won’t bother about CDs, Cassette tapes, downloads etc).
Pop Fiction#5:
Britney Spears needs a comeback because her album ‘In The Zone’ flopped selling only 8 million. That even pales from her 2002-2003 sales of ‘Britney’.
Pop Fact#5:
Britney Spears doesn’t need a comeback because ‘In The Zone’ was cut & only released 3 singles. Her ‘Greatest Hits’ was then released & sold 6 million copies. Therefore if you combine sales of the two albums, she actually sold 14 million from 2003-2004 - a huge success!
Pop Fiction#6:
According to the World Music Awards which has the IFPI as their source Celine Dion is the Biggest Selling Artist selling over 180 million albums excluding her French releases.
Pop Fact#6:
Celine Dion received the award because she was the second choice. Madonna was the first choice by the body but she declined it. IFPI had a confidential list for 2005 (seen by insiders) that stated Madonna is the Biggest Sellig Female Artist with 275 million sales excluding sales from ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’.
