Michael Jackson Sells 800K Albums

Wow, that is insane. I hope his children are the ones that benefit from this.

Really unbelievable. I honestly could not and would not have predicted this, not on this scale, at least, and in this country. Surely the non-stop news cycle has played a part, but I also think it shows how relevant his music still is for listeners of all ages. Even those who didn’t grow up witnessing his peak years are very familiar with his music. The links of influence between his music and today’s popular music are more readily apparent IMO than with many other catalogs.

I’ve got to check my collection to see if I am missing anything because I own everything from Off the Wall thru Invincible. I guess I am going to try to find some more stuff with his brother as I don’t have much of that….I think the one I’ve been looking for wasn’t available digitally….anyway,loving the power of michael, the power of music. After all isn’t it really about the music? Music is eternal…well great music is.

I was just on Amazon and the top 16 sellers under Music are all occupied by Michael Jackson. A couple of those spots are his DVDs and the #7 spot is a Boxed CD-set selling for $40.99, so people are spending more than just $9.99 for some of his stuff.

Amazing.

Cool.

The links of influence between his music and today’s popular music are more readily apparent IMO than with many other catalogs.

Excellent point. As I now listen to current artists, for example Justin Timberlake and Ne-yo, it is even more apparent the influence that Michael had on their music and the sound of their voices. I was also more aware of the influence when I heard Usher sing at the memorial. It’s stunning, really.

Kudos Michael.

Wow. Cool!

my heart is thrilled to see michael racking up these numbers… it comes as no surprise to me, as i’m one of those fans who was there from the beginning… i’m talking from his and the j5′s first appearance to the world on the ed sullivan show in 1969 thru today… he did what all child artists dream of doing – bring the fans along with them, throughout all stages of their career, and continue to add new ones along the way..

mj locked down a huge base of fans like me – pre-teen and teen girls in the 70′s, and held us in the palm of his hand musically throughout his adulthood… the intensity of love for his music has never waned, the awe and respect for his performance skills will never wane……. the circus atmosphere and controversies later in his life were acknowledged, but those of us who were there, from the beginning, never wavered in our absolute belief that he was still the most formidable pop artist on the planet… ..

many of us went to itunes in the days after his death, and updated or replaced our collections digitally, and will continue to do so as more material is released… such is the intensity and depth of love and respect he created in his fans, many years ago, up till present day, and on into the future… with the rumored treasure trove of unreleased material he recorded, my desire, as a fan, is to see him continue to make his presence known on the charts for a long, long time to come.

MJ was and continues to be the King. No other artist has this type of effect on the charts. He even broke music video download records. lol Although, that one makes sense. His visual performances/videos were amazing. Still untouched today.

Absolutely incredible.

The King of Pop indeed.

FYI:

“Thriller” is the best selling album of all time; though sales figures for the album vary, the album is cited as selling as many as 109 million copies worldwide.” (per Wikipedia)

The next closest albums in sales numbers have sold between 40′“49 million copies. So Thriller has a huge margin over the others.

Sadly for future artists, even if there was someone who was able to match the artistic achievement that Thriller was and is, we will likely never see numbers like that again unless the record industry figures out how to eradicate all piracy, illegal burning and illegal downloading – uh – as I said, we will likely never see that number again.

I’m not at all surprised.

I’ve personally bought 5 CDs, 2 magazines, and downloaded several Jackson 5 songs. I’m probably not finished. I’ve been a fan forever, but my collection was mostly in LPs or has been lost.

Much of his music is truly timeless.

The numbers are indeed amazing, i’m sure he’ll continue to sell much more.
I’ve been updating my collection with iTunes downloads and i’m certainly not done yet.
Hoping they release new material soon, that new song I heard on the Today show the other morning was really great.

Right there with ya, ggdoorsfan! Well said.

still reveling in appreciation and love for michael…… berry gordy wasn’t blowing smoke in his tribute to michael in yesterday’s memorial, when he said that ”the king of pop” was a title too small for michael… he called him the greatest performer who ever lived…… amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnDMMwaMCa8

amen.

Wake me when it’s over. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The good thing is, those albums and songs have been available for years on itunes and will continue to be available online forever probably, so no need to get them now. He did make some great music, 20 years ago, but it’s not so compelling to me now as it once was. I’ve heard it so many times. Even the Beatles I got tired of eventually. (Did I really say that? Well I still pull out my Beatles music once a year, but have to pace myself or I’ll OD.)

mgk says

Wow, that is insane. I hope his children are the ones that benefit from this.

Yeah I hope the children get the money and everything from all this!

hot dang michael……. untouchable…….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc47y4cE9Ic&NR=1

HA!! And someone told me yesterday that Michael was “irrelevant.”

The King Reigns!

great music, and the artists who create it, has no timetable or shelf life for relevancy….. it’s the mark of a great artist to have music that remains influential, spans decades, and remains relevant across time…. michael jackson’s music will remain relevant to any artist worth their salt in the pop music genre….. one could say sinatra’s, hendrix’s, james brown, marvin gaye and heck, even beethoven’s best work is/was behind them – for me, it doesn’t lessen their modern day impact and relevancy for a new generation of singers and artists, nor does it seem the music buying audience is going to tire anytime soon in continuing to listen to and purchase their material… this ”mj phenomena” ain’t over, not by a long shot……. :thumbup_tb:

count me as one of the many that added to their MJ collection after his death….i had most of his stuff, w. the exception of 2 offthewall songs and “you are not alone” (cheesy as it may be, i loved that song growing up…still makes me cry as i think of people/family that have passed away).

MJ was and always will be “relevant”….and his influence on young artists will continue for generations to come

I suspect a lot of those MJ bios are going to be flying off shelves, good news for publishers.

Those numbers are amazing. I’ve definitely been updating my MJ collection to digital through iTunes as well, including his amazing music videos. It’s incredible how current his songs still sound, a real testament to his musical brilliance.

These massive sales of MJ music will insure one thing, if nothing else, for certain, that a whole new generation of musicians to come, perhaps in 10 or 15 years, will also be claiming Michael as a major influence on their lives. And that to me is a beautiful thought.

wow! i downloaded an album even though i had most of the songs already on my ipod.

So how does this work…will Michael be out of debt after all of these sales?

(I sure hope so!)

michael is shattering records across the web as well….. excerpt below, read more at the link….. who’s bad? michael, you’re bad :king_tb:

Yahoo had its most video streams in history, 5 million streams of the live ceremony, again putting Obama’s inauguration second with 1.8 million.

Michael Jackson’s fan base rapidly increased after his death, with his Web site growing from 800,000 members to an astonishing 7 million members after Jackson passed away.

http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/30025.html

HA!! And someone told me yesterday that Michael was ‘irrelevant.’ 

I heard something similar from a co-worker pfftt. Brilliance is never irrelevant. Just makes me sad that it took such a tragedy for more people to discover how amazing his music is, not to mention timeless. My MJ CD collection is complete so I didn’t need to purchase anymore however I’ve spent about $50 the last week on various tribute magazines. Each one is special.

I decided I’d like to have a copy of Michael’s autobiography written in 1988, titled “Moonwalk.” I was too late. It’s out of print and selling on ebay for well over $100 a copy. Maybe they’ll republish it.

GGdoorsfan, I just want to say “amen” to all you’ve sais here today s you mirror my thoughts and experiences as a fan of his from the start…..he never loss me. He’s been relevant in every decade of my life….there have been those who aspired to or imitated, but could never quite achieve the greatness that Michael did during his storied career. Whenever I see or hear JT, Usher, Chris Brown, NeYo, Genuine….or remember Terrence Trent D’arby, or the reemerging Maxwell, I know the relevence of Michael Jackson because his was/is their template. They had other influences of course, as did he, but his looms large, as does his shadow.

I said elsewhere today that the music endures, and even though alot of this is for the curious, but many of these buyers today are seeing and hearing Michael with fresh ears and eyes, and that is why he is selling the way he is. That music, his music was special.

ETA: I am proud to say, I was a member of his facebook group, the official one before his passing.

These numbers are really incredible considering the sad state of affairs in the music business right now. I want a copy of Dangerous, the album that has “Gone Too Soon” and “Will You Be There” on it. I heard those songs at the memorial and really want Michael’s versions.

just sayin Jul 8th, 2009 at 5:57 pm

I decided I’d like to have a copy of Michael’s autobiography written in 1988, titled ‘Moonwalk.’  I was too late. It’s out of print and selling on ebay for well over $100 a copy. Maybe they’ll republish it.

I am surprised it is out of print….I’m betting they do a reprinting now! He must have written it with a coauthor – if I were that person I’d be working on an update section to the book. The Taborelli book looks like a good starter bio because he knew Michael since they were kids.

hugs and tears abbysee… those of us unafraid and unashamed to admit we were there from the beginning with the jackson 5 and michael understand the hurt, the real sadness in the spirit, and the sense of great loss at his death… the jackson 5, and michael jackson, were not just another hot group to us – they were like family, our ”first family”, a symbol of hope, and pride in a time not that far removed the turmoil and social upheaval of the 1960′s…

michael was for many of us our very first heartthrob, a cute, super talented guy we were proud be a fan of… remember the ”fanwars” with the osmonds, and the sylvers, lololol… these idol ”fanwars” are amateur time compared to those, hahahah… and the jackson fans triumphed over them all, because of the supreme talent of michael, leading the way….

we went with him as he grew and matured musically – we’ve been there, through all the ups and downs, the controversies, the trials, the spectacle, the public ridicule, trying to sort it all out, but still in awe of this supernaturally gifted performer, the one that could still take our breath away, with just a flick of his finger.. it’s nice to see all the people, especially in the united states, that are beginning to appreciate him again for the genius, the artistry, and the irreplaceable musical talent that he was… it’s been lonely out here these last few years, and the company is comforting…..

thanks mj for the platform to express our sentiments, positive, negative and in between, about michael jackson… it’s cathartic, and coming here to see hard numbers, tangible proof to support him as the ”king of pop”, and the greatest entertainer who ever lived is strangely comforting… his music still lives….

MJ=THE Man!

I thought the title was Michael JOHNS sells 800K. :lol_ee: :lol_ee:

Undoubtedly the King Of Pop

Oh this is fantastic to see!!!!! Ditto to everything you said abbysee and ggdoorsfan. King of Pop for sure!!!!!!!