Selling copies of their new album with 2018 tour tickets, U2’s “Songs of Experience” came top of the charts
U2’s new album “Songs of Experience” has knocked Taylor Swift off the top of the Billboard 100 album chart less than two weeks after its release date on December 1.
The band’s 14th studio album has seen the Irish band achieve yet another historic milestone in its long, shining career, bestowing them with the honor of a number one album in every one of the last four decades, its eighth in total to top the chart.
“Songs of Experience,” which was widely sold alongside tickets for U2’s 2018 tour, put an end to Swift’s three-week reign with “Reputation,” despite the country-turned-pop-star’s massive streaming numbers in the past week.
Read more: Trump caused the delay of “Songs of Experience” release date, says Bono
Taylor Swift was knocked from the top spot by U2's new album. Image: WikiCommons.
“Reputation,” Swift’s sixth studio album, was made available on all streaming services on December 1, the same release date as Bono and co.’s new album, but the 51 million streams and 70,000 physical copies sold were not enough to keep her on top.
The 27-year-old finished in third place behind the 116,000 sales and 9.5 million streams of country singer Chris Stapleton’s “From a Room: Volume 2.” U2 finished the week with 180,000 copies sold and 6.5 million streams (equaling 186,000 units in total).
The Irish rock stars utilized a much better tactic in selling “Songs of Experience” to the public than with its predecessor “Songs of Innocence.” With tour sales always strong for the Irish favorites, the new album was sold as part of a 2018 tour bundle ticket, a tactic also used by the likes of Katy Perry, Pink, and LCD Soundsystem, who can not rely on the massive amount of song and albums streams that Taylor Swift can. All these artists have also achieved a number one album in this way.
Read more: U2’s experience doesn’t shine through in Songs of Experience
"Songs of Experience," U2's new album cover.
U2 bought themselves some bad press and harsh criticism with “Songs of Innocence” by releasing the album as an automatic free download on Apple iTunes in 2014, a move that many disagreed with as younger generations especially had not grown up with the band and were not aware of who they are. The stunt resulted in embarrassment for both the band and Apple as the invasive move was stepped back. The album eventually charted at No. 9 on its debut, selling 28,000 copies.
Have you listened to Songs of Experience yet? What do you make of U2’s latest installment?
H/T: New York Times
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