Quote:
Originally posted by GeezusHaberdash
I'm basing it off the average. Britney is above and beyond in that regard of course. But out of the other girls (Akeys, Xtina, P!nk, etc) I would consider +30M an A+. She has done +30M, right? Rihanna is half of that. By grading scale standards she should be F since 15M is half, but album sales keep declining so... yea.
And selling a $10 album will always top a $1 hit single. Hit singles can be forgettable and people might remember the song but it doesn't necessarily mean they remember the person who sung (sang?) it. Selling an album requires a more "intimate" knowlegde of the artist. Rihanna had back to back to back hit singles for the GGGB era and did about 7.5M while P!nk had So What this era and a couple of moderate hits and is nearing 7M if she isn't already there. Are you going to tell me that Rih did more impressively? |
30 million is fine number, but that number is somewhat front loaded and results from the success of her earlier albums that were released when she was both more popular and albums sold better in general (as you note). She still sells impressively, but not enough that I would grant her an A rating in terms of sales. She's a solid B. My whole thing is, despite Rihanna's inability to sell an album, her musical output trumps P!nk in terms of successful singles and memorable singles. Pink is a relic of an era before digital music where people who wanted to buy music usually sought out full albums, she also has a somewhat older fanbase because she is supported a lot by adult contemporary. I'm not saying those two things explain her continued album selling power in 2010, but if you're in this business to sell albums it certainly helps to have 40 year old women who don't use iTunes on your side and an established track record with people who have previously purchased your full albums.
People don't know Rihanna as intimately as they know Pink because Rih debuted at the beginning of a musical revolution where people only pay for the music they want... and they want the memorable singles (which Rihanna has provided). With Rihanna, people don't know the "personal story" that all these artists try and say their albums tell, but they know the hits, and they know that these hits are Rihanna's hits because she has a unique sound/style and is a big enough presence in our culture to get radio support, get attention from the press, etc. It's not like people are going to start attributing Umbrella to Beyonce because Beyonce is a memorable album seller and Rihanna is a forgettable singles act who has made no impact.
Sorry for the response 3 pages later.
