‘Carter III’ Not As Popular As 1st Week Sales Indicated

Written by Rizoh. Posted in Gumbo

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Published on June 25, 2008 with 56 Comments">56 Comments

lil wayne

So, Tha Carter III took a humongous 70% dip the 2nd week on Billboard. How do you go from 1.1 million in one week to 350k the next? I guess that confirms my suspicion that Wayne’s label bought half of those CDs to give people the perception that Tha Carter III is a must-have album. We all know that much of the music industry — not just hip-hop — thrives on perception. Of course I’m recklessly speculating here, but it’s not entirely impossible. Hell, everyone I talked to prior to Carter III‘s release either owned a bootleg or had no interest in picking up the album.

So, who bought all those CDs?

Rizoh

Rizoh is the most powerful man in all the lands. He lives in Houston where he earned a BS in Nerf Herding. He's the founder of The Rap Up, the editor of Roc4Life.com, and is in the Grammy-awaiting band Pervertable Disciples.

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  • cbloom

    not an uncommon practice at all. ask alicia.

  • cbloom

    not an uncommon practice at all. ask alicia.

  • pedro

    no I don’t think so if you think about it 350+ is sick. Alot of people don’t even sell that much in their first week those are some incredible numbers and i think that
    makimg assumptions like that hurt the game we should be extremely happy and impressed that he has done so well people have shown that they will day fuck a download if this artist is hot and is consistantly dropping that hot music we need to ride the weedy train no homo and use this as evidence tha hiphop is alive

  • pedro

    no I don’t think so if you think about it 350+ is sick. Alot of people don’t even sell that much in their first week those are some incredible numbers and i think that
    makimg assumptions like that hurt the game we should be extremely happy and impressed that he has done so well people have shown that they will day fuck a download if this artist is hot and is consistantly dropping that hot music we need to ride the weedy train no homo and use this as evidence tha hiphop is alive

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    I see what you’re saying, but my assumption is not baseless. As secret as it’s kept, faking first week sales is common practice in the industry. Artists deem it crucial to post impressive 1st week numbers because, for the most part, those numbers will determine whether or not your album gets any additional push down the line or not.

    Just ask Chamillionaire.

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    I see what you’re saying, but my assumption is not baseless. As secret as it’s kept, faking first week sales is common practice in the industry. Artists deem it crucial to post impressive 1st week numbers because, for the most part, those numbers will determine whether or not your album gets any additional push down the line or not.

    Just ask Chamillionaire.

  • pedro

    respect graduation and carter III last albums I have bought I support good music if your someone who claims hiphop is dead then get out there and support your fav artist when they drop they shit real talk when good albums get bought good artists get rewarded

  • pedro

    Ok first of all what up rizoh big fan of the site!!! Lol ok dork moment over.I see I know the industry is in it for the money but I think that weezy should get the benefit of the doubt a mil first week and more than a quarter mil sold next week I think even kanyes numbers fell huge even 50”s numbers did too but the industry didn’t buy all of their albums so even if some albums were bought those are only for the first week so the second weeks number should be legit so weezy should still have over a mills certified sold

  • pedro

    Oh and am not a weezy stan neither. Just getting shit off my chest and anyways c3 so last week( LOL white girl voice) who’s bumpin c3?it was hot but I’m back on that Charles hamilton crash landed mixtape now!!! Its fire!!dudes hot mad flow and rhymes is tight : )

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    Not really. If I bought about half a mil of the first week scans (which I think they did) of my own album, then there’s no way I’m going to lay low the 2nd week and watch the numbers embarrass the shit out of me. I may not want to go all out and buy half again, but I’ll secure some numbers to keep things consistent.

  • Mike Longpipe

    That’s stupid! What did you expect him to sell another milli this week too? Everybody with sense knew he wasn’t going to sell as much the second week. Who does. Plus look at 2day’s market…It takes people 4eva to go plat. Also you must not know about soundscan cause they can track records being bought in bulk now.

  • Mike Longpipe

    Haterz need to stop. If he flow tight, they say he got a ghostwriter. If her ass phat, they say it’s implants.If you get shot, it was to promote your album. If you marry her, its cauz she pregnant. Shyt, if you die haterz will say “Damn he wanted to boost his sales that bad!” LMAO!

  • Enigmatik

    Wayne looks like Eli Porter in that picture.

  • Enigmatik

    it’s not out of the question to consider that perhaps Universal bought a few (hundred) thousand copies to create the impression that C3 was a must have. considering the huge buzz he’s created for the last 2 years, it should be surprising that he dipped almost 70% the following week especially considering all of the favorable reviews he’s been getting. seems to me like the numbers should have been higher in week 2.

    at the end of the day:

    the music itself > sales of the music

  • Enigmatik

    seems to me like the numbers should have been higher in week 2.
    —
    meant to say that the week 2 numbers should have been higher than 300+K…not higher than week 1 a milli sales…

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    “you must not know about soundscan cause they can track records being bought in bulk now.”

    You must be naive to think that they haven’t been able to circumvent that tracking system in the recent past. One way to do it is to ship a ridiculous amount of units to local mom and pop shops where it’s easier to manipulate figures. Get a grip.

  • Pingback: MORE LINKS: Lil Wayne, Tim McGraw and an amphibious robotic snake « the listenerd

  • Rick.

    I’ve heard this “the record company bought a ton of copies” thing before. Is it historically proven that this happens? Seems like one step forward, two steps back to me.

  • Glitterati_Duane

    I see that you mean Rizoh. I understand doing it in the first week but the second too? I dunno. Aren’t they selling CD’s to make money? It seems silly to buy more CDs than you actually sell. Just my opinion. Love the site man keep it up!

  • esbee

    It’s really interesting to think in that perspective since for the most part the “million sold” really is just million shipped to stores esp. in the first week. They may not even buy actual cd’s but they could just decide to ship as much ‘cos the stores *think* the demand is that high right?

  • rap’s gratefuldead

    lame post. no factual evidence to back up this at all…of course its possible, but so what? The post is basically saying that something may have happened. “I guess that confirms my suspicions…” How exactly does this confirm anything at all?

  • Mr.IHateRappers

    Birdman bought all those CDs so he can erase them and put his next album on them then another artist or company with buy his CDs and the cycle continues. It’s called recycling. duh!

  • Mike Longpipe

    “One way to do it is to ship a ridiculous amount of units to local mom and pop shops where it’s easier to manipulate figures. Get a grip” Oh well where I’m from, there’s only a couple mom and pop spots left due to the drop in record sales and their inability to keep pace with large stores like circuit city and best buy’s low prices. Why go to a Mom & Pop spot and pay $22 if you can get it at circuit city for 9.99. Maybe M&P’s are only struggling here but I doubt it. So: Tell me how my ass taste!

  • goon

    Hi Haterz!…Rizoh, name the last #1 album that had less than a 50% drop in week 2…exactly.

  • DEEJAY $uess

    @ Goon
    Leona Lewis.

  • moneda

    I am sick to death of the word “hater.”

  • Trent

    Or maybe those 1.1 million buyers burned Tha Carter III on discs and pass them along to their friends. Not bootlegging the disc but making CDs for their friends who couldn’t afford to cop the album or only wanted two or three singles.

    Everythng is possible.

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    23. moneda Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 10:59 am e

    I am sick to death of the word “hater.”
    —————–
    Same here. Saying anything negative about Weezy will always attract the hater label.

  • Trent

    ^^^^^
    that could affect the sales. The burning and distribution of discs to friends.

    Again, I’m not talking about bootlegging.

  • Vulture

    Man, it’s crazy how rapid the Weezy stans are. Rick Ross’ new album drops, sells a ton, everyone says “Aright, record company bought most of that number”.
    Same thing happens with Weezy, people FLIP OUT. “He deserves to sell a milli!” “The album is fire!”
    Be that as it may, the bulk purchasing of albums is standard practice, especially behind an artist the label has hyped to hell and back.
    They want to do whatever they can to make that investment pay off, and if that means buying 500,000 discs, it’s naive to think they wouldn’t.
    And to the stans? It’s all a matter of perception and personal relevance. If you feel the music and you love it, that’s great. But don’t close your eyes to the industry in your zeal to support the guy.

  • esbee

    @ Vulture: its foolish and downright silly..I’m actually LOLing to myself ‘cos if the owner of the site wished to he could’ve just as easily deleted those comments but hey its what happens when you try to make sense of things esp in hip hop, you’ll always have your suckaz on one corner crying foul each time you tell them truth. Simple as that.

    With that said: Weezy is NOT the best NOR greatest rapper alive.

  • DCDRO

    that shit was hyped he need another single Lollipop is old news but that did help him sell a Mil. It’s just too bad that his next single the one with t-pain is the worst on the album. So his sales will continue to go down.

  • honesty

    wow he looks like a douche without the shades..no wonder he has em on all da time

  • Reckless

    rap’s gratefuldead Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 8:53 am
    lame post. no factual evidence to back up this at all
    _____________________

    Can you read? He SAID “Of course I’m recklessly speculating.” And it’s called a BLOG where factual evidence is not required.

  • Reckless

    Why would there be proof? That’s the point of altering information. There’s no secret that his first week numbers were falsified. HOW? There are plenty of ways to do this. And I’m not saying this because Wayne is not one of my favorite rappers. But there’s no way in hell you sell a million + the first week and then drop down seven hundred thousand the next week. No way.

  • roach

    i think this is a doubl edged swor-type scenario.i am a very big weezy fan but did not buy c3. y? coz my mac hooked it up.but i it makes sense to sell more albums in the first week than the second. he couldnt possibly sell 2 millie in 2 weeks. 350 is amaizing to me. onthe otherside i would not be surprised if it was universal or if it was his touchy-touchy father who copped em.

  • nolia_slim

    You are recklessly speculating.

  • C’mon now

    What do u expect? If a million ppl already bought the cd the first week, of course its gonna have a little bit of sales after that. C’mon now…how many ppl u think r on earth?….LMAO

  • http://my.rawkus.com/xn/detail/u_kjclce70uxoq Mrs.Weezy

    Hey I am Diamond. I am not tryin to make you made but do you eat girls out i dont suck boys up but I will do anythin 4 you.

  • http://my.rawkus.com/xn/detail/u_kjclce70uxoq Mrs.Weezy

    If a girl wanted to be a rapper just to meet you and gave you her address will you help her get a record deal just so she can rap with you.

  • GodsonFlexy

    Well I have the Carter III and to be honest. its a hot album but not what i expected. there are some tracks that really showed he has really gained root in the game so i beleieve he has done well.But the issue is since there was much buzz and his work prior to the album was hot people thought it was a must to get but after they got it it might not be all that great for them and thats how the message spreads. people are goin to be tellin their folks how the album is and that could also affect the sales.1mil!! first week great but people shouldnt expect his sales to keep goin up no way. BY the way get TRILLA!!!!BIG BOSS

  • tony blair

    what you guys dont understand is that when you sell that many records in a week, sales predictions on average would be that you would drop 50%. THAT IS STANDARD IN THE MUSIC GAME – No one is knocking that those numbers arent great… but being from the industry everything is a calculated equation i dont even have the time to here to break it all down but there is a mathematical equation on how it works… if you look at artists who’s numbers were that big week 1 – always look atthe 2nd week and it will say either they bought them all or the public aint interested (em, 50, Kanye all have reached that # and their following weeks were still huge)

    Churrccch

  • moneda

    “What do u expect? If a million ppl already bought the cd the first week, of course its gonna have a little bit of sales after that. C’mon now…how many ppl u think r on earth?….LMAO”

    I wish I thought this had been written facetiously.

  • Dayne

    People be smart you know the label bought all those album. Just think about it how can a label predict how much the first sale be and be right on point.

  • Sam

    Yall Cant Say That The Label Bought The Cds Probably Cuz People Downloaded The Album Anything Could Have Happned

  • wow

    hatinnn..keep on hatin

  • M.Z.

    @ 41

    They “predict” the album sales every week & are right on the nose. They can do this because they check the sales from stores everynight. With computers, databases, & the internet it’s not that hard to do.

    Whether the album really sold that many or the label bought some, 70% dropoff isn’t that bad either. When that many are sold right off the bat, you have to assume that a majority of what that album will sell will occur during that first week. It’ll probably settle in at 2.1 – 2.5 sold & we’ll be waiting on TC4 for the next 4 years.

  • ian

    70% drop-off is higher than usual but not by much – 66-67% second week drop-off’s is pretty normal for hip hop releases nowadays. Even the most haterific analysts have acknowledged that at best, UMG bought only 60-70K of the 1M+ units sold last week. Sorry to break this to you Rizoh, but the Wayne movement is very real.

  • Dan

    Bottom line: wack music still selling

  • G’d Up

    Y’all some fuckking clownz for making such dumb accusations…The man put in a lot of work the past 3 years to be able to sell that much..His fanbase grew from appearing on other ppls tracks…Stop hating on the man, No one sells a Mill back to Back…Artist aint even selling a quater of a mill in their first week like weezey did in his second…I’ll bet ur not goin write a report saying coldplay bought half their records…Fuckinng Hater…Stop Hating on Hiphop Rizoh U Fuckk Face….

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