Apparently, all Michael Jackson had to do to solve his financial problems was die.
According to Billboard, sales of Jackson’s albums have skyrocketed after his death. While this won’t show up on the top ten list next week (Billboard doesn’t include older albums on its main, Billboard 200 list), MJ is back on top this week.
In fact, last week, according to Billboard, Jackson sold 415,000 solo albums. The week before he sold just 10,000.
That’s a pretty huge spike.
His “Number Ones” album sold the most (108,000) while “The Essential Michael Jackson” (102,000) and “Thriller” (101,000) followed.
While ”catalog” or older albums aren’t included in the Billboard 200 albums chart, Jackson would easily have the No. 1 slot with “Number Ones.” But if you look at the charts, the top album will be the Black Eyed Peas’s new CD, “The E.N.D.,” which sold 88,000 copies. (This is the first time a catalog album has ever outsold the top new album.)
Jackson technically has the top three selling albums this week.
Jackson, who at one point was reported to get $2 from every album sold — a significant percentage compared to other artists – could have used the money to pay down some of his debt, not to mention his $48,000 a month prescription drug habit.
Of course, maybe this was all a plot to pay off his debt. Maybe he’s not dead at all. In fact, maybe he and Elvis and yucking it up down in South America, sipping mixed drinks and singing Beatles songs together. Or maybe, just maybe –
Nah — he’s dead.
But, as they say, the music lives on.
Posted on July 1st, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Music
Long live Michael Jackson! OK, there were elements of his personality that were, well, pretty creepy. But like the personal lives of all performers, what they do off the clock is really none of our business. (I still don’t understand why it’s such a big deal if a star buys a cd at Boo Boos … as it was in the 1980s when Steve Martin was in the county filming “My Blue Heaven” … but for some reason it is.) So, after the initial reporting of his personality issues … not attention has refocused on what made this song-and-dance man such a phenom. I don’t have a lick of MJ music in my collection, but there is no denying his talent. The guy was an artist. Well, OK, a creepy artist.
It’s pretty dumb that Jackson won’t even show up on the Billboard charts. Dead guys outsell still-living bands every time.
I Very Love M.J.
He is My inspiration….
I WILL LOVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART I NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO MEET YOU BUT I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO YOU KNOW YOUR NOT REALLY DEAD AS YOUR MUSIC AND DANCING MADE YOU IMMORTAL I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH RIP