From Idol Chatter:
Elliott sold 1,600, same as last week, for a total of 491,000.


Good news that sales are consistent. Getter closer and closer to 500K

Good news!!!!!

Not far to go now. I think we have "no worries".

:1word:

Sounds good - thanks for the info. These are selling with nothing really going on and that it great - a little sale or push would put the CD over the top quickly.

5 - 6 weeks more and it will be 500,000. Plus over 80,000 Christmas CD and international sales (what was it 60,000?).

:hooray:

Wow. And I remember doubting that Elliott will ever sell 200, 000.

His upcoming appearance on Idol Gives Back will definitely push his album over 500K. Maybe even further. Who knows?

I think he'll be at 500K when IGB airs in April. Hopefully, that will even sell more albums.

I've never been sure how this thingworks, but don't they honor "gold" when shipments reach 500K? And that has already happened a couple of months ago, right? So what happens when actual sales reach 500K? Is there some sort of designation achieved or are we just hoping for more sales and 500K is a good number to hope for? Sorry, I'm dense.

Gold records are based on retail purchases. So Elliott's album went gold in October when the stores bought 500K. However, those still have to be sold to actual customers. When the stores sell out that shipment, they'll buy more.

However, not every album that gets certified gold or platinum sells that amount to customers. When they don't, the albums may get returned to the label for a refund or credit. Fortunately, E's album is very close to actually selling gold.

:woohoo: Great news about Elliott's sales and there is no doubt in my mind that he will definitely have a gold record. He is such an awesome talent!


:etrain:

I know his overseas sales do not count but I am sure he has sold much more than 500k counting them.

so,does it get "de-golded" if the retailers return them for credit?
I'm not worried for Elliott, we are so close now, that it's gotta happen pretty soon.Maybe even Valentine's Day. Wouldn't that be poetic? It was supposed to be released for V- day last year.
:1word: :1word: :1word: :1word: :1word:

I don't think it gets degolded but may be embarassing. Plus it makes the stores not want to buy that artist's future albums since they're stuck with them and it costs them or the label $. Even if Elliott didn't sell 500K (he will), he's so close now it's not much of a problem.

Apparently not. I asked about this in another thread a while ago, since Taylor is way far from actual platinum (for which he's certified), yet his albums have apparently all but disappeared from Walmart -- which at one point was said to have bought them *nonrefundably*.....

Ohioguy said that he thinks Walmart was able to return them for a refund anyway (I suppose because the labels don't want to get into too big an argument with major retailers).

But he also said that Taylor probably won't lose his platinum certification because generally nobody bothers to rescind your certification once you have it, no matter what happens.

That makes sense to me, I guess, because probably somebody would have to go out of their way to *initiate* the decert, and the only people with the motivation to do that would be RIAA, who seem to have enough to do with just certifying, let alone decertifying.


Anyway, hooray for Elliott's consistent sales! That seems really important to me -- like it's another sign that he's got such a strong foothold on the career now that it'll just keep growing. Really really great.

Elliott has already sold over 500,000. There are sales that are not counted but taken into account to make Elliott Gold Certified.. Elliott is definitely Certified GOLD.. YAY!!!!

check bottom-feeder discount retailers for Hicks, McPhee, etc.
This is where their inventory will end up....

Big Lots, Marcs, Dollar Tree, Dollar General.....

Wal-mart is known to sell overstock inventory for 10 cents on the dollar to these heavy discounters. Books that don't sell at Wal-mart and other stores are sent to Dollar Tree, for example.


Elliott is Gold and will sell Gold over the next few months. Reports have surfaced that Elliott has now sold PLATINUM in regards to WFY (saw it in Nancy's thread). If anyone can confirm, let us know.

I remember seeing that too. Was it in JimmyJam's blog? If so, he would know, right. Isn't he part of Croshal?

I'd be surprised if WFY was platinum yet. Sometime after Xmas (I think), it showed up in Idol Chatter and was around 860K or something like that.
Assuming its selling 5k weekly since then it's probably at around 900K. These are US numbers so it might platinum world wide.

Maybe Ken Barnes will report the number if the downloads go up for Valentine's Day.

I think back in October/Nov, the same issue of billboard magazine (or maybe it was the one after..) that had the ad to congrats him for certifying gold, was a photo of him, and his management team, and he was holding his gold record;) I wanted desperately to buy that issue but was BROKE when I went, figures. So he did get his "gold record";)

Awesome news in regards to his sales staying steady!! xo

geesh!! I didn't know that!! If anyone knows what issue that was, please post. I'd love to have that picture!!!!!

Not to get all English teacher... but I think the correct term would be ungolded...just ask KAT MCPhee... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


I joined the Etrain last Valentine's Day...so that is my Etrain anniversary!!

Kat never went "gold" so she can't be ungolded. At her current rate of sales it would take her at least 10 years to actually sell gold. And that's with the morning shows, Leno, the million $ budget, etc. etc. So around the time of AI 17 (if there is one), her fans can celebrate. :rotfl:

I was in my local Walmart the other day during my lunch break and "cruised" through the music section. Not ONE Elliott CD could I find. He can't sell what's not stocked.

I was wondering how happy more CD's will be ordered by stores or if they'll sell what they have and not get more - I'm going to shop some this weekend and check my local stores.

Actually, she may do much better after the song which she sings together with Elliott will be released.
I'm not sure that she really deserves that. It should have been Melinda.

A Melinda/Elliott duet would've been FIYAH!! lol Just a question: do you all think the duet between Elliott and that other person Kat will be a major single? Meaning, it will be promoted and sent to radio? My gut tells me that it won't be.

I really, really, really, wish , it woud 've been Melinda !

I'm thinking they may be planning to release it since it always get a mention in the articles about the cd.

I kinda think it will get released as the next single. Not only does Randy keep mentioning it, but considering the other artists, it may be the most suutable for Top 40....if that's what they are going for. Maybe they'll release different songs to different formats. Maybe alot hinges on how well Paula's single does, which is why I hope it does well. More sales right out of the gate, means more poeple hearing Elliott's voice.

I think Poor Me is right and the duet with Katharine and Elliott is being groomed for release. Elliott is really popular right now and it would make sense to capitalize on his success, which we know, will also help Elliott.

This is from a current article in Variety posted in the News thread

"We're seeing more artists leave the major labels to go it on their own," says Kevin Day, industry vet and principal of Encino, Calif.-based Rocket Science. "With our lower overhead, an artist can be profitable with sales of 20,000 units. For a major, they're not even profitable with 300,000 units," he says. The Yamin disc has topped 600,000 units sold since its release."

So according to this the album has sold 600K already. That's either the worldwide total or the retail number sold to the stores. Interesting.

I suspect a combination of worldwide, quantity to stores, and those sales uncounted by SoundScan.

I'm sure the team never expected Elliott to sell the way he did. Goes to show what a HUGE, HUGE single can do for you. If he had been able to make more appearances on the major shows, he would have had more, most likely.

It also underscores the fact that artists are judged financially successful in relation to how much overhead they have; and the cost for the overall production. Again, Indie artists can be successful with 100K or even less, but major label artists had better meet expectations, or face the dreaded hook (see: Hicks, Taylor; McPhee, Katharine).

I wish AC radio would pick up One Word for Valentines Day.. I wish Guys and Girls would request it to dedicate it to their Sweethearts.. It would be a great song to play!! I am hoping for a rekindle of this song. I never give up hope!

:1word: :awe:

I'm all for getting Elliott's name out there. So, if this single has a possibility of actually becoming a single, it's all good. I'm with trouble though; it really really really should have been Mindy Doo. :) LOL

why Melinda?

she has already faded into obscurity.

Kat McPhee is still getting top search placement on Yahoo (she has her fans to thank for that). We'll see how her film work evolves (if it does). There is name recognition here.

Now, I can think of a dozen better singers offhand who would have been better than McPhee, but Melinda doesn't even make my shortlist. I'm not sure why she never got a contract of some sort, but some type of product would certainly legitimize her post-Idol.

She's releasing her version of the song "My Funny Valentine" on iTunes on Feb 12. It's not much, but it's a start.

well, good. It's about time we heard something from her!

Exact numbers from SoundScan:

YAMIN*ELLIOTT ELLIOTT YAMIN 1631 1 490866

I just received a myspace bulletin from Melinda Doolittle fans.

Date: February 10th, 2008
Time: 4:00PM ET / 3:00PM CT
Where: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/momentswithmelinda
Number: (646) 716-9978
Show Length: An hour and a half.

Melinda will spend the show discussing her upcoming debut CD and her new single "My Funny Valentine" which will be released on February 12th, exclusivly on iTunes!

So mark your calendars! February 10th, Moments With Melinda and February 12th, Melinda's first single "My Funny Valentine".

Thank you!

I kind of think it's less Kat's music and AI fans and more fans of her blowsy, pinup-girl big-sexy-hair-and-etc. photos that push her into that position. Kat's actual fan sites -- as in fans of Kat the singing Idol contestant and hopeful actress -- are quite slow these days. But there are *lots* of pin-uppy pictures out there, and I'll bet a lot of guys like to look at them. The main searches on any search engine are usually for something sex-related, as far as I know.