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Post by Michal on Nov 10, 2021 6:17:30 GMT
Finally got a despatch email from the official store tonight, for my main order. Anyone else? My order from the official store seems to be a mess. I ordered from the German site - the singles, the deluxe box and the coloured vinyls (the picture discs were sold out and I ordered them separately from the French web). The singles were shipped in September. Then I got a despatch notice for the box on 5th November (I received it yesterday, my first physical Voyage copy). On 6th of November I received another despatch notice for the white LP, stating that the order was now complete. I replied via e-mail, that I had ordered the green one too. After that I received another despatch notice on 8th November for the green vinyl. In the meantime the tracking number for the white one shows no progress (while the green one does), so I guess they repackaged it, adding the green LP to the original package with the white one. The distribution is a bit of a fiasco... |
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Post by justabba on Nov 10, 2021 6:33:09 GMT
Sales until Monday night...
168 591 UK sales breakdown :
118,116 CDs
28,206 LPs
15,327 Downloads
4,049 Cassettes
2,893 Streaming
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2021 6:38:57 GMT
Anyway, I'll take the first stab at ranking Voyage among all of their albums (from best to worst): 1. The Visitors (deluxe edition) 2. Voulez Vous (deluxe edition) 3. Voyage 4. Super Trouper (deluxe edition) 5. The Album (deluxe edition) 6. Arrival 7. ABBA 8. Waterloo 9. Ring Ring ...which places "Voyage" in the top third of their body of work for me. That is a phenomenal achievement after 40 years of not working together. I don't think there is another artist or band who has managed to get better and better with age like ABBA. Not sure about my rankings. But I will agree with you that VOYAGE IS BETTER THAN ARRIVAL.True, nothing on Voyage is as good as Dancing Queen or Knowing Me Knowing You. But outside those songs and Money Money Money and My Love My Life the rest of that album is just toe-curling cringe. Childish lyrics in the extreme. Voyage is more consistent though as you say needs time to get into it. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2021 6:42:50 GMT
Sales until Monday night... 168 591 UK sales breakdown : 118,116 CDs 28,206 LPs 15,327 Downloads 4,049 Cassettes 2,893 Streaming Impressive! 118,000 at last count was that to Sunday night? 50,000 in a day? Maybe includes late delivery of pre-orders. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2021 7:38:29 GMT
Sales until Monday night... 168 591 UK sales breakdown : 118,116 CDs 28,206 LPs 15,327 Downloads 4,049 Cassettes 2,893 Streaming Cassettes really do have a market then, albeit not much of one. I wonder how many of them actually get played? There’s obviously a nostalgia factor there, though the multiple artwork variations (six) will have helped. It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the multiple editions sold, but doubt there will be any record kept of those. Six cassettes, eight CDs, eight vinyls (and a ninth - fold-out sleeve - that’s not been released yet). That will be 23 in all. |
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Post by steverw on Nov 10, 2021 7:56:21 GMT
Sales until Monday night... 168 591 UK sales breakdown : 118,116 CDs 28,206 LPs 15,327 Downloads 4,049 Cassettes 2,893 Streaming That to me looks as if they might crack 200K by Thursday night. That would be the highest amount of albums sold in the debut week this year. Yes, Adele might outsell it, but my view is, Adele is going to do well in the short term. ABBA will continue to sell this and other albums forever. I think this album is a phenomenal success. |
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Post by madonnabba on Nov 10, 2021 7:57:59 GMT
Wow. Impressive. That means had Abba and Ed released in the same week Abba would have denied him number one in opening week. Impressive for a band who released their last studio album 40 years ago. And still days of sales to go.
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Post by steverw on Nov 10, 2021 8:10:34 GMT
Wow. Impressive. That means had Abba and Ed released in the same week Abba would have denied him number one in opening week. Impressive for a band who released their last studio album 40 years ago. And still days of sales to go. Sometimes I think ABBA fans underestimate just how popular they are. Many of us worrying about how well it will do because the singles didn't do good. My theory is that as the singles were available to view on Youtube there was no need to buy them as very soon you'd have them anyway on the album. Fans were not going to ignore the album. It was obvious that a new ABBA album would be popular. Even Adele moved her release date back from November 5th to November 19th because she realised that ABBA would sell well. Maybe as ABBA fans we should have more faith! |
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johnb
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Post by johnb on Nov 10, 2021 8:29:17 GMT
I'm sure it's been said before but could someone explain the streaming figures to me. Apparently more cassettes have been sold than the album has had listens on streaming services - is this correct. It seems very odd to me. I must be misunderstanding something. Has anyone got the data for sales on waxed drums?  |
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Post by HOMETIME on Nov 10, 2021 8:39:48 GMT
Those are some impressive figures. The chaos in the Voyage shop makes me wonder if they were expecting a significantly smaller response. The only item I managed to order from their frustrating system is the deluxe CD box doohickey. I placed an order within hours of the shop opening and still have heard nothing to say that they're even getting it ready to be shipped. It's on the shelves in my local record stores, but there isn't even a "cancel my order" facility. I ordered the yellow vinyl alternative artwork edition from Fnac on Wednesday and it arrived yesterday. The shop is a disaster.
Roll on the No.1 chart placing! With the streaming sales numbers very much at the bottom of that impressive list of stats, should we brace ourselves for a big drop thereafter?
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Post by JeniLP on Nov 10, 2021 8:40:34 GMT
...eight vinyls (and a ninth - fold-out sleeve - that’s not been released yet). That will be 23 in all. I've missed this part, what is a ninth vinyl? |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2021 8:48:18 GMT
I'm sure it's been said before but could someone explain the streaming figures to me. Apparently more cassettes have been sold than the album has had listens on streaming services - is this correct. It seems very odd to me. I must be misunderstanding something. Has anyone got the data for sales on waxed drums? Those streaning figures are "sales equivalents" not actual streams which are much higher. Hope this link helps. It's hard to explain! absolutelabelservices.com/ukchartstreamingratios/ |
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Post by HOMETIME on Nov 10, 2021 8:49:04 GMT
Frida will be speaking to Zoe Ball on BBC Radio tomorrow?!!
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Post by gamleman on Nov 10, 2021 9:05:32 GMT
Alan, I had a dispatch notice from the ABBA Voyage Store for my vinyl bundle this morning too. They have dragged their feet with all shipments, singles and albums, although I acknowledge the disaster they had with printing the sleeves (but I imagine this would have been done centrally and would have affected all suppliers).
The sales figures are goods news and I will rejoice in ABBA having another No 1 album come Friday, assuming it happens. I don't want to dampen the joy, but this can't be compared with the old days when the vast majority of people would buy just one copy of a new album. I have to say that ABBA's record company have manipulated this success by releasing so many different editions, knowing that many fans will buy more than one copy. I know nearly all artists do this nowadays, but I think that ABBA have quite a few more editions out than Ed and Adele. I also have reservations about the climate-unfriendly nature of this marketing campaign and I am now feeling a bit ashamed about the number of copies I bought, as I don't think there was any real need for me to have every available colour of vinyl (bar standard black).
Going back to the sales and chart performance, I think the Downloads chart will be the one to look at, as people only buy one download, not multiple editions. If they make No 1 in the Downloads chart, that will tell me that ABBA are on top again.
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Post by bennybjorn on Nov 10, 2021 9:09:25 GMT
Those are some impressive figures. The chaos in the Voyage shop makes me wonder if they were expecting a significantly smaller response. The only item I managed to order from their frustrating system is the deluxe CD box doohickey. I placed an order within hours of the shop opening and still have heard nothing to say that they're even getting it ready to be shipped. It's on the shelves in my local record stores, but there isn't even a "cancel my order" facility. I ordered the yellow vinyl alternative artwork edition from Fnac on Wednesday and it arrived yesterday. The shop is a disaster. Roll on the No.1 chart placing! With the streaming sales numbers very much at the bottom of that impressive list of stats, should we brace ourselves for a big drop thereafter? Initial album sales depend on hype, publicity and size of the fanbase (who will usually go out and buy a copy in the first week). Sustained album sales in the long term rely on airplay (and one-off events like stadium shows). All the big album sales of the last few years usually have a song or two glued to the top 10 airplay chart for months on end. Without that, album sales generally drop off rapidly which is what you would normally expect with an album like Voyage (in the absence of sustained airplay). However, there are three factors that might nevertheless keep the Abba album high in the album charts for some time. 1. the sheer novelty factor of one of the biggest acts of all time having a brand new album out after a 40 year gap. 2. with the Christmas period soon upon us, album and singles charts tend to freeze with releases maintaining their positions for week after week. 3. when the Abbatar concerts start (with Voyage songs included) it will inevitably give album sales a surge, although that is still 6 months away. In the short term, my guess is that it probably will outsell Edward Sheeran in the second week, but the Adele Adkins album will obviously outsell everything else the following week. |
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Post by HOMETIME on Nov 10, 2021 9:18:06 GMT
With all that in mind, bennybjorn, I hope that there's a documentary and/or TV special in the offing. I suppose that the likes of Radio 2 and the dedicated Christmas stations might playlist Little Things in the run-up to Christmas. A physical release on single would only get them so far, as it's really not a song for the streaming generation. If Frida and Agnetha are appearing on radio shows, I hope it suggests that they might have taken part in something visual for broadcast on TV too. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2021 9:47:06 GMT
...eight vinyls (and a ninth - fold-out sleeve - that’s not been released yet). That will be 23 in all. I've missed this part, what is a ninth vinyl? Someone on here mentioned it on Friday I think - they went to HMV and they didn’t have it. The person on here called it a “fold-out sleeve”. Also, I know someone that has ordered it from an independent retailer. They were contacted by this retailer to say they would have an “exclusive gatefold sleeve”. As all editions of it appear to be gatefold, it suggests this edition has something else to offer. Possibly a three-panel gatefold or some other kind of fold-out. Googling it comes up with nothing, and my friend is a bit sceptical, thinking it will just be the black vinyl in a standard sleeve, but the retailer assured them that it was a special edition. As soon as they receive it and give me the details, I’ll post on here. The retailer did notify them of a release date but it’s not yet. |
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Post by JeniLP on Nov 10, 2021 10:00:16 GMT
Not sure about my rankings. But I will agree with you that VOYAGE IS BETTER THAN ARRIVAL.True, nothing on Voyage is as good as Dancing Queen or Knowing Me Knowing You. But outside those songs and Money Money Money and My Love My Life the rest of that album is just toe-curling cringe. Childish lyrics in the extreme. I prefer 'That's Me' to 'Dancing Queen', tehee) |
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Post by lamont on Nov 10, 2021 10:00:26 GMT
Frida on Zoe Ball breakfast show, I said that the big guns be rolled out, I did find it odd that Frida turned up for Mamma Mia premieres etc, but no promotion for this. They will be a documentary! Watch this space.
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johnb
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Post by johnb on Nov 10, 2021 10:20:46 GMT
OK, thanks. So if I've got it right and assuming all the streams were "premium" that's actually 289000 streams. If all "ad funded" that would be 6X greater. That sounds more reasonable given the physical sales. |
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Post by gamleman on Nov 10, 2021 10:26:07 GMT
Yesterday, we learned that "When You Danced With Me" had charted in the mid-week UK Singles Top 100 (actually in the Top 50). On Facebook, someone posted a screenshot of a web page showing this week's chart positions (so far) around the world for the album, DSMD and WYDWM. Today, I received an e-mail from the ABBA Voyage account inviting people to a Voyage 'listening party' and they included a link to the lyric video of WYDWM as an example. I wonder whether this means that WYDWM will effectively (by public choice) be the fourth single from "Voyage". On the other hand, I suppose if they were planning LT as a Christmas single then there is no going back from that now, as they would have to have CD and/or vinyl pressings well underway.
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Post by justabba on Nov 10, 2021 10:30:35 GMT
When you danced with me is the 3rd most popular track all over the various country's spotify..
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Post by gamleman on Nov 10, 2021 10:43:56 GMT
When you danced with me is the 3rd most popular track all over the various country's spotify.. I'm not sure how the charts are compiled from Spotify streams but is it the case that if a track is played as part of an album, it counts towards the 'Singles' chart? If so, the success of WYDWM could be partly down to its position as track 2 on the album - people who start playing the album but, for whatever reason, abandon it at some point will nearly always play WYDWM. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2021 10:49:36 GMT
Frida on Zoe Ball breakfast show, I said that the big guns be rolled out. You were right… so that would leave Agnetha that hasn’t done any UK promotion (though they’d have known her Swedish radio interview would be translated and seen around the world). |
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Post by lamont on Nov 10, 2021 11:01:54 GMT
Frida on Zoe Ball breakfast show, I said that the big guns be rolled out. You were right… so that would leave Agnetha that hasn’t done any UK promotion (though they’d have known her Swedish radio interview would be translated and seen around the world). Hope you don’t think I’m bragging, it’s just sometimes I think Benny & Bjorn’s PR not too good! Frida enjoys the promo etc when it’s on her terms. I just keep wondering about her knee ailments (use of walking aid.) that’s preventing her from being more prominent in TV. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2021 11:06:39 GMT
I also have reservations about the climate-unfriendly nature of this marketing campaign and I am now feeling a bit ashamed about the number of copies I bought, as I don't think there was any real need for me to have every available colour of vinyl (bar standard black). I wouldn’t feel ashamed. It’s not like it’s single-use plastic or cardboard. There’s an environmental cost from downloading or streaming - there’s no real way of avoiding those pesky carbon emissions. These’s a climate cost just by sending an email (or, indeed, posting on here) so you really can’t win. In the long-term, it’s probably better for the environment to be listening to a physical copy (or download as the actual download was a one-off). I didn’t realise you’d ordered all the colour vinyl variants apart from the black. I’m still weakening on the blue and orange ones, but it won’t be until my payday. Can’t afford anymore before then! If they’re sold out by then, it’s just not meant to be. www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think |
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Post by gamleman on Nov 10, 2021 11:30:33 GMT
I also have reservations about the climate-unfriendly nature of this marketing campaign and I am now feeling a bit ashamed about the number of copies I bought, as I don't think there was any real need for me to have every available colour of vinyl (bar standard black). I wouldn’t feel ashamed. It’s not like it’s single-use plastic or cardboard. There’s an environmental cost from downloading or streaming - there’s no real way of avoiding those pesky carbon emissions. These’s a climate cost just by sending an email (or, indeed, posting on here) so you really can’t win. In the long-term, it’s probably better for the environment to be listening to a physical copy (or download as the actual download was a one-off). I didn’t realise you’d ordered all the colour vinyl variants apart from the black. I’m still weakening on the blue and orange ones, but it won’t be until my payday. Can’t afford anymore before then! If they’re sold out by then, it’s just not meant to be. www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-thinkWell, I didn't set out to order every colour of vinyl. I ordered the vinyl bundle (inc. white and green) on the 2nd September while B&B were still talking to Zoe Ball, thinking it would be really limited. Then I ordered the yellow from HMV because of the alternative sleeve. Then I ordered the orange from Amazon because I thought it was the most fitting colour. Then I ordered the blue from my local record shop because I liked the blue and thought it was my best bet of getting a copy on the day of release. With hindsight, I shouldn't have ordered the white and green, as I don't particularly like them. I'm definitely not trying to get the Australian edition that's coming out next June - people are charging up to £300 for those on eBay. I'm conscious that Internet activity is not without its implications for the climate. In particular, I think it's a waste when people exchange e-mails back and to, each time transmitting the full e-mail history - I often try to cut out the older parts of the message that are no longer needed. By the way, I've seen a few complaints about the pressing quality of the orange vinyl from Amazon. Mine is very warped and has intermittent crackles on the second side. They are currently out of stock of that one, so there's no point in me trying to get a replacement. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2021 11:35:03 GMT
Apparently the 28K vinyls is already the highest weekly ever in the UK. Previous record was Arctic Monkeys with 25K. And the sales week isn’t even done yet. Guessing Artic Monkeys just had one or two variants though, not eight…
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Post by HOMETIME on Nov 10, 2021 11:39:54 GMT
That's an impressive haul, gamleman ! The various items have been made very attractive, so I can see why so many of us were tempted to part with our hard-earned rent money. I think my deluxe CD box is finally on the way: I got a bill from our Customs people: an extra €8.44 because it's coming from the UK (outside the EU). Infuriating when the damn thing is on the shelves of the record shops. So I promptly cancelled my orange vinyl from Amazon's UK shop and re-ordered from the French site instead. Turns out it's cheaper there too - and I won't be hit with customs charges. It's an expensive lesson to order from EU sites only from now on. I currently have the standard softpack CD and the yellow vinyl... The orange vinyl and possibly a picture disc still to come... I really should know better. |
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ahmad
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Post by ahmad on Nov 10, 2021 12:02:53 GMT
Adele may well achieve 200,000 sales or more in her first week but will she still be around in 40 years time and reach no. 1 again? I doubt it, unlike Abba, hopefully on Friday. Abba’s sales figures to date is impressive. I didn’t think Voyager would even dent the top 10 in America so if it reaches no. 2 that would be spectacularly impressive and Benny and Bjorn would be thrilled - a confirmation of their musical genius in the only country that did not dominate in their early days. However, they didn’t make this album for reasons of chart position.
I thought I had a dream was a most unsuitable single but it turned out otherwise. I remember it entered the charts at around No. 21 and then the next week shot up to no. 2 where it stayed for weeks and weeks over Christmas. Maybe Little things might be a hit with the public although this time because the methodology of the charts has changed it would not actually be a chart hit due to lack of streaming.
To be honest, I don’t really care if their singles don’t chart but for their album, which they invested so much creativity and time, I feel it matters and would be confirmation to Abba that they still have it in them and their music is relevant to the world.
Lyrically, Bjorn’s words have improved immensely. I remember how the British press had a field day ridiculing ABBA for the grammatically incorrect lyrics “Since many years I haven’t seen a rifle in your hands” in 1976.
The only reason we got this album was because Abba wanted to make music again and this will be the only reason if they ever produce anything else again. Beeny said they have two unfinished songs. Well, if they already have the vocals on them then Agnetha and Freda don’t actually have to go back in the studio again for the boys to complete the songs. They might decide to give the Abbatars show a boost in a few years time by completing the two unfinished songs or including them on a future, career landmark compilation.
Then again, if Agnetha and Freda are left alone and not pressurised to do any promotion they don’t want to do, the women might feel inclined to do something again in future years as a group. I feel sure those two unfinished tracks will be completed in a few years time.
Every time I listen to the Voyager album I still can’t believe I am hearing new vocals by Agnetha and Freda together. This was something Abba told us for nearly 40 years would never ever happen again. Miracles do happen and the impossible happened.
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