Weekly Urban CD Sales (week ending July 10th, 2011)

Disregarding my personal opinions about her new album (we'll speak about that in another post), Beyonce stays killin' em on the charts this week. Now in her 2nd week of release for her album '4', she has added more than 115,000 cds to the tally, upping it to 426,000 sold overall. The Destiny's Child alum's fourth solo album has a feature from Andre 3000, as well as production from: Kanye West, Shea Taylor, Jeff Bhasker, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Babyface, Ryan Teddler, & Symbolic One.


Duo Eminem and Royce da 5'9 continue their success as Bad Meets Evil with the album 'Hell: The Sequel', climbing 4 spots to #5 selling 35,000 more units this week. These Motor City natives are gradually approaching gold status with an overall total of 312,000 units sold. Jill Scott remains in the nation's best, posted at #7 with another 32,000 sold, adding into the total 223,000 copies the Pennsylvania powerhouse has sold so far of 'Light Of the Sun'. This album is highlighted by features from: Eve, Anthony Hamilton, Paul Wall, & Doug E. Fresh.


Elsewhere, Def Jam/G.O.O.D. Music's newcomer Big Sean stays in the Top 10, dropping from #5 to #9 in his 2nd week, pushing another 27,000 copies of his solo debut 'Finally Famous: The Album'. He has sold about 114,000 cds total thus far, on a project that has featured appearances from: Kanye West, Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, John Legend, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco, The-Dream, Chiddy Bang, Roscoe Dash, & Dwele. Rounding out the Top 10 is R&B singer Lloyd's new album 'King of Hearts', which has moved 26,000 units in it's 1st week on the shelves. This cd is guest-heavy featuring the likes of Lil Wayne, Andre 3000, R. Kelly, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, The Game, Young Jeezy, Keri Hilson, & K'naan, and is primarily produced by Polow Da Don.


Top Album Sales [Top 5 Hip-Hop/R&B]:
#1 - Beyonce: "4"
=115,200 units sold this week (426,000 sold total)

#5 - Royce da 5'9 & Eminem: "Hell: The Sequel"

=35,000 units sold this week (312,000 sold total)

#7 - Jill Scott: "Light of the Sun"

=32,000 units sold this week (223,000 sold total)

#9 - Big Sean: "Finally Famous The Album"

=27,000 units sold this week (114,000 sold total)

#10 - Lloyd: "King Of Hearts"

=26,000 units sold this week

After a month on the shelves, Miami rapper Pitbull's album 'Planet Pit' fell 2 spots to #16, selling 18,800 this week, to bring Mr. 305's grand total up 102,200 records. R&B-pop star Bruno Mars' 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' is still looking very healthy after 40 weeks on charts, climbing 7 slots to #21, by moving 13,900 units. His debut has sold 1,157,900 total so far, and features the likes of: Damian Marley, B.O.B., & Cee-Lo Green. Young Money's Nicki Minaj has jumped up 11 spots to #25 with 12,600 sold this week, bringing her debut 'Pink Friday's total to 1,473,200 sold. Receiving the largest boost from the recent BET Awards is Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa, whose debut 'Rolling Papers' hopped up 13 slots to #29 selling 11,300 cds this week, bringing him just inches from a Gold plaque, at 495,200 sold after 4 months in stores.

Grammy-winning Rihanna hopped up 11 slots to #32, with 10,800 more sold of her album 'Loud'. After 34 weeks, the Barbados-born singer's newest album stands at 1,360,800 copies. After 55 weeks on the charts, standing strong at #34 is the Shady Records' heavyweight Eminem whose 'Recovery' album moved another 10,700 units, bringing his it's grand total up to 3,943,000. Chris Brown shows that his fame hasn't suffered as his cd 'F.A.M.E.' remains at #39 with this album pushing another 10,100 this week. With 4 months in stores, Chris Breezy's newest cd has sold 656,200 copies so far. Enjoying the surprise success of his 2nd single "Sure Thing", Miguel's album 'All I Want Is You' jumped up 26 spots to #46, with 8,500 units moved. After 26 weeks, his debut album has sold 235,900 records so far.

Underground giant, Tech N9ne continus his indie success with his latest album 'All 6's & 7's', landing at #58 this week with 7,000 cds sold, bringing his total to 102,100 sold indepedentally. The New Orleans native Curren$y's new release 'Weekend at Burnie's' sells another 5,900 cds this week, good enough for #82 on the charts, and 28,000 sold in 2 weeks. Odd Future's frontman and public jerk, Tyler The Creator's sophomore double-album 'Goblin' remains on the charts at #144 on the strength of 3,200 copies sold, or 89,000 total sold in 9 weeks. UK-sensation, Tinie Tempah isn't letting anything stop his international success 'Disc-Overy', selling another 2,600 cds, climbing to the Billboard charts at #173, bringing his grand total to 41,000.

Sales Stats [Other Charting Hip-Hop/R&B]

#16 - Pitbull: "Planet Pit"

=18,800 units sold this week (102,200 sold total)

#21 - Bruno Mars: "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"

=13,900 units sold this week (1,157,900 sold total)

#25 - Nicki Minaj: "Pink Friday"

=12,600 units sold this week (1,473,200 sold total)

#29 - Wiz Khalifa: "Rolling Papers"

=11,300 units sold this week (495,200 sold total)

#32 - Rihanna: "Loud"

=10,800 units sold this week (1,360,800 sold total)

#34 - Eminem: "Recovery"

=10,700 units sold this week (3,943,000 sold total)

#39 - Chris Brown: "F.A.M.E."

=10,100 units sold this week (656,200 sold total)

#46 - Miguel: "All I Want Is You"

=8,500 units sold this week (235,900 sold total)

#58 - Tech N9ne: "All 6's & 7's"

=7,000 units sold this week (102,100 sold total)

#82 - Curren$y: "Weekend At Burnie's"

=5,900 units sold this week (28,000 sold total)

#144 - Tyler The Creator: "Goblin"

=3,200 units sold this week (89,000 sold total)

#173 - Tinie Tempah: "Disc-Overy"

=2,600 units sold this week (41,000 sold total)

Who will reign supreme in next week's charts? And how many more will Beyonce sell? Keep it locked here to see where new releases from The Cool Kids, Cali Swag District, and more end up. Take Care!

DOC J's BREAKDOWN OF CD DUPLICATION Vs. CD REPLICATION!!

(as written by Doc J, published 2/18/2010)

With modern technology the duplication (or burning) of a CD has become increasingly easy. Nearly every home computer comes equipped with a quality CD/DVD burner, there are thousands of softwares out that help you, and stand-alone CD duplication towers are more affordable as well. However, as an artist makes the push to become more professional in the music business, there are more standards that have to be met, requiring the use of a replicated (or pressed) CD. Understanding the differences in copying your CDs is not important in determining the quality & budget of your next project, but also important in how far you're able to push it.


HOW A BURNED CD IS MADE...



To duplicate, a blank compact disk is ordered in bulk and is used as a final phonograph plate that your data will be duplicated onto. As shown above, a CD-R is purchased pre-manufactured, and is constructed with a thin varnished label face on top, a thin layer of nickel-based dye, a center layer of reflective aluminum foiling over the dye, and a clear polycarbonate plastic plate on the bottom. CD burners use a high-powered laser that heats up to etch (or 'burn') a microscopic track of translucent and opaque grooves rotationally into the underside. This laser is accurate enough to pass through the bottom plastic plate leaving it untouched, and etch your data's 'pattern' into the aluminum foil sandwiched in the center. As long as the bottom plastic plating is clean/unscratched, most CD players can then use a lower-powered reading laser to magnetically interpret this pattern and digitally translate it into music. The burning pattern that is duplicated is only compressed numerical data, meaning it can be created straight from computer files, so you don't even have the need of using the finalized 'sound' of a mastered disk. While sounding complex, this is actually the same process that your home computer's burner does everytime you burn a disk. The only difference is a duplication company uses larger, multi-drive towers allowing them to burn many disks at once, from one central computer hub.


HOW A PRESSED CD IS MADE...



CD replication (or pressing), on the other hand, does not use pre-purchased blank CD media, and is created solely during the manufacturing process. When submitting a project to be replicated, the first thing the plant does is bit-test your master disk to make sure there is no data corruption, buffer errors, and surface defects. Warning: your master may very well play fine in your car or stereo, and still fail this test. After a master disk is accepted, a glass mold copy of your data is manufactured, and this is used to develop a 'stamper' mold. This stamper, in turn, is loaded into an injection molding press machine. With each turn, new molten glass is poured into the machine's cast, and this stamper mold is 'pressed' into it, replicating the same exact clone of the original master disk each time. Once dried, a layer of thin aluminum foiling is applied underneath it, shaping to the glass mold's pattern perfectly. Lastly, a varnished label is added on top for a printing surface, and a clear polycarbonate plastic plate is added on bottom for protection, as diagramed above.


ADVANTAGES OF DUPLICATION...

> Since only data is needed to 'burn' copies, often times, you do not even have to submit a master disk.
> Most software now allows burn-list editing, so you can change song orders or tracklists all together, at the last moment before burning your CD.
> A glass mold & stamper don't need to be made, so turn-around time is faster (2-3 days vs. 8-10 days)
> From the use of thermal printers, digital text printing can be done on duplicated CDs with no prepress charge to you.
> In terms of small orders (lower than 500 cds), duplication/burning is a lot cheaper than replication.
> Since duplication can be done on smaller/cheaper equipment, a majority of local shops are out-of-home businesses now, and you can request to pick up your order to save on shipping fees.


ADVANTAGES OF REPLICATION...

> Pressed CDs do not use pre-purchased media, so there's no shipping harm or defects prior to copying.
> Because replicated CDs are manufactured, you can select a multi-level storage setup (2-sided disks) if needed.
> Replicated CDs are slightly thicker, giving you the option of silk-screening your full-color artwork on the upper face.
> Since it does not contain the same light-sensative dye, a replicated CD is more resistant to UV/sunlight damage.
> The glass mold contained in pressed CDs have a digital read-speed of only 24x or lower, which can be read more efficiently, when compared to a burned CD copied at speeds of 48x or higher, that sometimes cannot be read flawlessly by all CD devices.
> Because most of the replication cost is in setup, much larger bulk orders (10,000 units or more) of pressed CDs actually cost less than the same amount of duplicated CDs.
> As a result of high-volume capacity, replication plants can auto-assemble your CD into jewel cases with art inserts, prior to shipping out to you, saving you the assembly work and time.
> Comparing the aluminum shaped over a glass mold, to just aluminum over dye that can eventually dry out through time, a replicated CD shows less deterioration of readability speed than duplicated CDs, after years of undisturbed storage.


MY HONEST ADVICE...
As with everything else in life, there's a time and place where both methods of CD manufacturing are useful. Scientifically, both give the same exact storage space, and it has been proven that there isn't much difference in sound quality, so I support both. If you are promoting/selling an indepedent CD locally, I see no problem in using duplicated CDs. Likewise, with crowd-thrown disks at shows and event giveaways, your main objective strictly is just to get heard - so duplicated CDs would work. Where I think the difference lies, is in at which level of music business you are trying to aim for. Many labels and radio stations today DEMAND pressed CDs, and often use older PA systems that cannot play burned CDs efficiently. This is an old industry practice of 'weeding' out the lesser professional artists, and those that don't want to listen to directions. If your aim is to gain radio airplay or earn a record deal - this is where I suggest you spend the money and order replicated CDs. If you are in the beginning stages of breaking out regionally and starting promotion outside of your local area, you really have no idea who or what company can get their hands on your music. To be safe, I'd often suggest using pressed CDs more once you have reached this amount of exposure. There aren't alot of opportunities given in this industry, and I don't think you want to miss out on one because your CD simply cannot play for someone.


Good luck & God Bless!

Weekly Urban CD Sales (April 6th)

"It's Pittsburgh Pimpin!" as Wiz Khalifa meets massive expectations and his little buddy Mac Miller sells over 10,000 digital EP units. Snoop scores another Top 10, and E-40 dips in with three new chart spots.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania emcee Wiz Khalifa's major label debut on Atlantic/Rostrum Records, 'Rolling Papers' sold approximately 198,000 first-week units as projected. Wiz's CD entered the charts at #2 and features include: Too Short & Curren$y, and production from the likes of StarGate, Bei Maejor, Benny Blanco, & Jim Jonsin.

Chris Brown continued to enjoy his 'F.A.M.E.' The Jive Records release passed the 350,000 benchmark, on an album that features Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Tyga, & Justin Beiber. Some of producers he worked with were: Tha Bizness, Timbaland, The Underdogs, DJ Frank E, & Free School.

West coast icon Snoop Dogg scored a Top 10 debut with his 11th official solo album, 'Doggumentary'. The California emcee included production from Kanye West, Scott Storch, Lex Luger, Mr. Porter, Battlecat, Jake One, DJ Khalil, Scoop DeVille, & The Cataracs - on an album that features: Kanye West, John Legend, R. Kelly, Wiz Khalifa, T-Pain, Young Jeezy, The Gorillaz, Devin The Dude, Too Short, E-40, Daz Dillinger, Goldie Loc, & Kokane.

Elsewhere - climbing three spots to #13, Rihanna's 'Loud' already platinum selling CD sold another 24,000 units. Lupe Fiasco fell six spots to #16. The Chicago emcee may have had his share of disagreements with Atlantic Records over the content/direction of his 3rd album, 'Lasers', however it pushes past 300,000 units, the 1st 2011 Rap album to do so. Lupe's album features labelmate Trey Songz, John Legend, Skylar Grey, & longtime 1st & 15th singer Sarah Green.

Top Seller Stats [Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B]
#2 - Wiz Khalifa: 'Rolling Papers'
= 198,000 units sold this week
#4 - Chris Brown: 'F.A.M.E.'
= 91,000 units sold this week (362,000 total sold)
#8 - Snoop Dogg: 'Doggumentary'
= 51,000 units sold this week
#14 - Rihanna: 'Loud'
= 24,000 units sold this week (1,139,000 total sold)
#16 - Lupe Fiasco: 'Lasers'
= 23,000 units sold this week (303,000 total sold)

Vallejo, California emcee E-40 took multiple spots on the charts. For the 2nd straight year, E-40 has released 2 albums on the same day - complete with a combo pack as well, all of which charted. 'Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift' which features Bun B, T-Pain, Slim Thug, Tech N9ne, Click band-mate B-Legit, & 40's son Droop-E sold slightly better than it's counterpart - 'Revenue Retrievin': Overtime Shift' which features Devin The Dude, the entire Click, & Dr. Cornel West.

Another Rostrum Records artist, Pittsburgh emcee impressed the charts with a #54 debut. Mac Miller's 'On And On And Beyond EP' was a digital-only release with little marketing, but the indie projet cleared 10,000 first-week units.

Wu-Tang rep Raekwon fell 50 spots to #133 with his 5th album 'Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang'. Released on his own IceH20 imprint, and distributed through EMI, the album features: Nas, Method Man, Ghostface, Inspectah Deck, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Jim Jones, Black Thought, & Lloyd Banks. Production is handled by Alchemist, Scram Jones, Mathematics, DJ Khalil, Evidence, Oh No, and legendary House deejay Kenny Dope.

Queens, NY lyricist Pharoahe Monch's 1st album since 2007, 'W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)' fell 95 spots to #149. This is Monch's 1st album under the legendary Duck Down Records imprint, and features production from longtime collaborator Diamond D, D12's Mr. Porter, M-Phazes, Marco Polo, & Exile. The indie release sold another 4,000 units.

Sales Stats [Other Charting Hip Hop/R&B]
#40 - E-40: 'Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift'
= 14,000 units sold this week
#42 - E-40: 'Revenue Retrievin': Overtime Shift'
= 13,000 units sold this week
#54 - Mac Miller: 'On And On And Beyond EP'
= 11,000 units sold this week
#133 - Raekwon: 'Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang'
= 4,600 units sold this week (51,000 total sold)
#149 - Pharoahe Monch: 'W.A.R. [We Are Renegades]'
= 4,000 units sold this week (14,000 total sold)