Joey Bada$$ Declares First-Week Album Sales Don’t Matter Anymore
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Joey Bada$$ took to X to voice his thoughts about first-week album sales and the pressures placed on artists about the numbers.
On Monday (Nov. 20), the Pro Era founder claimed that what an artist sells during their album’s opening window doesn’t “matter anymore.” Declaring that charts don’t reflect the modern days of streaming, he urged fans to “shut the f**k up and enjoy the music.”
“It’s been a minute, hey guys. I’m back,” he wrote after an X hiatus. “I feel really compelled to say: F**k first week sales. They simply don’t matter anymore for the simple fact that no one is buying albums. I mean, when’s the last time anyone you know bought an album? We all can stream anything we want but in order for it to count as an album sale you need to listen to every song like 1000+ times. They trynna make it seem like everybody flopping when it reality they changed the rules.”
I feel really compelled to say:
Fuck first week sales. They simply don’t matter anymore for the simple fact that no one is buying albums. I mean, when’s the last time anyone you know bought an album?
We all can stream anything we want but in order for it to count as an album…— BADMON (@joeyBADASS) November 20, 2023
He went on, “So someone plz tell me why the f**k is anybody still worried about that? They trynna take the power from the musician because they never learned how to measure influence properly. At this point, just shut the f**k up and enjoy the music.”
Joey’s most recent album, 2000, may be a reflection of his sentiments, as it only sold 22,000 album-equivalent units in its opening week. Addressing critics who felt his thoughts on low first-week sales were to deflect from his own, he pointed out that he’s still selling out shows.
“For all the people saying ‘he’s only saying that because he’s not doing good first week numbers,’ first of all that’s subjective nowadays unless you’re Drake or Taylor Swift level,” he added in another X post. “Second of all, do your googles I been packing out venues since inception and will continue to do so. I have always had a loyal fan base that have always supported me, even after taking 5 years off… STILL came back and sold out 1500-3500 cap rooms ALL OVER THE WORLD.”
He continued, “Something that a lot of your favorite mainstream acts can’t do. So please don’t shoot the messenger. I been in my own lane and I love it here.”
For all the people saying “he’s only saying that because he’s not doing good first week numbers” , first of all that’s subjective nowadays unless you’re drake or Taylor Swift level. Second of all, do your googles I been packing out venues since inception and will continue to do…
— BADMON (@joeyBADASS) November 21, 2023
The Power Book III: Raising Kanan star’s ideas follow the recent news of Chris Brown’s 11:11 album having career-low first-week sales.
Although Breezy’s dual-disc peaked at No. 9 on the 200 chart, it raked in just over 45,000 album-equivalent units, according to Luminate data reported by HipHopDX.
Reportedly, the last time Brown received low first-week sales of the same caliber was in 2017 with Heartbreak on a Full Moon. His highest has been with 2007’s Exclusive – which sold 295,000 units its first week.
Chris Brown's "11:11" scores top 10 chart debut but with lowest sales of his career
⏩ READ MORE: https://t.co/zNVkIVnldUhttps://t.co/BMPnxxMXLR— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) November 20, 2023
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