Was 24 Karat Gold Really A Flop?
 

I've heard a bunch of people say that 24 Karat Gold was a flop when it came out and even Stevie alludes to this. Is that true? From what I've seen it seemed to be far from a flop. Not a huge hit, but pretty good for an older artist. Does anyone know the sales figures? I know it charted at number nine.

James89 is expert on sales figures in these forums. I think worldwide sales were around 150000 which does not count as a flop at all, these days.

What constitutes a flop these days? We are living in the time of free downloading. There is no telling how many sales were lost due to people just downloading it (for free) without buying it.

Music does not sell like it used to. The album was not a flop. Stevie has made more money off the tour supporting the album than she probably has at any other time in her life. She is laughing at the bank if anyone would call 24K Gold a flop.

Wasn't the "time of free downloading" 17-18 years ago? Most people are listening via streaming apps like Spotify.

It would be awesome if someone could post sales of 24 Karat Gold. As for whether the album was a flop, I guess there are a number of factors, such as:

1) How much did it actually sell

2) Were there any hit singles

3) How high did it rank on Billboard AND how long was it on the charts

4) Did any song get radio airplay

5) How did sales compare to previous releases

I know the tour did very well, but that doesn't really reflect on whether the album was a hit or a flop. From what I understand, the tour (which took place nearly a year after the album was released) didn't impact sales of the album- that is, the album never re-entered Billboard's chart, even during the tour.

I don't know numbers but based on this criteria I would consider it a flop, i.e. no hit singles or airplay and sales were probably significantly lower than previous releases. By Stevie's standards, as in, compared to her previous sales, this was probably a flop.

Earth to some on this board:
Mainstream radio is never going to play any new song from Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac. Not going to happen... ever. Not going to ever have a hit single no matter how good it is. It may sound harsh but its the truth and reality. By some of the standards on this board we would never get new music for fear of calling it a flop or no hit singles.
This is not the 1980's. If any new music has over 100k buyers, I don't think you can call it a flop no matter any airplay or music videos, etc.
But its just a horrible standard to lay on Stevie, Christine, Lindsey or the Mac. Thank goodness they are not afraid of making new music because they realize they wont get any airplay. Really. Thank goodness!

The tour was two years after the album release.

On the U.S. album chart, it hit No. 7.

Note I didn't say radio airplay was the ONLY criteria, but one of several possible criteria. And radio did play Silver Springs. And Landslide. And Peacemaker, although to a lesser degree. And none of those songs were in the 1980s.

Also, just because someone says they think 24 Karat Gold was a flop doesn't mean they're also saying Stevie shouldn't release another album. I haven't seen anyone here suggest that Stevie shouldn't record more music because of the sales of 24 Karat Gold.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a flop but it definitely was not a smashing success either. It made the Top 10 and sold a respectable amount these days for an older artist but she didn't have any charting singles as far as I'm aware. That's something at least In Your Dreams had in its belt with two singles appearing on the A/C Billboard chart. The tour, despite it being years later, really made this project a success at least in my eyes. That is what made the whole thing worth while it terms of being successful or not. But then again, a rarities album (re-recorded or not) is never really going to light up the charts in most cases and it's respectable enough that it managed Top 10.

If you're comparing it to sales and success of today's big artists like Ed Sheeran, Drake, Taylor Swift, DJ Khaled etc, then yes it was a huge flop. But if you're considering the fact that Stevie is approaching 70 and her heyday was over 30 years ago and the majority of the general public just wants to listen to her sing Rhiannon and Landslide and Dreams, then it did fine.

Some people are just stupid. Tom Petty last album hit #1 and didn't even go Gold. Albums don't sale what they used too.

I don't know the figures for 24K, we need James69 to help us there.

But The BBC in the UK still has a love affair both with FM and Stevie.
She is played frequently as is Fleetwood Mac.
She was on air promoting 24K doing interviews etc.

BuckVie was played a lot and helped push the Album.

Someone, somewhere deep in the BBC is a big fan!!!!