McVIE WITHOUT THE MAC (billboard mag sales #'s)
 

McVIE WITHOUT THE MAC

Hi Keith

I was wondering what the sales have been for Christine McVie's new album "In the Meantime." I'm a long time Fleetwood Mac fan and was saddened that she was not part of the Mac's "Say You Will" CD and tour. I bought "In the Meantime" and think it's brilliant and shows a more "rocker" side to Ms. McVie, while still showing her light-pop that she has been providing to her fans for almost 40 years.

Thanks,

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

I too missed Christine McVie on the most recent Fleetwood Mac album, "Say You Will."

Her new album, "In The Meantime," has sold just over 6,000 units in its first two weeks of release. The set was issued through Koch Records. It debuted at No. 32 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart in the Sept. 25 issue.


www.billboard.com

6000 copies in the first two weeks? Egads! And I can't even say I'm one of those since I got mine from amazon uk. :sorry:

oh, is that really bad? Maybe i'll buy it to help CM...I guess that is bad. I was like, "wow, 6000 people bought that? That's a lot!" :p

Well it's not great... but it's an indie release which doesn't get much promo like a major label release. And she's not very hi profile like some people.

6,000 copies in two weeks is low. For comparison sake, Tim McGraw (not that he's in the same category, but just to compare sales.... His album a couple of weeks ago sold something like 700,000 in ONE week.

very low...lol Say You Will sold around 235,000 the first week of release..big difference..although like I have said before Christine didnt expect it to be a commercial hit, just something for us to enjoy

Chris

Whoopee, big difference. Bigger sales doesn't mean better product either. I'd take Christine's album over that Mac cd any day of the week.

Sorry, I'm so sick of hearing about that cd.

Amen. ITM kicks SYW's ass. I've always had to force myself to listen to SYW. I LOVE ITM.
IMO, and JMO(so keep your rants to yourself), but I think Fleetwood Mac sucks without Christine.
My cousin, who is only a mild FM fan, was over a few weeks ago, and was watching LIB(the first few songs). We needed to leave for dinner, and I said, "C'mon, were gonna be late". He said, "I'm just waiting to see a Christine song".
I broke the news to him, and he said, "never mind then". He, too, had very little interest in a FM without Chris.
I thought that quote was soooo funny:
"I'm just waiting to see a Christine song"
Me too.

You're right I never said sales has anything to do with quality--someone asked if the 6000 figure was really low? And yes it was...very very very low...thats ok though, I enjoy the album, I think there are about 6 great songs on it..the rest sounds like filler to me, but that's just my opinion..

Like I said she didnt have any high aspirations for this to be a commercial success...I bought it..you all bought it..who cares?

But the fact is, the 6000 figure is incredibly low..especially considering all the people who said if Christine was with the Mac their sales would have been MUCH higher..I don't think it would have mattered much...I don't think "Say You Will" suffers any without Christine--and I dont think "In the Meantime" suffers a whole lot without the Mac, quality wise..

I think SYW is one of their best albums ever, just my opinion..dont have to agree with it...I think there are some excellent songs on ITM...but not enough to make it a SUPERB album

Chris

I agree Chris. I also think that LB, SN, and CM together in FM produce superior work than they do on their solo stuff. AND - while I think the same for just LB and SN together, I think SYW would have benefited from CM because the five just have more magic IMO - I mean just look at The Dance. But, that is just my opinion AND I like CM's new disc :cool:

I'd have to disagree with regard to Stevie's solo material. I would put many of her solo songs up against Fleetwood Mac stuff and call it at least a draw.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE La Nicks' solo stuff and the LB's and CM's as well. I just think that when the five get together - WATCH OUT :laugh: This, of course, is my opinion - no one else need share in it :laugh:

I agree. In my opinion, SYW is a cold, clinical album while ITM is a warm, intimate album. I've played ITM over & over endlessly. Thank God CDs are durable. :D I think I last played SYW sometime last year. I don't even have the original CD anymore.

Homer, you should have put the Dance on when your cousin was at your house. There are lots of Christine songs on the Dance. :)

I think if SYW would have had the complete Rumours line-up, the sales for SYW would have been better, maybe not alot but probably enough to push it over a million. I would compare SYW to Behind The Mask. BTM would have sold better with Lindsey involved, probably more than the 50,000 that Out Of The Cradle sold. BTM & SYW have sold just about the same & BTM had very little promotion. History has shown that the complete Rumours line-up sells the best.

Waaaaiiit - you ranted about this, but we're supposed to keep our rants to ourselves? I love SYW. I guess it's a difference of people who like mellow, smooth, non rockin stuff, and people who like stuff that rocks, like SYW does :shrug:

I know - Christine just writes those warm chestnuts and her voice amplifies that emotion. I love her for it!!!!!!

What? her voice and compositions sounds the most clinical to me (yes, i like it) but never a variance, never an uneven beat, never any improv vocals... :shrug: always the same clear tone...

Well, "sucks" might've been a bit harsh(I'm not feeling well today, so maybe I was a little hard on them).
I agree with Strand that the combination of the THREE is what has always been the best FM. When you take the best of all their songs(which, in turn, reduces the number of clunkers), that's when you have, "viable product".
Quick, tell me where the quote "viable product" comes from???

don't know, i think it's a phrase lots of people use. But anyway, i suppose you're right about all three of them, but actually, I don't listen to McVie's songs much on the albums. Although, i GREATLY appreciate her keyboardness and harmonies on the other's songs. Don't get me wrong, she's a great talent and all, I just only love a few of her songs. They lack the fast percussiveness that i love. And the vocal...intensity and unpredictability?

I agree that the five of them together is the best recipe. Album sales prove it. I like both SYW and ITM. I'd be happier if the best cuts from each album were brought together in a single disc. :(

I don't think Chris' sales numbers are that bad. I mean, they're low, but who was expecting more? Of the three writers, she has the least name recognition and has been out of the public eye since 1998. Plus, the album had virtually no promotion and was released on an indie label. So I think Chris should be happy with herself.

I think Chris' songs on ITM could have benefitted from Lindsey's production. That said, I think ITM is a very enjoyable album. It's like having a cup of coffee with an old friend. That familiar voice, singing about the good and bad in relationships. Actually, I think you might enjoy the album a little, Amber. Her voice is in top form, and some (not all) I would rank with her best work.

"viable product"
from the tusk tour documentary video
the interview with christine on her sailboat?
i love that line, especially the way she says it
correct me if i'm wrong
good day

Ding Ding Ding!!! :woohoo: Dougl, you win the game. I love how she says "viable product" in that dark, husky voice. She could read my cereal box and sound like a million bucks (which is not that bad of an idea! :cool: )

I wasn't expecting the album to sell anything, but that's beside the point, frankly. To sell 6,000 copies of your new album is essentially to hit your network of family, friends, business & career associates, & other acquaintances -- plus a few hundred fans on the Internet who check into www.christinemcvie.com & other sites that announced the release.

But it's a low, low number for Christine McVie -- who was, after all, a high-profile member of a high-profile megaband & the writer & voice of umpteen hit singles that are still frequently played on classic-rock stations in America.

By the way, is that 6,000 number for units sold or units shipped? I don't get into the nomenclature much but I know there's often some confusion over the two when numbers are publicized.

I don't think Chris really cares whether 100,000 albums sell or not. Her attitude seems to be "Whatever. . ." (said with a Birmingham accent, of course). It's a good little album -- very unassuming, pretense-free -- but it's retro-mainstream instrumentation isn't the sort of thing that appeals to the majority of today's kids, who want edge (or Edge).

But, she never seemed to have the name recognition of the other two. All told, Lindsey probably wouldn't have the name recognition he has if it hadn't been the relationship with you know who. You know, old what's her name. :lol: Maybe Chris should've learned to twirl around like a drunken sailor. :sorry:


[/QUOTE]I don't think Chris really cares whether 100,000 albums sell or not. Her attitude seems to be "Whatever. . ." (said with a Birmingham accent, of course). It's a good little album -- very unassuming, pretense-free -- but it's retro-mainstream instrumentation isn't the sort of thing that appeals to the majority of today's kids, who want edge (or Edge).[/QUOTE]

But I think it's a very classic Christine MAC Vie album. Screw the kids! If Chris tried to make an album geared towards them, well, #1- she wouldn't; and #2- I wouldn't have this lovely, lovely piece of work that I truly can't get enough of. For her, I certainly wish it would go at least gold. But for me, she's made me a very happy camper. :xoxo: I just hope she makes us another gem in a couple of years.

It's sold units based on soundscan... Scanned purchases. Shipped units could, and proabably well exceed that.

This is true. But, then I'm not a kid anymore, so this album is exactly what appeals to me. :) I would have been embarrassed for her if she had tried to do something just to appeal to kids today. By the way David, you describe ITM as very unassuming, pretense free. Well, that's exactly how I would describe Christine McVie herself. That's one of the reasons I've been a fan of Christine's for so many years.

I also don't think she cares about album sales. She's said so in quite a few of these interviews. She certainly doesn't need the money. This was done just for the fun of it. Like Homer, I HOPE this isn't the last we ever hear from her.

I hope this isn't the last we hear from her either! I finally got my copy of ITM this weekend, and I didn't realize how much I miss her until I gave it a listen! I love it! I love SYW too. Wish they were all still together. Chris's songs always mellow me out, calm me, etc. She's a brilliant songwriter and musician, and I really miss her presence with the band now more than ever.

I hate to say it, but if these numbers are the true sales figure, it's unlikely that she'd get a record label to release another album in the future.

Well, that's the deal with these independent "adult" labels like Koch. They don't have a whole lot of dough involved, so it doesn't take 100,000 copies sold for them to break even. Really, isn't distribution(and maintaining their website) all they do? If getting another album released might be a problem, she could always sell downloads. :nod: I'll take my Chris any way I can get her. :xoxo:

I was thinking the same thing. She has a website. If she wanted to release another album, she could sell the CDs from her website or even allow fans to directly download the tracks. Also, I'm sure she didn't spend much money to make In The Meantime. I doubt she has to sell much to at least cover expenses.

Last month there was an article in USA Today about Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. He's probably pretty close in age to Christine. He had a hard time with his record label due to low sales. So now, he sells his music right from his website. He said he doesn't sell alot, but he sells enough to make some money & he's having fun doing it. He has complete freedom to do what he wants to do.

Or she could email the files to me and I could burn a few copies for those that wanted them! Of course my CD re-writer is a little tempramental at times and quite often anounces that there is no supporting drive! So supply could be patchy at best!

Gail