Chinese Democracy sold 360,000+ copies in the Uk

[Original]

Who cares how many sold?   Doesn't matter at all.  

[Sunset Gardner]

the release was terrible, no one cared, an exclusive US release of a cold soulless record through a cold soulless corporation.    

 if you believe axl's lawyers and Team Yes that CD is gnr... well then... I'm michael Jackson... and if you send me five thousand dollars CASH I'll come moonwalk in your living room.  remember... CASH ONLY... this is michael jackson. 

Edited May 21, 2017 by Sunset Gardner

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

12 hours ago, Wagszilla said:

I think it was part Axl's mania at the time and part him wanting to show everyone how diverse he was. 

That said, I agree it needed some sort of narrative through line to tie it together.

I actually think you've put your finger on the unifying thread of the record right there- Axl's mania (creative at least- personally steering away from the clinical). Blank canvas, blank checks, multiple new virtuoso bands seemingly playing over each other, army of producers, engineers, arrangers, editors, etc. For better or worse- it's the freaking "Death Star" of records IMHO.

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

There are some awesome songs on ChiDem

[AlexC]

14 hours ago, IncitingChaos said:

Some of my favorite lines from CD are from scraped Bc he does talk about overcoming and rising up. 

Sometimes I feel like
There's nothing that's stopping me
All things are possible
I am unstoppable

Sometimes I feel like
It's all opened up for me
Nothing's impossible
I am inconquerable

Cheesiest song on the album imo.

[Tom2112]

20 hours ago, Rovim said:

It sold handsomely enough. I see no issues with 3 million give or take. It could have sold more if Axl released it even in 2002 in my estimation. Probably 5 to 7 mill easy.

As it currently stands, now more than ever album sales mean shit. People will know about another Guns album if it ever sees the light of day just like they knew about Chinese before it came out (first album in 25 years with Slash and Duff)

I kinda like the fact rock albums don't sell. All that is left is the fat naked art. That was Chinese, the new hope is that Axl will attempt to release the album he wants to attempt to release.

With the clean voice and no Slash, how many copies in 2008 is kinda irrelevant with what we know now. How many copies will another Guns album sell? more than Chinese? in anycase, it won't be UYI levels probably so it don't matter.

Edit: AC/DC will sell a hell of a lot more anyway. Axl is winning in layers.

 

Had they released in in 2006 they would have sold a lot more records. In 2008 to sell 2/3 or however many million was an accomplishment, even for a huge band. 1. No promotion 2. Record sales generally in the toilet all over 3. Continued backlash/protests over break up of gnr.

It sold relatively well, not exceptional by any means, but not bad either. End of... Please?

[Silent Jay]

43 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

 In 2008 to sell 2/3 or however many million was an accomplishment, even for a huge band. 1. No promotion 2. Record sales generally in the toilet all over 3. Continued backlash/protests over break up of gnr.

Not really.

2008 was a hit for rock music, CD came just at the right time, fall 2008 where huge corporate rock bands flourished, Coldplay, Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest etc. CD had plenty of media coverage across the universe, it's Axl own fault for disappearing.

I keep reminding people that Nickelback had an album a week before Chinese Democracy called Dark Horse and it sold about 5 million copies worldwide.

[SWINGTRADER]

When they allowed the songs to be streamed on MYSPACE a few days before the album release, it cemented its demise. It killed the curiosity sales because it allowed people to listen to it and digest it ahead of time. People quickly realized what a big piece of turd it was and the word spread even more from there. Whoever came up with idea of releasing it on MySPACE deserved to be fired.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the music. IT SUCKED. 

 

The GNR name alone is enough promotion to make it sell if the music is good. Had the old band gotten together in the early to mid 00's, and released an album, it would have been huge. 

Edited May 21, 2017 by SWINGTRADER

[Sunset Boulevard]

4 hours ago, SWINGTRADER said:

When they allowed the songs to be streamed on MYSPACE a few days before the album release, it cemented its demise. It killed the curiosity sales because it allowed people to listen to it and digest it ahead of time. People quickly realized what a big piece of turd it was and the word spread even more from there. Whoever came up with idea of releasing it on MySPACE deserved to be fired.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the music. IT SUCKED. 

 

The GNR name alone is enough promotion to make it sell if the music is good. Had the old band gotten together in the early to mid 00's, and released an album, it would have been huge. 

THIS

I wouldn't say the album sucked though, but it was not what the people wanted. 

[Billsfan]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 11:17 AM, AslatIE said:

There are more threads like this than there are people in the world

Nobody cares how much it sold

Unless I say it sold over 5 million copies. Then for whatever reason, people seem to care enough to comment

[Billsfan]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 1:56 PM, supercool said:

I wouldn't say it's terribly awful, some songs are pretty good, but it isn't really a GNR album without Slash, Duff and Izzy.

It's a great album. Axl and the other guys did an amazing job, and shouldn't have too many regrets with regard to how the material came out sounding.

But the point you made, which I highlighted, is one even I can't deny. To be the GNR we all truly know and love, you need that core. GNR at the very least, is Axl, Slash, Izzy and Duff.

[Tom2112]

11 hours ago, Silent Jay said:

Not really.

2008 was a hit for rock music, CD came just at the right time, fall 2008 where huge corporate rock bands flourished, Coldplay, Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest etc. CD had plenty of media coverage across the universe, it's Axl own fault for disappearing.

I keep reminding people that Nickelback had an album a week before Chinese Democracy called Dark Horse and it sold about 5 million copies worldwide.

4/5 million sales compared to 90s or early 00s is relatively small. ALSO Dark Horse (and all the other bands mentioned) had a huge promotion behind it, videos, interviews and huge worldwide touring in onjunction with the release (not a year and a bit after), heavy promotion leading up to the release as well as afterwards. Check those stats against this BTW http://www.statisticbrain.com/metallica-album-sales-statistics/ Not sure where the figures come from or how up to date but DMs sales were considerably less... how that bodes for CD? I'm not so sure  as fo Feb '09 CD had 2.6m sales worldwide, 8yrs on I can imagine that number has crept up but nothing too dramatic.

I'm simply saying that considering all the details it was a success despite ever effort by both Axl and label to not let that happen. I absolutely make no claim that it was an all out success story (although having a number 1 record in multiple countries upon release is never a failure). Poor sales in comparison to the previous Guns releases, good for 2008 and I stand by that. 

Finally, Priest didn't sell 4 or 5 million records for Nostradamus  maybe in the 80s but Nostradamus was a lukewarm reception from what I remember.

[jmapelian]

On Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 0:28 PM, Axl_morris said:

Album sales are meaningless in the internet age.

Bands are judged on ticket sales today!

Hah, tell that to Adele 

[Sunset Boulevard]

Nickelback were BIG in the US in the 2000's, especially around 2008. Of course they sold much more records than Nugnr, it's no surprise.

Edited May 22, 2017 by Sunset Boulevard

[Silent Jay]

On 20/05/2017 at 7:46 PM, Nosaj Thing said:

CD sold 3-3.5 million worldwide.  A great number considering how terribly awful that album is.

It was a faceless record, Axl wasn't there, nobody had a clue what the album was all about, who were playing on it etc. It's quite fascinating how this thing was done.