Queen's Sales and Charts

Ah what about the platinum collection in the US? That's always in the top 100? That must have pretty solid numbers?

Thank you, Loris. Great details!

Overall, I estimate about 750,000 copies for Queen's pure albums sales worldwide during 2017. Also 3 million downloads and 1 billion streams on Spotify alone.

In equivalent albums sales, it may have been something like:

Albums - 750,000
Downloads - 450,000 equivalent albums sold
Streaming - 1,000,000 equivalent albums sold

There wasn't that much action with their music videos, although no big surprises there.

All in all, we are looking at 2.2+ million equivalent albums sold last year, which is similar to what they have been doing in recent years.

Last year I posted a detailed breakdown for the 2011-2016 time period but I need to adapt the methodology for digital downloads (1,5 albums sales per 10 downloads instead of 1 album sale per 10 downloads) and also streaming. The final results, even with these changes, wouldn't be that different in the end.

If we use an alternative approach, adding box sets to the individual albums (like Platinum Collection allocated to the hits compilations), Queen seem to have achieved about 20 million equivalent album sales since 2011 under Universal Music. Simply amazing results which can only be beaten by The Beatles as far as catalogue groups go and, in my opinion, by no group outside the English speaking countries.

Impressive statistics. Thank you for a great detailed update!
Guess these numbers explain their set list choices? Would be unwise to go against the music buying majority.

Not to start up a seperate discussion but there's plenty in the current set list that isn't found of any Greatest Hits
/Platinum Colection.

Not to start up a seperate discussion but there's plenty in the current set list that isn't found of any Greatest Hits
/Platinum Colection.

Sure! The set list is somewhat balanced but at the same time is always leaning towards certain songs. These impressive numbers just illustrate why they have to play them every tour.

Thank you for your annual report, Hernán: great analysis and, once again, great figures!
The albums sales are still good thanks to their great catalogue, while their streaming market and their digital singles sales are not a surprise: 2017 was a great year in the United States for Queen.

Hernan thank you. Its great to know their catalogue is doing so well but I'm surprised that they're selling more than Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin or Metallica. These guys have very popular back catalogues.

News of the World (2011 / 2CD)
AD3000

Freddie Mercury - Barcelona (2012)
AB1000

Freddie Mercury - Barcelona (2012)
AC3000

Why are people so surprised that Queen have outsold the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zep and Metallica. These three artists for example are huge in the US but Queen are bigger Worldwide!!!!!!!

Thank you for your annual report, Hernán: great analysis and, once again, great figures!
The albums sales are still good thanks to their great catalogue, while their streaming market and their digital singles sales are not a surprise: 2017 was a great year in the United States for Queen.

Thank you, Loris. I pretty much agree, these are great numbers and I'm expecting them to improve in the next few years as the music markets worldwide keep growing.

Hernan thank you. Its great to know their catalogue is doing so well but I'm surprised that they're selling more than Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin or Metallica. These guys have very popular back catalogues.

As we don't have official numbers -we have to add what we know and add some estimations-, it is a matter of opinions, of course.

I don't see how the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin would have sold more than Queen over the past 7 years counting equivalent albums sales, which includes weighted sales coming from digital downloads and streaming. Success in the music business is getting more "transversal" than it used to be, so it is no longer enough to just look at pure albums sales. Led Zeppelin are likely to have sold a similar amount of pure albums since 2011 but, once you count digital downloads and streaming (properly wighted), Queen are well ahead by some margin. And I think they are also ahead of Pink Floyd, albeit by a smaller difference in this case.

The Rolling Stones are up there too, whilst I think U2 have sold some ground in recent years, but I believe they are still a strong band.

Hi, thanks. AC/DC are also a very strong catalogue band and their streaming numbers are pretty impressive too. I think they'll overtake U2 in years to come. Queens streaming numbers in the US are pretty incredible too, in fact about the best for a pre 2000 band. I'd love to see some new certifications on Queen albums as well, maybe diamond for Greatest hits.

The Greatest Hits II vinyl was the 19th most sold vinyl in Italy in 2017.

Source: http://www.fimi.it/app/uploads/CHART-2017-PDF.zip


It enjoyed the good sales in the Christmas period. The album has been for 4 weeks into the top-100 in Italy. Moreover it spent 2 weeks into the UK top-100 chart, while in Austria it's been for 2 weeks into the top-75.
Good also the recent performance from The Platinum Collection in the following countries: Italy, Germany, Poland and of course United States.

I was looking the http://chartmasters.org/2017/10/cspc-qu ... alysis/63/ and my conclusion is that general public still considers Queen singles band, since their digital sales & streaming is big for the hit singles, but not for the remaining songs, which the numbers are not so good. While bands like Led Zeppelin have big numbers on their whole albums not only their "hit" singles. This fact was well shown on their recent set list, according to the analysis NOTW is their biggest selling album, however few people know songs like spread your wings or it's late.

I was looking the http://chartmasters.org/2017/10/cspc-qu ... alysis/63/ and my conclusion is that general public still considers Queen singles band, since their digital sales & streaming is big for the hit singles, but not for the remaining songs, which the numbers are not so good. While bands like Led Zeppelin have big numbers on their whole albums not only their "hit" singles. This fact was well shown on their recent set list, according to the analysis NOTW is their biggest selling album, however few people know songs like spread your wings or it's late.

Is that the only or the most relevant conclusion you came up with?

Because, when compared to bands like Led Zeppelin, the biggest conclusion I see is that Queen -overall- sold more and are bigger than Led Zeppelin in terms of equivalent albums sales and total records sales. This seems a more relevant conclusion, to me.