Worldwide album sales

[AncientMariner_Essex]

As I stated, this was through the end of 2021. I anticipate more copies of Somewhere in Time and Senjutsu to be sold as this tour progresses. With that being said, it took 5 years for Book of Souls to reach 1 million copies world wide. I was not a fan of the new album but still bought it and also bought 2 formats of it. Time will tell. Regardless, the fact that an album in 2016 could still exceed a million copies for a whole record and from a band that was 40 years old at that point speaks volumes!

Def Leppard released a new album last year and it hasn't passed 100k sales world wide and only reached 34,000 in the debut week compared to maiden's consistent 65k plus debuts recently. I use them as an example as they are a mainstream commercial act and to show the power of a loyal and solid fanbase Maiden continue to maintain.

Fair points, I didn’t see your previous comment before I posted.

I think 480,000 sales for Senjutsu is quite impressive actually if it’s only up till the end of 2021 considering it was only released in September.

 

[SirRobbins]

Yes, Maiden at their commercial peak.
Somewhere in Time sold well not because it's Somewhere in Time but because it was the next album after Powerslave. It did not sell that well because it was Somewhere in Time.

USA audience concerned, it was not the right time to go "middle age" and start experimenting. They wanted more of that Powerslave thing.

1986 was a hell of a year for metal though and they had loads of competition.

Metallica - Master of Puppets
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Alice Cooper - Constrictor
Dark Angel - Darkness Descends

Thrash had become very mainstream and SIT didn't blend well with it as the same situation with Judas Priest's Turbo.

btw, Alice Cooper is NOT thrash, lol just put it in there as it was a big album for him

 

[SirRobbins]

Fair points, I didn’t see your previous comment before I posted.

I think 480,000 sales for Senjutsu is quite impressive actually if it’s only up till the end of 2021 considering it was only released in September.

That's my mistake. I didn't make it clear in the OG post that these were through end of 2021. It was a reply to someone else. I can add in the live albums and compilations soon or at least the big winners of them.

 

[SirRobbins]

The most notable compilations and live album sales figures.... not all of them, just the really notable ones with strong sales figures.

Some of this is hard to comprehend but Billboard, RIAA and such are pretty reliable I'd say

Title ---------------------------- Worldwide Sales -------- DVD/Album

Best of the Beast (1996) ----------- 2,355,000 ------------Compilation
A Real Live Dead One (1998) ------ 705,000 ------------- Compilation
Ed Hunter (1999) ------------------- 400,000 ------------- Compilation
Edward The Great (2002) ----------- 1,025,000 ---------- Compilation
Somewhere Back in Time (2008) --- 1,125,000 ---------- Compilation
From Fear to Eternity (2010) ------- 600,000 ------------ Compilation
Maiden Japan (1981) --------------- 930,000 ------------ Live
Live After death (1985) ------------- 5,955,000 ---------- Live
A Real Live One (1993) ------------- 1,045,000 ---------- Live
Live at Donington (1993) ----------- 775,000 ------------ Live
A Real Dead One (1993) ------------ 865,000 ------------ Live
Rock in Rio (2002) ------------------ 885,000 ------------ Live
Death on the Road (2005) --------- 620,000 ------------- Live
Flight 666 (2009) ------------------- 400,000 ------------- Live
En Vivo (2012) ---------------------- 255,000 ------------- Live
Maiden England (2013) ------------ 205,000 ------------- Live
Book of Souls Live Chapter (2017) - 190,000 ------------- Live
Live After Death (1985) ------------ 1,145,000 ----------- Video
12 Wasted Years (1987) ----------- 290,000 ------------- Video
Maiden England (1989) ----------- 450,000 ------------- Video
Rock in Rio (2002) ----------------- 540,000 ------------- Video
Visions of the Beast (2003) -------- 510,000 ------------- Video
History of :Early Days (2004) ------- 420,000 ------------ Video
Flight 666 (2009) ------------------- 480,000 ------------- Video
En Vivo (2012) ---------------------- 255,000 ------------- Video

 

[SirRobbins]

Fun facts about how long it took for Maiden's albums to reach their certification in the USA and this is for albums only, single format. Does not include later downloads, streams, MP3s ect which were factored in the prior posts. Just physical records

Albums not listed never achieved a certification from RIAA in the USA per original format release.

Source

Gold & Platinum - RIAA

www.riaa.com

Album ---------------------- Release Date ----------- Gold (500k) ---------- Platinum (1 Million)

Killers ----------------------- 5/11/1981 ------------ 1/20/1987 ----------- Never achieved
Number of the beast ------- 3/24/1982 ------------ 10/4/1983 ----------- 10/2/1986
Piece of Mind --------------- 5/13/1983 ------------ 7/28/1983 ----------- 11/5/1986
Powerslave ------------------ 9/4/1984 ------------- 11/7/1984 ----------- 6/17/1991
Live After Death ------------- 10/18/1985 ---------- 12/18/1985 ---------- 6/17/1991
Somewhere in Time --------- 9/19/1986 ------------ 11/18/1986 ---------- 7/20/1992
Seventh Son ----------------- 4/6/1988 ------------- 6/6/1988 ------------- Never achieved
No Prayer -------------------- 9/28/1990 ------------ 11/27/1990 ---------- Never achieved

1. No Prayer For The Dying was the last album to achieve Gold status certification in the USA
2. Piece of Mind achieved Platinum status faster than any other record of theirs from release date
3. NOTB took over a year to reach Gold in the USA from release date
4. It took nearly 6 years for Powerslave and Somewhere in Time to reach Platinum in the USA
5. SSOASS never achieved Platinum in the USA
6. It took an average of just 2 months for POM through NPFTD to achieve Gold status in the USA from release date indicating a solid 500k + fans of the band stateside buying every album they released quickly
7. Killers took over 5 years to achieve Gold in the USA

 

[The_7th_one]

Fun facts about how long it took for Maiden's albums to reach their certification in the USA and this is for albums only, single format. Does not include later downloads, streams, MP3s ect which were factored in the prior posts. Just physical records

Albums not listed never achieved a certification from RIAA in the USA per original format release.

Source

Gold & Platinum - RIAA

www.riaa.com

Album ---------------------- Release Date ----------- Gold (500k) ---------- Platinum (1 Million)

Killers ----------------------- 5/11/1981 ------------ 1/20/1987 ----------- Never achieved
Number of the beast ------- 3/24/1982 ------------ 10/4/1983 ----------- 10/2/1986
Piece of Mind --------------- 5/13/1983 ------------ 7/28/1983 ----------- 11/5/1986
Powerslave ------------------ 9/4/1984 ------------- 11/7/1984 ----------- 6/17/1991
Live After Death ------------- 10/18/1985 ---------- 12/18/1985 ---------- 6/17/1991
Somewhere in Time --------- 9/19/1986 ------------ 11/18/1986 ---------- 7/20/1992
Seventh Son ----------------- 4/6/1988 ------------- 6/6/1988 ------------- Never achieved
No Prayer -------------------- 9/28/1990 ------------ 11/27/1990 ---------- Never achieved

1. No Prayer For The Dying was the last album to achieve Gold status certification in the USA
2. Piece of Mind achieved Platinum status faster than any other record of theirs from release date
3. NOTB took over a year to reach Gold in the USA from release date
4. It took nearly 6 years for Powerslave and Somewhere in Time to reach Platinum in the USA
5. SSOASS never achieved Platinum in the USA
6. It took an average of just 2 months for POM through NPFTD to achieve Gold status in the USA from release date indicating a solid 500k + fans of the band stateside buying every album they released quickly
7. Killers took over 5 years to achieve Gold in the USA

Well, I think all of this are very weird:
I don't think The Number of the Beast reach Gold (500K) 1 year and a half and No Prayer for the Dying just one month and a half.

 

[SirRobbins]

Well, I think all of these are very weird:
I don't think The Number of the Beast reach Gold (500K) 1 year and a half and No Prayer for the Dying just one month and a half.

Their history of sales and such are quite odd in the states and a lot has to do with lack of radio play, television appearances (which were a big deal to Americans back then) and the hate the album got from the religious and political worlds. Their first album never reached any certification at all and Killers took 5 years to reach Gold which would have been around the Somewhere in Time area when they ran a consistent base of 500k+ fans buying quickly. NOTB was their breakthrough album stateside essentially and the albums that followed sold much quicker once the fanbase was established.

 

[____no5]

The most notable compilations and live album sales figures.... not all of them, just the really notable ones with strong sales figures.

Some of this is hard to comprehend but Billboard, RIAA and such are pretty reliable I'd say

Title ---------------------------- Worldwide Sales -------- DVD/Album

Best of the Beast (1996) ----------- 2,355,000 ------------Compilation
A Real Live Dead One (1998) ------ 705,000 ------------- Compilation
Ed Hunter (1999) ------------------- 400,000 ------------- Compilation
Edward The Great (2002) ----------- 1,025,000 ---------- Compilation
Somewhere Back in Time (2008) --- 1,125,000 ---------- Compilation
From Fear to Eternity (2010) ------- 600,000 ------------ Compilation
Maiden Japan (1981) --------------- 930,000 ------------ Live
Live After death (1985) ------------- 5,955,000 ---------- Live
A Real Live One (1993) ------------- 1,045,000 ---------- Live
Live at Donington (1993) ----------- 775,000 ------------ Live
A Real Dead One (1993) ------------ 865,000 ------------ Live
Rock in Rio (2002) ------------------ 885,000 ------------ Live
Death on the Road (2005) --------- 620,000 ------------- Live
Flight 666 (2009) ------------------- 400,000 ------------- Live
En Vivo (2012) ---------------------- 255,000 ------------- Live
Maiden England (2013) ------------ 205,000 ------------- Live
Book of Souls Live Chapter (2017) - 190,000 ------------- Live
Live After Death (1985) ------------ 1,145,000 ----------- Video
12 Wasted Years (1987) ----------- 290,000 ------------- Video
Maiden England (1989) ----------- 450,000 ------------- Video
Rock in Rio (2002) ----------------- 540,000 ------------- Video
Visions of the Beast (2003) -------- 510,000 ------------- Video
History of :Early Days (2004) ------- 420,000 ------------ Video
Flight 666 (2009) ------------------- 480,000 ------------- Video
En Vivo (2012) ---------------------- 255,000 ------------- Video

I have a hard time to believe those seemingly overinflated figures.
For 20 years that I’m looking RIAA there zero progress one would expect that Fear of the Dark would get Gold stuck at ~450,000 or any other Certification will change (after 20 years) but no.

 

[SirRobbins]

I have a hard time to believe those seemingly overinflated figures.
For 20 years that I’m looking RIAA there zero progress one would expect that Fear of the Dark would get Gold stuck at ~450,000 or any other Certification will change (after 20 years) but no.

It was based on original released format to my understanding. If you look at the prior post for their worldwide sales to date, many have passed several million but likely from multiple formats.

 

[SirRobbins]

lets not forget that many potential sales were lost during the limewire/napster/mega-upload days.... also many do conversions these days and just use streaming services which clearly shows Maiden have a massive streaming following

 

[Flaming Blimp Crash]

As I stated, this was through the end of 2021. I anticipate more copies of Somewhere in Time and Senjutsu to be sold as this tour progresses. With that being said, it took 5 years for Book of Souls to reach 1 million copies world wide. I was not a fan of the new album but still bought it and also bought 2 formats of it. Time will tell. Regardless, the fact that an album in 2016 could still exceed a million copies for a whole record and from a band that was 40 years old at that point speaks volumes!

Def Leppard released a new album last year and it hasn't passed 100k sales world wide and only reached 34,000 in the debut week compared to maiden's consistent 65k plus debuts recently. I use them as an example as they are a mainstream commercial act and to show the power of a loyal and solid fanbase Maiden continue to maintain.

If you look back at the past several Maiden albums in the States, the first week sales figures always come roughly around the same figure. That's a loyal following and solid for a band that never got radio play (and really still doesn't.)

 

[WildRanger]

If you look back at the past several Maiden albums in the States, the first week sales figures always come roughly around the same figure. That's a loyal following and solid for a band that never got radio play (and really still doesn't.)

Modern era Maiden albums (Brave New World onwards) are definitely the bigger sellers in the UK than America.

 

[dickinson1978]

Ok. So here is a massive update to the charting, sales and such that could also open an explanation to a few mysteries.

World Wide album sales (officially documented by RIAA, Billboard, etc.)

------------------------------------- Worldwide sales ---------USA Sales ------- Europe Sales ------- Total Sales for Singles
Iron Maiden -------------------------- 4,175,000 ------------ 685,000 ---------- 2,315,000 ----------- (4) 335,015
Killers --------------------------------- 4,855,000 ------------ 955,000 ---------- 2,715,000 ----------- (3) 182,500
Number of the Beast ----------------- 8,330,000 ------------ 2,385,000 -------- 3,940,000 ----------- (5) 865,000
Piece of Mind ------------------------- 6,615,000 ----------- 2,340,000 --------- 2,580,000 ----------- (2) 455,000
Powerslave ---------------------------- 5,610,000 ----------- 1,730,000 --------- 2,455,000 ----------- (2) 430,000
Somewhere in Time ------------------ 5,290,000 ------------ 1,765,000 -------- 2,195,000 ----------- (2) 330,000
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son ------- 4,815,000 ------------ 1,210,000 -------- 2,480,000 ----------- (4) 740,000
No Prayer For The Dying ------------- 3,010,000 ------------ 795,000 ---------- 1,495,000 ----------- (2) 330,000
Fear of the Dark ---------------------- 3,615,000 ------------ 480,000 ----------- 2,025,000 ---------- (4) 240,000
The X Factor -------------------------- 1,410,000 ------------ 195,000 ----------- 730,000 ------------ (2) 85,000
Virtual XI ------------------------------ 1,185,000 ------------ 155,000 ----------- 650,000 ------------ (2) 52,500
Brave New World --------------------- 2,290,000 ------------ 380,000 ----------- 1,115,000 ---------- (2) 175,000
Dance of Death ----------------------- 1,490,000 ------------ 230,000 ----------- 880,000 ------------ (2) 125,000
A Matter of Life and Death ----------- 1,440,000 ------------ 270,000 ----------- 850,000 ------------ (2) 100,000
The Final Frontier --------------------- 1,120,000 ------------ 205,000 ----------- 655,000 ------------ No singles released
The Book of Souls -------------------- 1,090,000 ------------ 200,000 ----------- 660,000 ------------ (2) 16,500
Senjutsu ------------------------------- 480,000 ------------- 110,000 ----------- 280,000 ------------ No singles released

Iron Maiden released a handful of singles over the years and individual data is available but here are the most interesting facts about them. The number (4) in parenthesis represents the number of singles released for the album

1. Wrathchild only sold 5,000 copies as a single by itself but sold 130,000 copies when originally released with Twilight Zone
2. Number of the Beast had 5 total releases including the live and studio version of Run to The Hills, also re-releasing in 2002 and sold 65,000 copies in 2002 as a single studio version. Collectively, RTTH sold 585,000 copies
3. Can I Play with Madness is their best selling single after Run to the Hills with 335,000 individual copies being sold of it
4. Excluding live single releases, Seventh Son has the best single single collectively as an album
5. Seventh Son sold significantly less than Somewhere in Time in the USA but is the opposite in Europe where it sold more but Somewhere in Time collectively, sold more overall.
6. The Book of Souls was Certified Platinum by RIAA standards in 2019 as having sold 1 million copies worldwide.
7. Senjutsu, although released in 2021, is their worst selling album of all time although charting at #4 when debuting.

With people downloading everything and all the streaming platforms.... 1 million is like 3 in the80s

 

[BludBrutha]

Well, I think all of this are very weird:
I don't think The Number of the Beast reach Gold (500K) 1 year and a half and No Prayer for the Dying just one month and a half.

No that makes perfect sense. Maiden were largely unknowns in the USA when TNOTB came out. They had to tour and build the audience from nothing.

In 1990 they had had a bunch of platinum albums and had toured extensively. Of course there is a bigger audience there to immediately buy the new album.

Makes perfect sense.