Call Beyonce’s “Beyonce” victorious for more than its ability to generate buzz. According to multiple sources, the album has also gotten off to an explosive sales start.
The album, which moved 80,000 copies in its first three hours of release, attracted another 350,000 paid downloads on Friday, according to a report by Billboard.
And, with Saturday’s presently undisclosed total included, the album has now attracted more digital sales in a few days than Taylor Swift’s monster “Red” did in its entire first week last October, says Hits Daily Double. In crossing that 465K mark Saturday (the 465,000 digital “Red” sales made up only a portion of its 1.28 million overall weekly count), Beyonce’s self-titled album, which did not officially release until Friday, positions itself for a weekly bow of more than 600,000 copies.
That anticipated take, easily enough to give Beyonce the number one position on the coming week’s Billboard 200 Album Sales chart, will put the album within striking distance of the all-time record for opening week digital sales.
Held by Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way,” that record of 662,000 was fueled greatly by a $0.99 promotion on Amazon. Roughly 440,000 buyers took advantage of the deeply discounted offering.
A 600K+ bow would represent the best opening sales week of Beyonce’s career and a considerable lift over the 310,000 opening figure achieved by previous album “4.”