Update: Despite suffering sharp album-to-album decline, the opening week sales figure for Mumford & Sons’ “Wilder Mind” was enough to earn the band its second straight #1 debut on the sales chart.
Its #1 position on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart is attributable to 231,000 first-week sales. 2012 predecessor “Babel” topped the chart with 600,000 first week sales.
With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) included, the “Wilder Mind” consumption total clocks in at 249,000 units. That tally earns “Wilder Mind” the #1 spot on the revamped Billboard 200.
This week’s Billboard 200 top ten follows:
1) Mumford & Sons – Wilder Mind – 249K total units (231K from pure sales)
2) Josh Groban – Stages – 101K total units
3) Now 54 – 71K total units
4) Tech N9ne – Special Effects – 66K total units (58K from sales)
5) Zac Brown Band – Jekyll + Hyde – 66K total units
6) 50 Shades of Grey – 53K total units
7) Furious 7 – 46K total units
8) Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour – 39K total units
9) Taylor Swift – 1989 – 36K total units
10) Ed Sheeran – x – 36K total units
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Mumford & Sons’ “Wilder Mind” debuts at #1 on this week’s album sales chart. It does so courtesy the third-best opening week sales total of 2015.
According to Hits Daily Double, “Wilder Mind” moved approximately 246,382 copies in its first week of release. Only Drake’s “If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late” (494,746) and Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” (324,403) got off to stronger starts this year.
The strong number nonetheless comes with one facet of disappointment: its unfavorable comparison to the opening week mark for Mumford & Sons’ 2012 album “Babel.”
Released in September 2012, that album moved a considerably stronger 600,000 copies in its first week of release.
Completely ignoring that decline is impossible, but the reality is that the “Wilder Mind” total is still enough for a #1 debut on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart. Such an achievement will at least serve to downplay the disappointment associated with the album-to-album decline.
With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) included, “Wilder Mind” boasts a first week consumption total of approximately 259,182 units. That will earn the new Mumford & Sons album the #1 spot on the Billboard 200.
The week’s top performers from a pure sales standpoint include Josh Groban’s “Stages” (~102,184), “NOW 54” (~71,772), Tech N9ne’s “Special Effects” (~55,755) and Zac Brown Band’s “Jekyll + Hyde” (~55,615).
The week’s other top albums from a holistic consumption perspective similarly include Groban’s “Stages” (~106,070), “NOW 54” (~71,772), Zac Brown Band’s “Jekyll + Hyde” (~65,497) and Tech N9ne’s “Special Effects” (~63,255).