While Pentatonix’s “Pentatonix” comfortably topped Demi Lovato’s “Confident” in the pure album sales race, its victory in the consumption (Billboard 200) race was considerably narrower.
According to Nielsen Music, “Pentatonix” sold 87,737 pure US copies during the October 16-22 tracking week. “Confident” shifted 76,603.
The consumption race (album sales + track sales/10 + track streams/1500), however, was decided by only 271 units. “Pentatonix” posted a total of 98,447 units, while “Confident” generated 98,176 consumption units.
Track sales played a major factor in closing the gap. Nielsen adds that Demi Lovato’s “Confident” produced approximately 136,100 in track sales during the official tracking week. “Pentatonix” was responsible for 54,800 track purchases.
The title track — and current single — was responsible for 35% of the Lovato album’s track sales. “Confident” drove 47,885 paid US downloads during the official tracking week.
Under the Billboard methodology, ten single sales are equivalent to one album unit. The differential in track sales, therefore, amounted to over 8,000 album equivalent units.
“Confident” also bested “Pentatonix” in streaming, but the impact on the consumption gap was less dramatic. Credited with approximately 11,900,000 streams, “Confident” amassed just over 7,900 album equivalent units (streams/1500). “Pentatonix,” which generated approximately 7,800,000 in track streams, received roughly 5,200 album equivalent units from that form of consumption.
Lovato’s album thus claimed a streaming advantage of approximately 2,700 units.
