Jason Aldean by Francis Specker/CBS
Making good on the mid-week projections, Jason Aldean’s “Rearview Town” won the US album sales and consumption races.
According to Hits Daily Double and BuzzAngle, the ACM Entertainer of the Year’s new album sold approximately 162,183 pure US copies this week. The inclusion of TEA (track sales/10) and SEA (track streams/1500) yields a first-week consumption tally of 181,797.
In addition to buzz from the ACM Awards and the enthusiasm one would expect for a new Jason Aldean album, “Rearview Town” benefited from a concert ticket/album bundle. Albums redeemed as part of the bundle count as sales.
This was actually a big week for bundles; new releases from Breaking Benjamin (“Ember”), John Prine (“The Tree Of Forgiveness”) and Pentatonix (“PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol 1”) also benefited from ticket-album promotions.
Due Sunday, Billboard’s more authoritative data may differ slightly from that reported by Hits. The slight discrepancies will not, however, be enough to affect the overall outcome. The pure sales total will yield the #1 slot on Billboard Top Album Sales, while the consumption sum will produce a #1 bow on the Billboard 200.
This week’s pure sales leaders (via Hits/BuzzAngle):
1) Jason Aldean – Rearview Town (162,183 pure US sales)
2) Breaking Benjamin – Ember (77,112)
3) The Greatest Showman – Soundtrack (50,995)
4) John Prine – The Tree Of Forgiveness (50,934)
5) Pentatonix – PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol 1 (31,020)
This week’s consumption leaders (via Hits/BuzzAngle):
1) Jason Aldean – Rearview Town (181,797 total US units)
2) Cardi B – Invasion Of Privacy (121,423)
3) Breaking Benjamin – Ember (84,466)
4) The Greatest Showman – Soundtrack (71,333)
5) John Prine – The Tree Of Forgiveness (51,977)