{"id":35255,"date":"2015-02-17T18:37:56","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T22:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?p=35255"},"modified":"2015-02-18T13:29:21","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T17:29:21","slug":"drakes-youre-reading-late-wins-sales-race-498k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2015\/02\/17\/drakes-youre-reading-late-wins-sales-race-498k\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake’s New “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” Wins Sales Race with 495K (Updated)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update:<\/b> Drake’s surprise “If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late” tops Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart with an opening week sales total of 495,000.<\/em><\/p>\n

That dominant total came despite the fact that “If You’re Reading This” was only available for three of the tracking period’s seven days.<\/em><\/p>\n

The total represents the best for a Hip-Hop\/R&B album since Beyonce’s surprise” Beyonce” moved 618,000 in December 2013 and the best for a rap album since Eminem’s “MMLP2” debuted to the tune of 792,000 in November of that year.<\/em><\/p>\n

With track equivalent album (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and streaming equivalent albums (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) included, the set claims a debut consumption unit total of 535,000. That allows for a clear #1 debut on the revamped Billboard 200.<\/em><\/p>\n

The top ten follows:<\/em><\/p>\n

1 – Drake – If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late – 535K units (495K from pure sales)<\/em>
\n 2 – 50 Shades of Grey Soundtrack – 258K units (210K from pure sales)<\/em>
\n 3 – Sam Smith’s – In the Lonely Hour – 164K units (124K from pure sales)<\/em>
\n 4 – Ed Sheeran – x – 140K units<\/em>
\n 5 – Taylor Swift – 1989 – 125K units<\/em>
\n 6 – Meghan Trainor – Title – 72K units<\/em>
\n 7 – NOW 53 – 72K units (72K from pure sales)<\/em>
\n 8 – Beck – Morning Phase – 71K units (64K from pure sales)<\/em>
\n 9 – 2015 Grammy Nominees Album – 65K units (65K from pure sales)<\/em>
\n 10 – Maroon 5 – V – 63K units<\/em>
\n===================<\/p>\n

While it was no “Beyonce,” Drake’s surprise mixtape\/album “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” still proved to be a sales behemoth in its first three days of release.<\/p>\n

According to sales data Hits Daily Double, Drake’s album moved approximately ~497,602 copies from its release late Thursday through the end of tracking on Sunday. Billboard will issue a more authoritative mark Wednesday morning, but it will fall in the same ballpark.<\/p>\n

Thanks to its impressive opening weekend total, “If You’re Reading This” convincingly ranks as the best-selling album for the entire week ending February 15.<\/p>\n

The “50 Shades of Grey” soundtrack, which was the presumed winner prior to the surprise emergence of Drake’s album, settles for second on the strength of approximately ~204,925 sales. That figure might pale in comparison to the Drake mark, but it still represents an immensely impressive total.<\/p>\n

Benefiting from his significant Grammys exposure, Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour” grabs the #3 slot on the pure sales chart. It moved ~130,596 copies during the week following the 2\/8 Grammy Awards ceremony. (Beck’s “Morning Phase,” which bested “In the Lonely Hour” for Album of the Year, grabs the #8 slot on the strength of its ~57,149 weekly sales).<\/p>\n

Taylor Swift’s juggernaut “1989” follows at #4 with ~92,430 sales, while Ed Sheeran’s Grammy-nominated “x” holds at #5. It moved ~86,318 copies last week.<\/p>\n

— The inclusion of track equivalent album (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and streaming equivalent album (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) does not affect the pecking order within the top three. Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” rules with 541,585 total consumption units (sales + TEA + SEA), while “50 Shades” (~247,917) and Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour” (~174,271) follow. Ed Sheeran’s “x” moves up to #4 on the consumption chart (with ~131,182 units), while Swift’s “1989” grabs the #5 slot on the strength of ~125,040.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[183,1047,206],"tags":[3466,1661,54,314,176,3647,1819,145],"adace-sponsor":[],"yoast_head":"\nDrake's New "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" Wins Sales Race with 495K (Updated)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Update: Drake's surprise "If You're Reading This it's Too Late" tops Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with an opening week sales total of 495,000. 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