Nothing will spike an artists sales numbers faster than death.
Prince’s death yesterday is a prime example, and I am not trying to mock death or anything, merely pointing out the facts as they stand.
Checking the iTunes store this morning, and looking at the “Top Charts” this is what was found:
- The Top 16 “Songs” were all Prince songs, led by ‘Purple Rain’, ‘Little Red Corvette’ and ‘When Doves Cry’
- The Top 5 “Albums” were all Prince albums, led by ‘The Very Best of Prince’, ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘The Hits/The B-Sides’
- Of the Top 28 albums, 19 of them were Prince albums
- Even the Top Music Video was Prince (‘Black Sweat’)
And this isn’t a new phenomenon. We’ve seen this time and again, and not just in music, with the sales of Robin Williams movies shooting through the roof after the unexpected death.
I think that when an artists is known to be passing, the sales fluctuate higher, but at the death the sales don’t get as much attention as when it’s a shock to the system.
Aviously 