Has Bjork really sold 80 million records?

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Browsing the list of best selling music artists on Wikipedia, I was a little suprised to see Bjork at number 60, having supposedly sold 80 million records. More than old troupers like Queen, Simon and Garfunkel or Depeche Mode. Since Debut only made #61 on the Billboard charts, I'm a little sceptical. Anyone know a more accurate figure?

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 19:08 (twenty years ago)

Sorry, that should have been 800 million.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

Maybe she's big in India?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy.

― Old School (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 19:14 (twenty years ago)

if you count the years when she was in the eagles, yes.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 19:17 (twenty years ago)

However, in other news, The Beach Boys only reportedly sold 100,000.

― PappaWheelie B.C., Tuesday, 13 September 2005 19:17 (twenty years ago)

Mariah Carey in the top 10?

― Nigel (Nigel), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

Wow Charles Aznavour--100,000,000 sold AND he starred in Shoot The Piano Player

― Marxism Goes Better With Coke (Charles McCain), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

Oscar Peterson sold more than 100,000,000???????!!!! And he's from Canada???!!!?!?!?!?! OMGWTF

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

Of course, judging by AMG it looks like he has in the range of 200 albums, but still. Averaging half a million each is quite something.

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

adding in the 30 million the site has the sugarcubes selling puts her at 110 million, tied with pink floyd and rem. who knew?

― dan (dan), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 21:41 (twenty years ago)

R.E.M.? Status Quo??? I had no idea.

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 22:32 (twenty years ago)

Did anyone else know she has a child with Matthew Barney. I found that out a few days ago. BLEW MY MIND I TELL YOU!

― Tokyo Ghost Stories (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 23:43 (twenty years ago)

Album sales figures have never been in the public domain, until (to an extent) SoundScan made accurate sales data "findable" - at least within the US (and only for the past 12 years or so). The bulk of many of the sales of those artists (like Oscar Peterson) is probably nothing near what it says, but beyond that, it's indeterminable
simply because there was no organized way to keep track of sales in different territories and so forth. And what's a "sale" - do they mean 7" 45 sales or only album/CD sales?

It's a ridiculous list. For example, the Sugarcubes only sold three or four million albums worldwide; a smaller quantity of singles / EPs beyond that. Nothing close to 10,000,000 no matter how you slice it - 30 million is a joke, as 80 mil for Björk is.

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 23:47 (twenty years ago)

Status Quo

HUGE in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe since over 20 years. It s(t)uck real bad.

― blunt (blunt), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 00:55 (twenty years ago)

xpost I'm not sure I get your point. Are you saying, then, that this wikipedia article just made these numbers up?

― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 01:05 (twenty years ago)

yes hurting that's right

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

These are Bjork's total U.S. sales, according to Soundscan:

Debut: over 1 million
Post: over 1 million
Homogenic: over 500,000
Vespertine: less than 500,000
Medulla: less than 500,000

What's interesting is that her sales have dropped while her albums keep debuting higher in the charts. This suggests that she's a got a core group of fans who will lap up her droppings even though she's past the point at which she'll gain new ones.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 01:17 (twenty years ago)

What a weird list.
Marianne James supposed to have sold 10 000 000 copies...except that she's hosting the french version of 'American idol' and she might have sold like ten copies of her crappy jazzy album.

― Sami (Sami), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 01:37 (twenty years ago)

I kind of doubt Oscar Peterson is even the best selling instrumental jazz artist, and even with 200 albums I'd be impressed if he'd sold 10,000,000, let alone 100,000,000.

― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 02:07 (twenty years ago)

Bjork really has sold 80 million records. Mostly to dolphins.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 02:50 (twenty years ago)

they must also account for sigur ros' 10 million

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

marissa marchant would easily have sold more than 80 million records worldwide by now if you people on the internet and in the music industry weren't turning talented people away while spending all your time listening to weak thin voices and crap music. it is your loss.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 04:04 (twenty years ago)

does marissa have a wiki page?

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 04:14 (twenty years ago)

i see no evidence that she does. i think we owe it to her to start one.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 04:22 (twenty years ago)

they must also account for sigur ros' 10 million

-- jimmy glass (electricsoun...), September 14th, 2005.

no, that's reindeer

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 04:40 (twenty years ago)

how many reindeer have you heard go itchy woo

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 04:54 (twenty years ago)

And the really weird thing is, 79.8 million of them were sold in Iceland, which puts Bjork slightly behind Mark E. Smith, who has thus far sold 97 million copies of Hex Enduction Hour to our wacky neighbors to the north.

― Ross McWhither, Wednesday, 14 September 2005 05:48 (twenty years ago)

There's no way Oasis have sold 57m.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 05:53 (twenty years ago)

Why not? You got to look at the big picture, they're still very popular everywhere in the world except the US.

― Siegbran (eofor), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

so is anyone going to spring for the deluxe edition of voltaic?

― society for cutting up (tricky), Thursday, 25 June 2009 21:28 (sixteen years ago)

yes.

but I won't be among them :p

― fndgo, Thursday, 25 June 2009 21:36 (sixteen years ago)

Badum dum splash.

― Moka, Friday, 26 June 2009 05:00 (sixteen years ago)

sweet jesus, i guess it's not as bad as the "re-mastered" college dropout that came out a few years back but SHIT

― winston, Friday, 26 June 2009 05:02 (sixteen years ago)

Btw, it appears she's already been removed from that wikipedia article so I guess the answer is: No, she hasn't really sold 80 million records.

― Moka, Friday, 26 June 2009 05:06 (sixteen years ago)

"already"? in a mere four years?!?! they move fast over at that wiki pedia

― fucken cumstomers (sic), Friday, 26 June 2009 05:58 (sixteen years ago)

It's true that Björk sold 80 million records, she did it when she was working at the counter in the Virgin Megastore of Reykjavik. She even got an Employee of the Month plaque for it.

― Tuomas, Friday, 26 June 2009 06:18 (sixteen years ago)

Scandinavian humour at its best.

― Sickamous Mouthall (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 26 June 2009 07:09 (sixteen years ago)

I saw what I believe was her new album cover and was utterly appalled. You couldn't read it for the life of you. No matter how you squinted at the "letters" in these awful colours. Then you look at the spine and see that it's "Bjork" and think WTF?

― Tantamount To Pressurized Milk (Bimble), Friday, 26 June 2009 07:37 (sixteen years ago)

Those darned policemen are all getting too young, too!

http://bjork.com/db/images/voltaic_live_poster.jpg

― fucken cumstomers (sic), Friday, 26 June 2009 08:46 (sixteen years ago)

another thing to note; so many of the figures you see are what the record company has shipped.

most major label product manager bonuses are based on records shipped rather than records sold; so people who want a big bonus will ship far far far too many copies out, leading to millions of copies of major releases regularly being returned to the labels to be destroyed.

― Jamie_ATP, Friday, 26 June 2009 10:25 (sixteen years ago)

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