09 Mar 2012 23:30
Special Report: How Is The KISS Catalog Selling??
Special Report: How Is The KISS Catalog Selling??
A closer look at Nielsen SoundScan and KISS from 2007-2012
By Tim McPhate
In February 2007, "USA Today" provided the most current tally of KISS' sales in the Nielsen SoundScan era.
With the addition of the 2012 Nielsen SoundScan figures from KissFAQ's interview with Paul Grein, we have compiled the following report, essentially revealing how many copies each following KISS album has sold in the past five years, and providing an estimation as to how many units the KISS catalog has cumulatively sold since 2007, in addition to a few fun facts.
KISS:
(2012 sales) 217,000
(2007 sales) 174,000
(5 year sales total) 43,000
Hotter Than Hell:
185,000
153,000
32,000
Dressed To Kill:
214,000
166,000
48,000
Alive!:
274,000
258,000
16,000
Destroyer:
726,000
580,000
146,000
Rock And Roll Over:
227,000
183,000
44,000
Love Gun:
229,000
193,000
36,000
Alive II:
304,000
295,000
9,000
Double Platinum:
522,000
510,000
12,000
Paul Stanley:
89,000
33,000
56,000
Gene Simmons:
93,000
31,000
62,000
Ace Frehley:
142,000
46,000
96,000
Peter Criss:
71,000
23,000
48,000
Dynasty:
167,000
157,000
10,000
Unmasked:
177,000
171,000
6,000
(Music From) The Elder:
116,000
110,000
6,000
Creatures Of The Night:
161,000
148,000
13,000
Lick It Up:
101,000
92,000
9,000
Animalize:
103,000
93,000
10,000
Asylum:
88,000
81,000
7,000
Crazy Nights:
101,000
* 94,000
7,000
* In "USA Today"'s 2007 report, they listed "Crazy Nights" as having sold 104,000 copies in the Nielsen SoundScan era. "Crazy Nights" was ran twice by Paul Grein, and it has sold 101,000 copies as of March 2012. Digging further, according to a KissFAQ list, "Crazy Nights" had sold 93,000 copies as of Feb. 2006. Given it had sold 87,000 copies as of Oct. 2003, it's highly doubtful this album would have sold 11,000 copies from 2006 to 2007. Thus, for the purposes of this current report, we are surmising that the 2007 figure is an error and that "Crazy Nights" sold 94,000 units (rather than 104,000) as of 2007.
Smashes, Thrashes & Hits:
830,000
810,000
20,000
Hot In The Shade:
116,000
112,000
4,000
Revenge:
602,000
596,000
6,000
Alive III:
558,000
552,000
6,000
KISS My A**:
324,000
N/A
MTV Unplugged:
305,000
300,000
5,000
You Wanted The Best ...
330,000
329,000
1,000
Carnival Of Souls:
181,000
175,000
6,000
Greatest KISS:
413,000
394,000
19,000
Psycho Circus:
481,000
479,000
2,000
The Box Set:
145,000
141,000
4,000
The Very Best Of KISS:
739,000
433,000
306,000
397,000
311,000
86,000
Symphony:
137,000
134,000
3,000
Gold:
149,000
105,000
44,000
Alive Box Set:
49,000
N/A
Ikons:
13,000
N/A
Sonic Boom:
294,000
N/A
2012 KISS SoundScan sales total: 11 million *
2007 KISS SoundScan sales total: 8.6 million
2007-2012 sales total: 2.4 million **
* Reflects Nielsen SoundScan catalog sales estimation as provided by Paul Grein
** KISS have sold roughly 500,000 units per year the past five years
A few fun facts:
Out of KISS' '70s studio albums, "Destroyer" has sold the most in the past five years at 146,000 units sold, (equaling 29,200 units per year; 560 per week). In terms of the '80s studio albums, "Creatures Of The Night" is the best seller of the past five years with 13,000 units (2,600 per year; 50 per week).
In contrast, "Dynasty" is the poorest seller among the '70s studio albums with 10,000 units (2,000 per year; 40 per week). "Hot In The Shade" is the poorest selling '80s studio album in the past five years with 4,000 units (800 per year; 15 per week). Interestingly, these albums each contain a big KISS hit ("I Was Made For Loving You" and "Forever").
Looking at the 1978 solo albums, "Ace Frehley" clearly leads the pack with 96,000 units in the past five years (19,200 per year; 370 per week). "Peter Criss" sold the fewest, with 48,000 units in the past five years (9,600 per year; 185 per week). Cumulatively, the KISS solo albums scanned an impressive 262,000 units in five years (52,400 per year; 1,000 per week), with Ace accounting for 37 percent of the sales.
"You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best!!" sold just 1,000 units (200 per year), making it the poorest selling KISS album in the past five years. "The Very Best Of KISS" was the best-selling KISS title, with 306,000 units (61,000 per year; 1,200 per week).
Related links:
Smashes, Hits, RIAA & Nielsen SoundScan: Paul Grein Interview
Special Report: Dissecting KISS' Nielsen SoundScan Totals
A closer look at Nielsen SoundScan and KISS from 2007-2012
By Tim McPhate
In February 2007, "USA Today" provided the most current tally of KISS' sales in the Nielsen SoundScan era.
With the addition of the 2012 Nielsen SoundScan figures from KissFAQ's interview with Paul Grein, we have compiled the following report, essentially revealing how many copies each following KISS album has sold in the past five years, and providing an estimation as to how many units the KISS catalog has cumulatively sold since 2007, in addition to a few fun facts.
KISS:
(2012 sales) 217,000
(2007 sales) 174,000
(5 year sales total) 43,000
Hotter Than Hell:
185,000
153,000
32,000
Dressed To Kill:
214,000
166,000
48,000
Alive!:
274,000
258,000
16,000
Destroyer:
726,000
580,000
146,000
Rock And Roll Over:
227,000
183,000
44,000
Love Gun:
229,000
193,000
36,000
Alive II:
304,000
295,000
9,000
Double Platinum:
522,000
510,000
12,000
Paul Stanley:
89,000
33,000
56,000
Gene Simmons:
93,000
31,000
62,000
Ace Frehley:
142,000
46,000
96,000
Peter Criss:
71,000
23,000
48,000
Dynasty:
167,000
157,000
10,000
Unmasked:
177,000
171,000
6,000
(Music From) The Elder:
116,000
110,000
6,000
Creatures Of The Night:
161,000
148,000
13,000
Lick It Up:
101,000
92,000
9,000
Animalize:
103,000
93,000
10,000
Asylum:
88,000
81,000
7,000
Crazy Nights:
101,000
* 94,000
7,000
* In "USA Today"'s 2007 report, they listed "Crazy Nights" as having sold 104,000 copies in the Nielsen SoundScan era. "Crazy Nights" was ran twice by Paul Grein, and it has sold 101,000 copies as of March 2012. Digging further, according to a KissFAQ list, "Crazy Nights" had sold 93,000 copies as of Feb. 2006. Given it had sold 87,000 copies as of Oct. 2003, it's highly doubtful this album would have sold 11,000 copies from 2006 to 2007. Thus, for the purposes of this current report, we are surmising that the 2007 figure is an error and that "Crazy Nights" sold 94,000 units (rather than 104,000) as of 2007.
Smashes, Thrashes & Hits:
830,000
810,000
20,000
Hot In The Shade:
116,000
112,000
4,000
Revenge:
602,000
596,000
6,000
Alive III:
558,000
552,000
6,000
KISS My A**:
324,000
N/A
MTV Unplugged:
305,000
300,000
5,000
You Wanted The Best ...
330,000
329,000
1,000
Carnival Of Souls:
181,000
175,000
6,000
Greatest KISS:
413,000
394,000
19,000
Psycho Circus:
481,000
479,000
2,000
The Box Set:
145,000
141,000
4,000
The Very Best Of KISS:
739,000
433,000
306,000
397,000
311,000
86,000
Symphony:
137,000
134,000
3,000
Gold:
149,000
105,000
44,000
Alive Box Set:
49,000
N/A
Ikons:
13,000
N/A
Sonic Boom:
294,000
N/A
2012 KISS SoundScan sales total: 11 million *
2007 KISS SoundScan sales total: 8.6 million
2007-2012 sales total: 2.4 million **
* Reflects Nielsen SoundScan catalog sales estimation as provided by Paul Grein
** KISS have sold roughly 500,000 units per year the past five years
A few fun facts:
Out of KISS' '70s studio albums, "Destroyer" has sold the most in the past five years at 146,000 units sold, (equaling 29,200 units per year; 560 per week). In terms of the '80s studio albums, "Creatures Of The Night" is the best seller of the past five years with 13,000 units (2,600 per year; 50 per week).
In contrast, "Dynasty" is the poorest seller among the '70s studio albums with 10,000 units (2,000 per year; 40 per week). "Hot In The Shade" is the poorest selling '80s studio album in the past five years with 4,000 units (800 per year; 15 per week). Interestingly, these albums each contain a big KISS hit ("I Was Made For Loving You" and "Forever").
Looking at the 1978 solo albums, "Ace Frehley" clearly leads the pack with 96,000 units in the past five years (19,200 per year; 370 per week). "Peter Criss" sold the fewest, with 48,000 units in the past five years (9,600 per year; 185 per week). Cumulatively, the KISS solo albums scanned an impressive 262,000 units in five years (52,400 per year; 1,000 per week), with Ace accounting for 37 percent of the sales.
"You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best!!" sold just 1,000 units (200 per year), making it the poorest selling KISS album in the past five years. "The Very Best Of KISS" was the best-selling KISS title, with 306,000 units (61,000 per year; 1,200 per week).
Related links:
Smashes, Hits, RIAA & Nielsen SoundScan: Paul Grein Interview
Special Report: Dissecting KISS' Nielsen SoundScan Totals