Need online database of record sales for less-than-gold records

May 13, 2005 8:38 PM

Is there a free, online database that charts approximate sales figures for sub-platinum, sub-gold, music albums?

A friend and I were discussing something about album sales and the friend mentioned that Pavement "had to have come close to selling a quarter million albums"... I think that there's no way that Pavement's best selling album cracked 50,000. Both are just guesses, but there's gotta be someone who knows, right?

More than the answer to this specific argument, I really would like it if someone could point me in the direction of an index of these figures... ballpark is O.K. Someone has to be keeping track.

posted by cadastral to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Billboard/Soundscan do know, but they're not telling. Unless you have some cash.

Short of gold record certification (500K), you're not going to find much of anything reliable except the odd music journalism reference, likely using dated figures supplied by the label.

Isn't sales-figure size comparison so last century, though? Why don't you guys switch to straightforward indie cred?
posted by dhartung at 1:19 AM on May 14, 2005

While this isn't exactly what you're looking for, Babygrande Records lists sales figures for albums they've released and UrbanConnects lists soundscan numbers for hip-hop albums.

The Babygrande numbers are depressing since most of their albums are straight-up bangers.
posted by hendrixson at 6:40 AM on May 14, 2005

If you can find someone with access to Soundscan, they could look it up. But the problem is finding someone with access to Soundscan.
posted by nitsuj at 8:45 AM on May 14, 2005

PAVEMENT BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS MAT Album 1997-02-11 141127
PAVEMENT BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS PID Album 1999-03-23 0
PAVEMENT BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS DOMI Album 2005-05-16 0
PAVEMENT CARROT ROPE MSI Single 1999-05-25 0
PAVEMENT CARROT ROPE MSI Single 1999-05-25 0
PAVEMENT CARROT ROPE PT. 1 PID Single 1999-05-11 3
PAVEMENT CARROT ROPE PT. 2 PID Single 1999-05-11 3
PAVEMENT CROOKED RAIN CROOKED RAIN MAT Album 1996-07-26 236556
PAVEMENT CROOKED RAIN CROOKED RAIN: L.A OLE Album 2004-10-26 44007
PAVEMENT CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN (DE DOMI Album 2005-04-25 0
PAVEMENT CUT YOUR HAIR EP ATLG Single 1994-02-07 10558
PAVEMENT FATHER TO A SISTER OF THOUGHT MAT Single 1995-06-20 5979
PAVEMENT GOLD SOUNDZ ATLG Single 1994-08-02 8919
PAVEMENT IMPORT-BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS MSIW Album 1997-01-23 0
PAVEMENT MAJOR LEAGUES EP MAT Album 1999-10-12 20165
PAVEMENT PACIFIC TRIM MAT Single 1996-01-16 8622
PAVEMENT RANGE LIFE PID Single 2004-01-06 0
PAVEMENT RATTLED BY THE RUSH MAT Single 1995-03-28 8203
PAVEMENT SHADY LANE MAT Single 1997-05-20 16094
PAVEMENT SHADY LANE TOUR EP PID Album 1997-07-08 275
PAVEMENT SLANTED & ENCHANTED ATLG Album 1992-04-28 143979
PAVEMENT SLANTED & ENCHANTED PID Album 2003-08-26 0
PAVEMENT SLANTED & ENCHANTED LUXE & RED OLE Album 2002-10-22 79857
PAVEMENT SLOW CENTURY OLE Video 2002-10-22 17433
PAVEMENT SLOW CENTURY PID Video 2003-08-26 0
PAVEMENT SPIT ON A STRANGER EP OLE Album 1999-05-18 22613
PAVEMENT STEREO PID Single 2004-01-06 21
PAVEMENT TERROR TWILIGHT MAT Album 1999-06-08 95785
PAVEMENT TERROR TWILIGHT PID Album 2003-08-19 0
PAVEMENT TRIGGER CUT ATLG Single 1992-09-08 8212
PAVEMENT VIDEO COMPILATION OLE Video 1999-09-28 77
PAVEMENT WATERY DOMESTIC EP ATLG Album 1992-12-15 32510
PAVEMENT WESTING (BY MUSKET & SEXTANT) DRAG Album 1993-03-23 62983
PAVEMENT WOWEE ZOWEE MAT Album 1995-04-11 117341
PAVEMENT WOWEE ZOWEE PIDM Album 1999-03-23 0
PAVEMENT WOWEE ZOWEE PID Album 2003-10-21 0
PAVEMENT WOWEE ZOWEE PID Album 1999-03-23 28
PAVEMENT WOWEE ZOWEE DOMI Album 2005-04-18 0
PAVEMENT-EVERYTHING IS ENDING PAVEMENT-EVERYTHING IS ENDING DRLA Album 2004-08-03 0
posted by softlord at 8:58 AM on May 19, 2005