News

Tha Carter III, despite leaks, may move more than a million units

3:49 p.m. · June 11, 2008 · by Andrew Winistorfer

In what turned out to be a surprising development, Tha Carter III has been selling like hotcakes since its release yesterday, despite a leak of the full album before its release. This I can attest to; my own local brick-and-mortar record store had only one copy left at 5 p.m., and that place is only still open thanks to My Chemical Romance and the Killers. In fact, it’s one of a handful of hip-hop albums I’ve ever seen at the front of the store with the best sellers.  

Now, predictions are running rampant over how many copies are going to be sold (check out our own predict-the-sales contest here). Wayne’s record company, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, said they expect the sales to be between 850,000 and 950,000 at the close of the first week. That would put it at double the amount of units Mariah Careys’ E=MC2, sold this year, making it the highest debut of the year. If it moves more than 957,000, that would put it higher than Kanye’s Graduation debut, the highest in the last two years.

Wayne’s record company attributes the sales to leaks ramping up anticipation. But we think it has to do more with the fact that Tha Carter III is a great album, and people are still willing to shell out for good music.  
[Entertainment Weekly, via Nah Right]