No Line On The Horizon has been out for more than three months now, and according to an article on the LA Times blog, it still hasn't sold a million copies in the U.S.

I asked for fans to answer "why" on Twitter earlier today, and this thread is a continuation of that discussion for anyone and everyone who has some thoughts to share.

So ... why hasn't NLOTH sold a million copies yet in the U.S.?

Uhh...financial recession? Lack of money in our collective pockets?

I think a lot of it has to do with the economy being in the dumps. Most people are saving money, rather than spending it on "frivolous" items such as music, or they are paying off debts, etc. The recession is much farther reaching than I think most people are giving it credit for. Another reason is the lack of commercial appeal to talented musicians in recent years. You know there's a problem when, as the article m2 cited on the homepage states, Eminem's new release has already outsold "No Line" in just one month. Unfortunately, music with no other message besides promoting oneself and how many girls and money one has, has become the "popular" music of this generation. I wouldn't be surprised if Miley Cyrus, Lil' Wayne, et al. have sold the most albums of the past 5 years of any artist.

The arguments regarding the ineffectiveness of "Get on Your Boots" as the first single doesn't resonate as much to me in terms of album sales. Looking at the charts, "Vertigo"'s peak was only #31 despite the monumental push by Apple and the U2 iPod (considering Apple's marketability at the time and now--I'd say most people who do buy music do it digitally through iTunes). "Boots" reached #37, yet "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" nearly doubled "No Line" in first-week sales. I think the distinction here has to do with accessibility. "No Line" is not standard U2, no matter what anyone says. The album simply lacks traditional melodies that were common on the band's previous 2 releases especially and in the music scene in general. There's not a whole lot of big, sweeping choruses and big echoey guitar notes from Edge, for instance, that people have come to expect from U2. Ultimately, I think this album will be very much respected for again going against the grain both in contemporary music as well as the U2 cannon. It's truly a great, great album and regardless of sales for their own sake, it just disappoints me that more people are missing an opportunity to become positively affected by the music as most of us on here have been.

That said, I think that the tour will have a considerable impact on sales worldwide. U2 are a live band. Remember the whole "live is where we live" credo? That still holds true for me. Once they rock it live, the word will spread from person to person, and from the media, and more people will buy it.

Nice post  shkee23.   Great points.

The arguments regarding the ineffectiveness of "Get on Your Boots" as the first single doesn't resonate as much to me in terms of album sales. Looking at the charts, "Vertigo"'s peak was only #31 despite the monumental push by Apple and the U2 iPod (considering Apple's marketability at the time and now--I'd say most people who do buy music do it digitally through iTunes). "Boots" reached #37, yet "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" nearly doubled "No Line" in first-week sales. I think the distinction here has to do with accessibility.

Back when Vertigo came out, Billboard did not include digital downloads as part of the charting process for the Hot 100. If they had, Vertigo probably would've been a Top 10 Hit. And also, Vertigo didn't peak at #31 and fall off the charts. It was around for quite a while, and the single was certified as x2 Platinum

I think No Line on the Horizon is very accessible (Maybe not to Jonas Brothers fans, or Miley Cyrus fans, but the music market is much larger than that)

No Line is in no way like Zooropa, Passengers, or Pop, in the sense that the content is too far out there or experimental for people to accept

Outside of these forums it has pretty much been forgotten. I have spoken to a few people who are fans and the general feeling is that the overall tone of the album is dull. P McG stated that they were aiming for a younger audience with this record, but they appear to be very wide of the mark. Add this to the fact that the album has divided fans all over the world and the backlash has started to gain momentum. Bono didn't help matters when he said that if this album wasn't their best then they are irrelevant, you could almost hear the knives being sharpened in preparation.

I would expect the media to be holding off until the tour starts and see how its perceived, if U2 fail to connect with these massive audiences then theres a good chance that the media will deem them to be over or irrelevant.

Oh, and a lot of younger people are waiting for the new Coldplay album, which ironically is where U2 were between TUF and TJT.

The time between NLOTH and Bomb is very long for the music industry these days. You have to hit hard and fast in order to get the attention of people. In the U.S. in particular due to what I think is the drained power of the word of mouth as opposed to the U.K., where unknown bands such as White Lies come out from nowhere and scored a #1 album despite lacking a strong single.

Just look at the Kings of Leon and Scissor Sisters. They targeted the U.K. first because it seems the U.K. is the country where it is alright to experiement/be weird as opposed to the commercial bombardment of just one specific act such as Miley Cyrus and Brtiney Spears.

The fact that U2 have nearly reached a million sales with a far more experimental record than previous two albums is something to celebrate; they are competing with repetitive rap and tween music that somehow managed to gain popularity. It maybe argued that there are some hooks on NLOTH that are accessible but it seems the tweens want a quick fix of pop music rather a slow-burner to understand and take in.

HTDAAB sold  3 million copies in the USA (9m worldwide) - This was released for the Christmas season and these figures are also based on the fact that the album was toured heavily. These factors give an album a massive push.

ATYCLB sold 3.5 million copies in the USA (12m worldwide) - It was also toured and released for the Christmas season.

NLOTH has sold just under 1 million in the USA and it has only been available for 3 months. It was released in March and it hasn't been toured yet therefore the results are pretty good so far. It is also the most successful legally downloades album to date.

Vertigo charted at number 31 in the US, All Because of You, City of Blinding Lights and Sometimes You Cant make It On Your Own didn't chart in the US. Get On Your Boots charted at No. 37 (comparable to Vertigo) and Magnificent charted at 79 (not great but better than the follow up singles from HTDAAB.

NLOTH has sole 3 million albums world Wilde, it is the most successful album in the world this year followed by Lady Ga Ga who has sold 2 million albums.

Don't fret the tour has broken even more live sales records which were previously set by U2!

Matt McGee - I don't know how you can say the figures aren't very good at this early stage.

i think the fact that the album has been released but no tour has followed straight away might have something to do with it.normally the band release an album and within a few months there touring.the fact that they won't hit the states til 6 months down then line might be one of the nreasons. i think once the tour kicks in and the momentum builds the sales will start to go up !

No disrespect to the posting authority.... my interest in U2 is always high.... I check atu2.com almost daily for my U2 fix.

But.... and I don't mean to get negative... but....  WHO CARES?  Why do we care if Eminem sells more records or not?  I don't care frankly if the new album sold way less than the last album.  This album is way better.  Sure, it is not as accessible.... (quite frankly, if I could make one change, I would remove get on your boots.)  but anyway... WHO CARES.  U2 is always going to be big.  The have touched the status that only a handful of artists have.  They still make viable music, so who really minds the numbers?  Why would anyone seriously care?  Can someone tell me one reason why we care about U2's record sales?  Lets talk about the music....  The best bands never get heard anyway....   

R

I believe it's a fantastic album...that is a real grower like U2's best beloved older works (JT and Achtung). That said, many people today (especially in the U.S) aren't into 'growers'. They want instant gratification, NOW.

U2 went for a more difficult album this time around that is not designed for radio. Just look at the running times of the songs (with exception to Boots.). It's clear that this album has a different purpose. I believe the band made the album they wanted to make. It also doesn't sound like anything else out there, and that could be a little of a disconnect for some folks.


....Also, there are no songs with Bono singing through 'Auto-Tune'. Apparently, Will.I.Am didn't have much input on NLOTH (see the new Black Eyed Peas album.). 

reason number 1: the quality of the last two albums
ive talked to a lot of u2 fans here in Ireland and they've all gone off u2 a bit since their last two albums before NLOTH, there's no great love for those albums

reason 2: Get On Your Boots. First impressions are important. Everyone I've talked to about it, from u2 fans to serious muso's have said it was pretty bad. I still can't believe they went with that as first single. It will tarnish every single that comes out after it no matter how good they'll be, and I think Magnificent is a classic. Breathe, Magnificent and even the B-side version of NLOTH would have been better choices. First single has to be a knock out especially if the last couple of albums are not universally loved and they must convince people who are sitting on the fence about whether to fork out the money, or to even bother downloading it.

reason 3: economic downturn and download era

reason 4: nature of the album. yes, it is experimental but not that experimental. the three pop rock songs in the middle section are by far the worse songs on the album and they are the ones that the band worked on mostly by themselves and struggled to complete, and it is why the album was delayed. U2 wanted their cake and eat it too. They wanted to have more run of the mill pop singles included, but they weren't up to scratch. They wanted to be all things to all people but in the end they compromised the quality of the album. Brian Eno has said that he was disappointed by the tracks that were ultimately picked for the album.

I love the album but those three aforemention songs mean that it's not a classic U2 album for me.

When did Brian eno say he was disapoined with the tracks chosen for the album? A comment like that would gain a lot of press coverage!! Is he really going to say something that could potentially damage his relationship with the band and album sales. I devour anything written about U2 on both sides of the atlantic and I have never read that  on line or in print- I have read that the album cut of boots was not his favourate cut of the song.

"especially if the last couple of albums are not universally loved" - you cant base this on the people you have spoken to - The last two albums sole over 20 million copies  and they won 12 grammies for both these albums which is a massive number unmatched by most bands these days. If you want to go down this road you can say this about all their albums - pop - zooropa Achtung baby e.t.c.

Guys its early days - look at the figures I posted earlier - the album is doing well world wide and in the US and it will get better!

achtung baby is universally loved, so is joshua tree

the same cannot be said of the ATYCLB or HTDAAB

i base my opinions on lots of polls, from critics and the public, and from people i know and talk to

you base your opinion on grammys and album sales, which is far more dodgy, and is hardly the ultimate seal of quality

just because something sells a lot more doesn't mean it is cherished more 

your argument doesn't hold up at all

also, just because you haven't come across the the quote doesn't mean it doesn't exist. i'm pretty sure i came across it with a link from this site or u2.com. i think he said it about a month after the album's release. and to say it would threaten his relationship with the band is naive to say the least.  they respect each other immensley and u2 wouldn't be the band that they are without him.

i expect albums sales will pick up when the tour gets going, but i stand by my reasons as to why the album is not a monster seller   

Sorry Croni but my arguement is based on fact not from what the guys down the bar say or on articles that you think you may have read - Probanbly read as uch information as any other hard core U2 fan and I hve never come across any quotes form eno that echo what you have said.

You are entitled to your opinion and I agree with some of your points but my arguement is based on fac (all can be found on the internet). I am not saying it is the only arguement but it is a solid arguement - maybe if you can direct us to some of these polls you talk about or interview with brien eno I will be more accepting of what you are saying - i've tried researching it online but i cant find anything!

I personally know a number of people who do not like JT or AB - I actually am not JT's biggest fan - does this mean that these albums are not universally loved and accepted?