It
should come as no surprise to anybody that The Beatles are one of the
best-selling groups of all time. Though they were only together for a
decade, the music they recorded has gone on to sell hundreds of millions
of copies, and there are likely more repackagings of the same songs
than there are unique tracks. One such collection, perhaps the band’s
most popular, is proving how commercially viable they still are today.
Simply titled 1,the group’s compilation is still selling a
healthy amount, considering it is almost fifteen years old. In fact,
while literally hundreds of blockbuster releases by some of the biggest
names in the industry have come and gone, the Beatles’ 1 has quietly continued to sell at least 1,000 copies per week. According to Billboard, the set has moved at least four figures for over 700 weeks straight, and that streak is likely to continue.
That all adds up to an astounding 12.5 million
copies moved, and that’s just in the United States.
When that scope
looks at sales worldwide, the figure explodes. In 2009 it was quoted at
31 million, but the total has obviously risen by several million since.
This easily makes the compilation one of the best-selling albums of all
time.
1
it is a compilation of the number one hits the band charted in the UK
and the US throughout their career. Released a little over fourteen
years ago (November of 2000 to be exact), it topped the charts in almost
every country, and was the best-selling album of 2001 in America. It
was re-released in 2011 as a remastered edition, and it surged back up
the charts to number four.
What’s truly incredible about 1’s ability to continually sell
copies is the fact that any true Beatles fan already has all of the
songs included on the album, and it wouldn’t be unusual if they owned
them several times over. What would any real music collection be without
songs like “Let It Be”, “All You Need Is Love”, “Yesterday”, or “I Want
To Hold Your Hand”, just to name a few. The Beatles’ ability to move
product week after week and year after year is certainly encouraging
news to an industry that is watching the sales of its main moneymaker
tumble.