Current Sales Position

This article was submitted to us by Tony Galvin in response to an article, original printed in the New York Post, and published by elvis.com.au last week. (Thanks Tony, a magnificent article!)

There has been much comment on various Elvis sites/chat lines relating to a newspaper report which originated from the New York Post recently. The article, which was reprinted on your site would lead one to believe that Elvis' record sales have plummeted along with visitors to Graceland. Much was made of the fact that EPE had to let go fifteen per cent of it's employees, due to a similar drop in the figures visiting Graceland. Putting two & two together this story paints a bleak picture for the future commercial success of all things Elvis but in reality this story has been very misleading as well as far from the real facts.

Dealing firstly with the drop in attendance's to Graceland. There are two reasons for this, the main one being the Sept. 11th attacks which had a devastating effect on the US domestic market, which according to TIME MAGAZINE, led to a sixty-five per cent drop in passenger traffic, spread over September/October. Even now nearly six months later the airline industry hasn't recovered, with a current operating capacity some twenty per cent down on the same period last year. It was inevitable that this would have an effect on ALL TOURIST DESTINATIONS, Graceland included.

The other factor affecting Graceland attendance's in 2001 was the fact that it was a year preceding a major anniversary. There has traditionally been a lull in visitors in years before significant anniversaries, 1986 and 1996 are a case in point with foreign visitors in particular preferring to wait, believing correctly that there would be more Elvis related activities on hand. To not mention these very important points smacks of misinformation or at the very least a lack of knowledge on the part of the journalist.

Turning to Elvis' reported sales of 1.4 million, a very small amount considering figures claimed over the last ten years by BMG, this statement is also inaccurate. While the figure stated is a genuinely audited amount, it relates only to over the counter sales from the association which represents the majority of CD retailers Stateside. Many of these chains (THE RECORD STORE/SAM GOODYS/MUSIC4 LESS/BEST BUY/THE GROOVE) are linked to a central data base and it is fair to say that they account for a large proportion of US sales, although their market has been falling since the mid nineties. It is also important to state that companies like COSCO/BORDERS & WALMART are not members and do not provide sales data.

It is also important to note that these sales include only regular BMG releases and exclude the many licensed releases from the likes of TIMELIFE/PROVIDENT/HEARTLAND/AVON/K TEL/READERS DIGEST which account for a significant total of Elvis' current sales. Also throw in product sold by BMG on QVC during 2001 as well as product purchased by Elvis clubs & Internet sites which do not show up on this over the counter figure and a very different picture emerges. Michael Omansky stated in a recent interview that 100,000 Elvis CD's were sold in Christian Bookstores alone during 2001. TIMELIFE have managed to sell up to September 2001, 2.6 million copies of their two CD ELVIS COLLECTION SERIES and as each set has over one hundred minutes, it counts by RIAA standards as 5.2 million units sold. They are a small example of the sales that are not in the 1.4 million figure quoted in the NEW YORK POST article. During the millennium year 2000, the same body reported sales of Elvis CD's to be 1.3 million, yet BMG have indicated that overall BMG/Licensed Product sales of Elvis material topped seven million in the USA alone. It would seem that Elvis has actually increased his over the counter sales by 100,000 last year!!!

Another source of Elvis CD sales (probably the largest) are as far as I can ascertain, not included in the 1.4 million figure. Sales of Elvis CD's from the shops at Graceland Plaza have always been a closely guarded secret and the indications are that they are known only to EPE & BMG. With so many visitors it would seem implausible that six figure sales are not achieved there and these sales would add significantly to Elvis' overall total.

To finish It would seem that reports of Elvis' sales demise are greatly exaggerated and while I have no connection to either EPE or BMG, I feel it is important to set the record straight in what is going to be a very important year for the Elvis world.

- For The Billionth And The Last Time - Lifting the Lid on the King's record sales

© Copyright 2025 by www.elvis.com.au & www.elvispresley.com.au

https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/articles-salesposition.shtml

No part of any article on this site may be re-printed for public display without permission.