What the heck?

[AnEggplant]

If Wikipedia is correct, (and that's a big IF), Hemispheres only peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 100 and didn't make it to Platinum status until 15 years after it's release!

[Grover]

The peak at 43 is probably correct but the platinum status depends on when the band asks for certification. I suspect it was platinum by 1982.

[AnEggplant]

The peak at 43 is probably correct but the platinum status depends on when the band asks for certification. I suspect it was platinum by 1982.

 

I hope so. It'd be a crime for such an amazing album to go so unnoticed for so long!

[J2112YYZ]

That makes sense. It's not like the album had huge singles with massive appeal like the next three albums did.

[Tombstone Mountain]

The peak at 43 is probably correct but the platinum status depends on when the band asks for certification. I suspect it was platinum by 1982.

 

I hope so. It'd be a crime for such an amazing album to go so unnoticed for so long!

There's only so many stoners in the world

http://www.thesmokingbud.com/sites/default/files/styles/stt_article_top/public/100213/arnold-fumando.jpg?itok=TwixB1qB

Hemispheres is badass.

--Arnold

Edited January 22, 2016 by Tombstone Mountain

[HemiBeers]

Most likely the people that bought Hemi when it came out where the hardcore fans at the time, which was a relatively small group. My first album was ATWAS, then Moving Pictures and then I acquired the previous albums fairly quickly. I suspect most people eventually bought Hemi like I did, so it took time to build up the album sales since it was a lesser known Rush album than 2112 or MP.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's a top 3 Rush album for me, but it does require some dedication to appreciate it. Probably not the best album for a first time Rush listener.

[Lucas]

I have a question:

 

Does Billboard only track sales of albums in the USA, or are the sales stats international ??

[toymaker]

I have a question:

 

Does Billboard only track sales of albums in the USA, or are the sales stats international ??

 

From Wiki:

 

"Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. SoundScan is a method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Data is collected weekly and made available every Wednesday to subscribers, which include record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV companies, and artist managers. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts, making it the largest source of sales records in the music industry.

Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991.^[1] The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Album charts based on SoundScan "piece count data,"^[2][3] and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991. Previously, Billboard tracked sales by calling stores across the U.S. and asking about sales - a method that was inherently error-prone and open to outright fraud. Indeed, while transitioning from the calling to tracking methods, the airplay and sales charts (already monitored by Nielsen) and the Hot 100 (then still using the calling system) often did not match (for instance Paula Abdul's Promise of a New Day and Roxette's Fading Like a Flower reached much higher Hot 100 peaks than their actual sales and airplay would have allowed them to).^[4] Although most record company executives conceded that the new method was far more accurate than the old, the chart's volatility and its geographical balance initially caused deep concern, before the change and the market shifts it brought about were accepted across the industry. Tower Records, the country's second-largest retail chain, was originally not included in the sample because its stores are equipped with different technology to measure sales.^{[5] [6]} At first, some industry executives complained that the new system — which relied on high-tech sales measurement rather than store employee estimates — was based on an inadequate sample, one that favored established and mainstream acts over newcomers.^{[7] [8]}

The Recording Industry Association of America also tracks sales (or more specifically, shipments minus potential returns) on a long-term basis through the RIAA certification system; it has never used either Nielsen SoundScan or the store-calling method."

Edited January 23, 2016 by toymaker

[Tombstone Mountain]

Most likely the people that bought Hemi when it came out where the hardcore fans at the time, which was a relatively small group. My first album was ATWAS, then Moving Pictures and then I acquired the previous albums fairly quickly. I suspect most people eventually bought Hemi like I did, so it took time to build up the album sales since it was a lesser known Rush album than 2112 or MP.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's a top 3 Rush album for me, but it does require some dedication to appreciate it. Probably not the best album for a first time Rush listener.

Good story. Similar to mine but it is NOT a top three album for me. It's got some great tracks, but IMO nowhere near the top of the heap.

[Segue Myles]

Most likely the people that bought Hemi when it came out where the hardcore fans at the time, which was a relatively small group. My first album was ATWAS, then Moving Pictures and then I acquired the previous albums fairly quickly. I suspect most people eventually bought Hemi like I did, so it took time to build up the album sales since it was a lesser known Rush album than 2112 or MP.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's a top 3 Rush album for me, but it does require some dedication to appreciate it. Probably not the best album for a first time Rush listener.

Good story. Similar to mine but it is NOT a top three album for me. It's got some great tracks, but IMO nowhere near the top of the heap.

 

Bro hug!

 

And CA is still improving...please forgive me I hear some filler, but more and more I hear the killer!

[tangy]

Yeah that was back before the masses caught on.

 

I guess it charted higher than farewell?

 

That and given the year thete was likely very strong competition.

 

[Tombstone Mountain]

Most likely the people that bought Hemi when it came out where the hardcore fans at the time, which was a relatively small group. My first album was ATWAS, then Moving Pictures and then I acquired the previous albums fairly quickly. I suspect most people eventually bought Hemi like I did, so it took time to build up the album sales since it was a lesser known Rush album than 2112 or MP.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's a top 3 Rush album for me, but it does require some dedication to appreciate it. Probably not the best album for a first time Rush listener.

Good story. Similar to mine but it is NOT a top three album for me. It's got some great tracks, but IMO nowhere near the top of the heap.

 

Bro hug!

 

And CA is still improving...please forgive me I hear some filler, but more and more I hear the killer!

One day you'll catch up

[Ancient Ways]

The peak at 43 is probably correct but the platinum status depends on when the band asks for certification. I suspect it was platinum by 1982.

 

I hope so. It'd be a crime for such an amazing album to go so unnoticed for so long!

There's only so many stoners in the world

http://www.thesmokingbud.com/sites/default/files/styles/stt_article_top/public/100213/arnold-fumando.jpg?itok=TwixB1qB

Hemispheres is badass.

--Arnold

100% legalization and no drug tests at work and the number goes up......

[Lorraine]

Don't get me wrong, it's a top 3 Rush album for me, but it does require some dedication to appreciate it. Probably not the best album for a first time Rush listener.

 

No, it doesn't. I never heard the album until a few years ago. I am not a hard core fan at all, but even I could appreciate the excellence of Hemispheres as soon as I heard it.