Exclusive: Madonna "MDNA" Will Have Biggest Second Week Drop in Chart History

Madonna's “MDNA” album had the biggest second week drop in chart history last week, I am told. When all the numbers are in on Tuesday night, “MDNA” will have fallen from number 1 by 88%–from 359,000 copies in its first week to roughly 46,000 the second week. Wow. The first week’s sales, as I revealed exclusively (and then the New York Post lifted it from us), most of Madonna’s first week sales were CDs that were included in the sale of concert tickets. That promotion artificially inflated Madonna’s numbers, putting her first before Lionel Richie and his “Tuskegee” album. In the second week, Richie fell only 47% and sold about 110,000 albums–which is normal. “Tuskegee” will now finish much higher than “MDNA.” I do think that all the people involved in the Madonna ticket-CD deal should apologize to Richie for denying him his rightful place at number 1, starting with Billboard and SoundScan. But Richie’s consolation is that he has a major hit, while “MDNA” is a total dud. So far, “MDNA” has not produced anything like a hit single either, no radio play or anything to provide organic promotion. But Madonna’s concert tour with Live Nation will be a big hit, so it’s not like we have to worry about her financial situation.