First week sales for reggae and dancehall albums have-not been meeting the threshold to hit the US Billboard 200 albums chart over the past two years, while overall music consumption in the United States saw remarkable growth in 2023.
Because of this increase in consumption, the number of album units needed to secure a spot on The Billboard 200™, particularly for the No. 200 position, has significantly risen.
According to Luminate, On-Demand Audio and Albums with TEA (Track Equivalent Albums) and SEA (Streaming Equivalent Albums) On-Demand saw significant year-over-year increases of 12.7% and 12.6%, respectively, compared to 2022.
The No. 10 spot on the chart now requires an average of 38.4k equivalent album units per week, according to Luminate. This represents a significant 27% increase from 2022, when the No. 10 album needed an average of 30.3k units.
The Billboard 200™ is the week’s most popular albums chart among all genres as compiled by Luminate, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums).
Adam Gross, CEO of Ineffable Records, the second biggest reggae label in the US, told WMV that he doesn’t believe sales for reggae music overall are down in general but suggests that if reggae artists release physical products, it would also help their first week’s sales. “Ultimately, streaming equivalencies matter, but unless you’re achieving massive streaming numbers due to a hit record on the album—since streams of singles during album release week count towards week 1 equivalencies—you need to have a large number of super fans who purchase physical products (vinyl/CD) and digital downloadable products (iTunes, etc.),” Gross said.
The last reggae album to make the Billboard 200 albums chart was “Wisdom” by Stick Figure, which debuted at No. 51 on the Billboard 200 chart. The California band’s seventh studio album, released on September 9, 2022, via Ruffwood/Ineffable Records, sold 13,000 album equivalent units during its first week, staying only one week on the chart.
Beyond reggae, Jamaican women who are signed to major US labels have found it particularly challenging to make the BB200 chart, with Tessanne Chin being the last to do so ten years ago. Her album “Count On My Love,” released by Republic Records/Universal Republic shortly after her victory on The Voice, hit the Billboard 200 in 2014.
The album sold 7000 units and debuted at #41 on the week of July 19, 2014, staying on the chart for two weeks. Historically, only four Jamaican women have made it onto the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Patra’s 1993 album, “Queen Of The Pack,” is the only female dancehall album to do so. Grace Jones charted 9 albums, Diana King charted with R&B/Soul/Pop album “Tougher Than Love,” while Millie Small’s reggae-branded debut “My Boy Lollipop” made the chart in 1964.
Both male and female Jamaican Reggae-dancehall artists who released albums on major labels between 2022 and 2024, such as Buju Banton, Masicka, Shenseea, Beenie Man, Protoje, Koffee, Popcaan, Bob Marley and more, have seen less than 4,000 first week’s sales equivalents in the US, with many having even less than 1,000 in album equivalents in their first week.
Ahead of her sophomore release “Never Gets Late Here” via Interscope Records, Shenseea told WMV that she would have liked to hit the chart saying, “I mean, who can complain about that? As I said, I won’t put it on my mind to say it has to hit the chart, but I would not be upset if it did. I would still be out there celebrating. Regardless, I am going to be celebrating because I did put a lot of work into this project. So, upon its release, I’ll still be celebrating like I just hit the 200.”
Gross agrees that timing a Billboard Hot 100 hit with a simultaneous album release could drive up the sales of the album. “For instance, if YG Marley had released an album while ‘Praise Jah in the Moonlight’ was still in the Hot 100, it likely would’ve made the Billboard 200,” he said.
“Praise Jah in the Moonlight” released officially December 26, 2023 was the first reggae single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart since 2017, when “Bam” by Jay-Z featuring Damian Marley, with samples from Jacob Miller and Sister Nancy, peaked at No. 47.
PopCaan and Damian are the last 2 male Jamaican artists to make the Billboard 200 chart. The latter with his fourth studio album “Stony Hill,” released via Republic Records on July 21, 2017. The album is the highest peaking reggae album in the last 7 years at No. 65. It was also the highest-selling reggae album that year. “Stony Hill” has surpassed sales of 34,000 album equivalent units since its release, according to Luminate. Of that amount, 48.6 million are on-demand streams.
Popcaan’s Forever (2018) and Fixtape (2020) peaked at No. 171 and 94 respectively for one week each.
“Forever” sold 5000 units in its first week and over its lifetime “Forever” has sold 122,000 units of streams and sales in the US according to data provided to WMV by Luminate.
Of that amount, the album has earned 183 million on-demand streams and sold 7000 pure copies.
“Fixtape” sold 8,800 units during its opening week and has sold 100,000 album equivalent units since its release on August 7, 2020.
The No. 200 album in 2024 needs on average 7,571 album equivalent units, which is 13% more than the 6,700 units needed in 2021 according to Luminate.
The only reggae album to consistently sell above this number each week is the compilation “Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley and the Wailers,” which moves 11,000 equivalent units each week and has spent a record 841 weeks on the chart (57 this week July 7). The album, released on May 8, 1984, by Island Records, is certified 15x Platinum (15,000,000) by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Gross offers advice on how to reach the Billboard 200 saying, “You have to either have a current Billboard Hot 100 hit or be close to it, or you have to be an artist who has mainly focused on the US market and is not hit-reliant, with a massive number of super fans who will not just stream but also purchase your music,” he said. Adding, “You have to tour extensively to build this up, and you must have a significant direct-to-consumer online business.”
The 29-year-old music executive also noted that “a number of artists with 2 million Spotify monthly listeners can make the charts over many artists with over 20 million listeners,” if they tap into the consumer habits of their super fans.
