Dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel’s God & Time generated 2,776 album-equivalent units in the United States during its first week, according to updated U.S. consumption data provided directly to World Music Views by Luminate, the data provider for the Billboard charts.
World Music Views had initially estimated approximately 2,700 U.S. album-equivalent units based on the project’s weekly chart performance following its No. 6 debut on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
Luminate has since provided World Music Views with the final U.S. first-week consumption data, confirming that God & Time earned 2,776 album-equivalent units during the tracking period.
Of that total, God & Time, released June 5, sold 1,098 pure album copies during its opening week, while streaming activity accounted for 1,639 streaming-equivalent album (SEA) units. The album also earned 39 track-equivalent album (TEA) units.
SEA (Streaming Equivalent Albums) converts on-demand streams into album units, while TEA (Track Equivalent Albums) converts individual paid song downloads into album units.
Songs from God & Time accumulated 1,927,129 on-demand streams in the United States during the album’s first week.
God & Time — U.S. First-Week Numbers
- Album-equivalent units: 2,776
- Total on-demand streams: 1,927,129
- SEA (streaming-equivalent albums): 1,639
- TEA (track-equivalent albums): 39
- Pure album sales: 1,098
The components account for the album’s first-week total, with 1,639 SEA units, 39 TEA units and 1,098 pure album sales combining for 2,776 album-equivalent units.
Alkaline’s NPT Earns 2,057 First-Week U.S. Units
Luminate also provided World Music Views on Wednesday with first-week U.S. consumption figures for fellow Jamaican dancehall star Alkaline’s NPT released on March 23.
The album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart with just four days of consumption. The album sold above initial estimates based on weekly top 10 debuts, generating 2,057 album-equivalent units during its first week, including 1,441,769 on-demand streams.
It is important to note that YouTube numbers are no longer included in U.S. streams SEA and TEA.
According to the final figures provided by Luminate, streaming accounted for 1,178 SEA units, while the project registered 17 TEA units and 863 pure album sales.
NPT — U.S. First-Week Numbers
- Album-equivalent units: 2,057
- Total on-demand streams: 1,441,769
- SEA (streaming-equivalent albums): 1,178
- TEA (track-equivalent albums): 17
- Pure album sales: 863
The newly obtained figures provide a more detailed picture of the U.S. consumption of two major contemporary Dancehall releases and underscore the need for greater access to reliable sales and streaming data for genres that are often underserved by mainstream music-industry reporting.
We remain committed to transparency and accuracy and will continue working with our partners to obtain and report reliable, up-to-date sales, streaming and market data for Dancehall, Reggae and other genres and markets that remain underserved by mainstream music-industry reporting.
