MJ Mania

Paul Grein, the author of Yahoo!'s kickass weekly music column "Chart Watch," reports that Michael Jackson has shattered sales records this week that have stood for decades, with six of the 10 best-selling albums in the U.S. This breaks the record that has stood since April 1966, when Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass placed four albums in the top 10.

He adds that Jackson's catalog of solo albums sold 1.1 million copies this past week, up from nearly 800,000 last week. He sold a staggering 2.3 million solo albums in 2-1/2 weeks.

Jackson's 2003 compilation "Number Ones" sold 349,000 copies this week and would have topped The Billboard 200 for the third week if catalog albums were eligible to compete on that chart—raising an interesting controversy among chart-watchers. Jackson's phenomenal posthumous success is prompting Billboard to review its policy of not listing catalog albums on the big chart. In his column this week, senior chart manager Keith Caulfield acknowledges, "Since Jackson's top sellers are absent from The Billboard 200—long considered the albums chart of record in the United States—it gives one pause."

I'll say. This issue has certainly never been more relevant than now... but which is the more important variable: an accurate reflection of the best-selling albums in the nation, or potentially pandering to record labels who want to see their promotional dollars represented high up on the billboard 200?

Billboard has tried to answer this complicated question over the years with its "comprehensive" chart, which includes sales of all albums. but not having Michael Jackson represented at the top of the American album chart looks... curious at best, embarrassing or unethical at worst.

Caulfield adds in his column, "We must be open to new ideas and change as we move forward," which is saying a lot, considering that it traditionally takes a neutron bomb to forge change on the charts. I agree with Grein, who notes, "You don't make significant rule changes lightly, but sometimes, events force a decision. I'd say that having six of the 10 best-selling albums in the U.S. not appear in the top 10 on the most authoritative chart in the music business constitutes a sign."

Fascinating forum... and hopefully an open door for more discussion on this real-time issue.