Dido, Linkin Park Lead The Global 20 Of 2001

The global pie of legitimate record sales may be shrinking, but it was still a multi-platinum meal for many in 2001.

In fact, for a pair of acts—the U.K.'s Dido and the U.S.'s Linkin Park—it was a proper banquet, as their debut releases became the biggest albums in the world last year, at 8.6 million and 8.5 million copies shipped, respectively. A third newcomer, Alicia Keys, also saw her opening effort rate as one of the top titles of the year (see chart, this page).

The Global 20 represents the first time that Billboard has ranked the world's biggest albums of a calendar year, based on figures supplied by record companies. Traditionally, the magazine publishes a year-end countdown of the best-selling albums in the U.S. that is based on The Billboard 200 and underpins data provided by SoundScan.

However, the calculation of worldwide sales figures is not possible using the type of retail sales-based data offered by SoundScan or the comparable Official U.K. Chart Co., since these methodologies are not deployed in many world music markets. Therefore, record companies' shipments to the trade represent the only globally consistent information available to Billboard. This is also the basis on which the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) annually calculates the volume and value of the worldwide recorded music business.

For their part, the five multinational record companies track and report sales in various ways, as do the world's independent labels. The data behind The Global 20 may be subject to this "health warning" but is arguably a good indicator of the year's top albums.

Dido earned her global crown a full 30 months after No Angel was issued by Arista Records in the U.S. and 14 months after its release in the U.K. (Its non-U.S. rights were subject to a separate BMG deal.) The album shipped 1.7 million copies in 2000—almost entirely in the U.S.—and then rolled around the world. Its cumulative shipments since release now exceed 10.5 million, according to Arista VP of international marketing Frances Georgeson.

Warner Bros. released Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory considerably later than Arista issued No Angel, but it swiftly took the album—and the band—to the world. Between January and September last year, the five-piece spent 12 weeks abroad on promotion chores. The result: Hybrid Theory shipped 3.7 million copies outside the U.S. in 2001, complementing its domestic tally of 4.8 million. The record's performance includes almost 1 million units moved in the U.K. Warner Bros. senior VP of international Steve Margo asks, "When was the last time a rock record sold that many [copies] in England?"

The world's third-ranked album has similar bragging rights. Sony Music reports that Survivor by Destiny's Child moved 1 million copies in the U.K. last year, its single-largest take outside the U.S. The same can be said for Shaggy's fourth-placed Hotshot. MCA Records senior VP of international Eamon Sherlock notes that Shaggy's album shipped 980,000 copies in Britain in 2001, and no other territory outside the U.S. came close.

The Global 20 features its share of seasoned campaigners—Madonna (with two albums), Michael and Janet Jackson, Pink Floyd—but the bulk of slots were taken by artists who were unknown 10 years ago. As for repertoire source, the U.S. is home to 13 of the 18 acts, the U.K. to three, and Ireland and Jamaica to one apiece.

To qualify for inclusion in The Global 20, an album must first have figured on the Billboard Common Currency, the weekly scorecard of albums that simultaneously attain top 10 chart status in three or more leading world markets (see story, page 43). This substantiates the international appeal of the qualifying titles.

Common Currency is published weekly in the Billboard Hits of the World section and tracks 10 markets: the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Germany, France, Canada, Spain, Australia, Italy, and the Netherlands. According to the most recent data available from the IFPI, these countries account for 82% of global prerecorded music sales.

To produce The Global 20, total worldwide sales of the qualifying albums were requested from the relevant record companies, and the results were ranked accordingly. The figures were taken as the companies' gross shipments to the trade during the calendar year. In-depth data provided to Billboard allowed for the ranking of albums where the shipments are identical on the chart itself.

For most of the titles shown, the repertoire-owning company is the source of the sales information. But in some markets, an album may have been released through different outlets. For example, the total figure for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack combines shipments from Universal Music Group affiliates and from independent Festival Mushroom Records, which released the album in Australia and New Zealand.

A further breakdown by corporate group is shown, displaying the top albums from each of the five majors and from independents. As with The Global 20, the albums listed are those that met the Billboard Common Currency criteria, and the figures shown are for calendar-year 2001.

Each of the majors' top three titles graduated to The Global 20, with the exception of Warner (all five of its titles did so) and Universal. The latter placed Hotshot in the upper reaches of the worldwide ranking, as well as—with Festival Mushroom's Australasian shipments added in—Moulin Rouge.

But the world's largest record company did not have any shortage of border breakers last year, including albums by Enrique Iglesias and Nickelback (4 million apiece); Andrea Bocelli, Limp Bizkit, D12, Blink-182, and the Bridget Jones's Diary soundtrack (all at more than 3 million, with Limp Bizkit's cumulative total now at 11 million); Bee Gees and Mary J. Blige (2.7 million each); U2 (2.5 million, for a cumulative 10 million); and Bob Marley and the Wailers' One Love—The Very Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers at 2.4 million.

The impact of the Marley compilation reiterates the value of hits packages. In 2001, at least a half-dozen such releases performed strongly worldwide, including Madonna's GHV2, Backstreet Boys' The Hits—Chapter One, Bee Gees' Their Greatest Hits—The Record, and Lenny Kravitz's Greatest Hits. Also notable was a pair of Warner Music compilations that were not released in America: Tracy Chapman's Collection at 1.3 million and The Best of the Corrs at 2.4 million.

Another worldwide winner, Robbie Williams' Swing When You're Winning, was not issued by EMI in the U.S., but its shipments in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere were sufficiently robust to loft the album into The Global 20, with 4.4 million units.

Among the live albums that circumnavigated the globe last year were those by Sting (2.3 million), Bon Jovi (2.1 million), and Radiohead (2 million). Meanwhile, Sony Music shipped 925,000 pieces of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Live in New York City, a two-disc set.

Regarding music trends, 2001 was clearly a year in which pop, rock, and R&B took the big numbers. American rap and hip-hop does travel, yet seldom to multi-platinum levels outside the U.S. But the recent exception was Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP (a cumulative 16 million units worldwide, including 2.3 million last year) and his D12 combo, whose Devil's Night shipped 3.3 million units in 2001.

As for the record industry's global pie, the data in The Global 20 underlines that—despite the popularity of all these artists—there is a problem. Consider that No Angel, the No. 1 album worldwide in 2001, shipped fewer copies than the No. 1 album in the U.S. alone in 2000: No Strings Attached by 'N Sync. Clearly, the angel's needed in the kitchen.