UPDATE: Drake’s New Mixtape’s Numbers Are No Surprise, Sells Over 500K

Written By Cyrus Langhorne

Young Money rapper Drake has something to brag about after selling over 500,000 copies of his new If You're Reading This It's Too Late retail release.

Drake
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According to reports, the overnight project crushed its competition atop the sales chart.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late moved 535,000 units in the week ending Feb. 15, according to Nielsen Music, with pure album sales comprising 495,000 of that figure — all from digital downloads. (Billboard)

Check out these other pre-first-week sales estimates on the next page…

Based on sales chart site Hits Daily Double, Drizzy’s surprise project was expected to sell over 497,000 copies.

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Rap star Big Sean admitted he made sure to contribute to Drizzy’s sales total in a recent interview.

But he did go out and support his friend Drake’s mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. “Yeah, of course. I bought it. I think it’s great. That’s the homie. I got nothin’ but love for them OVO boys. They my dogs right there.” (Rap-Up)

One-day estimates claimed the project would easily dominate the sales chart this week.

Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (Young Money/Cash Money/Republic) will debut at #1 on the HITS Album and SPS charts next week, spoiling what looked less than 24 hours ago like a slam dunk for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack—but the marketshare goes to the same place, so Republic can’t complain. What’s more, the surprise mixtape could see first-weekend sales of 500k. (HITS Daily Double)

Drizzy treated fans to the unexpected music gem on Twitter last Thursday (February 12) night.

11 Comments

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

SOHH.com Writer. When I'm not covering hip-hop news and announcements, I'm deep into an Audible book and eating veggies.

11 Comments

    • Because he can’t. He’s got a different deal with Cash Money through Universal. Drake signed with Universal Motown, which is now Republic. Drake has a business arrangement with Cash Money and Young Money that goes back way before he signed his deal with Universal Motown. Even when Wayne was his hottest, they still wouldn’t allow him to sell a mix tape, but he could give one away for free all day, which is how most contracts with most lables worked back in the day before the 360 deals started popping up about 5 or 6 years ago. It’s the same way they re-released So Far Gone after he signed with Universal Motown at the time although it had already been out for free.

    • That’s exactly what I said. . These days you don’t need a radio hit or promotion.With the way music is going this is the best way to go now. You as the artist is benefitting from this more than anyone. If Drake can do this so can Wayne so all this BS Baby talking is just BS

  1. This shows why it makes no sense to be tied to a record company when more than 90% of your sales can come online.

    • Before he was signed to Universal Motown and associated with Young Money and Cash Money, who was checking for him? I heard dude first time in 2007, and I can tell you nobody was hardly checking for him. He hooked up with Wayne, and a record deal puts the machine behind you if you get on a roll like he did before he signed his first deal with that “Best You Ever Had” hit. Somebody’s connections get these dudes on these TV shows and the Espys and all that shit because the big wigs at the top are all doing the big deals and breaking bread while they drop the crumbs down to the artists. Viacom, the 3 major labels, and a couple of other companies run all this entertainment shit. It’s kind of a trade off, and if they try to go independent when they get on, see how they disappear and are never heard from again, I don’t care who they are. Michael Jackson was beefing with Sony, and they pretty much stopped fucking with dude for years. That’s big as it gets.

  2. Damn. That is an incredible number especially considering it was all online. I’m still confused on whether this was an album or a mixtape. Was it for sale? Just curious.

    • Retail mix tape. Republic, who is who counts in the number of albums he’s contractually obligated to do, didn’t count it.

  3. Everytime an artist does something like this, these label execs must be holding board meetings and focus groups and shxt trying to figure it out; and most importantly trying to figure out how to stop the next big thing from not only doing it too; but doing it independently.

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