So, we all know his debut CD will be out in mid-Nov.
But I am wondering which ways will help first-week sales amount?
iTunes?
Amazon?
Target?
Wal-Mart?
Any idea?

All of the above! But the two biggest retailers are Walmart and itunes... pretty much tied as the biggest music retailers right now. Amazon is also a giant seller and their pre-orders could really give David a boost that first week. Most of us on this site are pre-ordered for multiple CDs! All sales count. I'm told that itunes downloads (and maybe amazon.com mp3 too) only count once per account. But why would you download more than one anyway on one account... you can't easily duplicate itunes downloads, and even if you could you only need one copy!
FYI, CD sales from online sites AND brick and morters count on Billboard's hot 100. Itunes ales also counts on the Hot 100 but they also get David charted in Digitil charts (singles, albums, ring tones, etc). I, like many of us, will also be purchasing the record on itunes for two reasons: so that David will also get a digitil chart bump, and so that I can listen the moment it's released (midnight eastern time, that day). David is among a select group of artists whom I get CDs becuase the quality is still best on CDs. For those artists, I usually just get the cd and then load it into itunes... but in David's case I'm getting both a CD (4 of them actually) and a download... and then giving the extra CDs as holiday gifts. He gave us AH for free this summer. The least I can do is double purchase his new record in CD and download!

Of course i'll get the cd on iTunes at midnight. But I'll purchase the CD too (maybe ten of them to give my friends on Holidays for example)
There's no Walmart around my area (cupertino, ca). So i'd like to ask if the sales at Target are counted?

I'm sure that they are.

Jeannine

Excellent point Scott. I like many others downloaded AH free of charge. Even though David gave us his blessing, I still feel somewhat guilty for bootlegging a copy of it. I would gladly pay for it given the opportunity. So, yes buying his new album twice-- once from iTunes and then later buying the CD (4 copies--1 for me others as gifts) is the least I can do. Also to help sooth my guilty conscious, I've donated money to the Cook Fans Conquering Cancer cause and plan to donate more.

Absolutely. We don't have a WalMart anywhere near West Hollywood either, but we do have a Target and I may buy a copy or two there as well. All retailers count equally... Borders, Barnes & Noble, K-mart, Virgin Megastore, HMV, etc. As long as it's a major retailer, or even a local record store (if there are any left!), all sales counts towards the charts, and toward's Mr. Cook's very deserved piece of the pie . The only places that don't count are street vendors, Ebay and other on-line auctions, and possibly at concerts where they're sold by the artist themselves - not sure about that.

Thank you Scott. You had already stated what I just said in that sentence If I had just looked first and so I edited my sentence out. DUH! Also, I think that stores like Sam's Club (in other words wholesale stores don't count either as far as Soundscan is concerned. The main point is to make sure that you are buying from a store that reports their figures to Soundscan. Kirsten at mj's blog I know has the list. She posted it last fall when the releases for the top 2 got closer.

Oh and one more thing too that you need to remember. If you happen to walk in the store say maybe a day or 2 before the release date, you may see the store stocking up on the CD to get ready for the upcoming release date. This may in all likelihood not happen but just in case it does, if do come across a CD in a store and you know it isn't the release date just yet, then try to refrain from buying till then because if you buy it off of the shelf before the release date, then it won't count towards the first week sales. Now, pre-orders made with online retailers will count for first week sales.

I'm so glad you brought that point up, Pam. Absolutely, do not purchase the CD that is on display at any store until its release date. The store is wrong to have displayed it and it will not count toward first week sales. I have encountered that before. Some people are so into being the first ones to hear it, they have gone ahead and purchased early. Please don't.

Jeannine

I heard at MJ's quite a while ago that Soundscan counts multiple copies if you don't overdo it. If you buy 8-10 copies a week, then they stop counting them, but less than that and it's okay. I've bought more than one copy of TOML and I've bought multiple copies of a CD before. My family had a copy of Jewel's debut CD for every room in the house because we kept losing and refinding individual copies (this was before the days of burning CDs, or at least before the technology got to us).

One reason Clay Aiken sold so many copies of his debut CD off the bat was because his fans bought multiple copies. So it does help, although it's likely not the deciding factor in these things.

Absolutely, I downloaded AH for free, and TOML for free (I'm in the UK), the second it became available on UK itunes I bought and paid for it there (even though I'm not a fan of the song). I'm hoping we'll get the album fairly swiftly at least on itunes - TOML appeared a couple of days after it's release in the US, and as soon as the actual CD is in the shops I'll be buying another copy.

Good point...I pre-ordered CD..but now will also be downloading from Itunes so it will count for digital charts.

Thanks for the idea.

All of them. If it's sold it counts.

Editted to add, unless you buy it via Ebay in which your purchase does not count. And I plan on getting my preordered cd and also a download via Itunes or Amazon.

Question?? Hope it's not too obvious or I will feel really stupid....If pre-ordered through this site where is the
CD coming from? I ordered it so long ago that I don't remember the details. Did we already give purchase info and arrange for shipping?? I just don't remember. Or will we get an E-mail and actually give the exact ordering info at a later date?

Thanks!!
Jodie

The pre-orders on the site are from Amazon. I just ordered another one yesterday and they said they will send an email when they have an estimated ship date.
I actually asked David about this when I met him on L.I. because I was wondering if it was better for him if we pre-ordered or to buy it at the store. His answer was "It doesn't matter as long as you buy it"! I have pre-ordered a few for gifts, but plan to go buy one at the store as well.