Aside from sales ripples on some catalog albums, it appears televised and webcast coverage of Live 8 during the July 2-3 weekend did not have great impact on U.S. music sales, especially when compared with the fast reaction that occurred in the United Kingdom.
Jumps by Keane (from No. 11 to No. 5) and Razorlight (28-9) into the top 10 on England’s albums chart were attributed to their Live 8 appearances, as were gains there by the Killers, Joss Stone, R.E.M., Scissor Sisters, Snow Patrol and four Pink Floyd albums.
In the United States, Live 8’s reunion of Pink Floyd is the only obvious beneficiary on the Billboard charts, as “The Dark Side of the Moon” rises 10-3 on Top Pop Catalog with a 26 percent gain and the album’s largest unit increase since Christmas week. Green Day rides a 12 percent gain for a 27-20 jump on The Billboard 200, but most of that acceleration is attributed to an advertised sale price at Target stores.
Other spikes on the catalog list that might be attributed to Live 8 include Green Day (13-11, up 7 percent; and 33-24, up 15 percent), the Beatles (No. 19, up 3 percent) and U2 (No. 36, up 3 percent).