Love him or hate him, Machine Gun Kelly is killing it right now. His new album, Mainstream Sellout, has even beat Ghost's immensely popular recent release Impera, in terms of digital sales. This is pretty staggering, considering their longevity in the rock scene in comparison to MGK, who for years was more well known for being a rapper.
So what are the stats? Mainstream Sellout, which was released on March 25, has peaked at the number one spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It sold 93,000 equivalent album units sold, made up of 42,000 album sales, 50,000 streaming equivalent album sales, and 1,000 track equivalent album sales. For those not well-versed in the industry lingo, an "equivalent album sale" means the album sold one copy, had 10 individual tracks sold from the album, or had 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid or subscription streams.
Ghost's Impera however, which peaked at the second position on the Billboard chart, sold 70,000 equivalent album units in its first week. If we break that number down, it had 62,500 album sales, 7,000 streaming equivalent album sales, and 500 track equivalent album sales.
So, in comparison to MGK, Ghost had more fans buy a physical copy, but less fans buy a digital release.
Either way, it was a monumental feat for Ghost, and was additionally the highest-charting rock album in eight months (the last was John Mayer's Sob Rock), and highest-charting hard rock album in over a year since AC/DC's Power Up.
Clearly, rock music is thriving right now, and we're thrilled to see it do so well. Keep it up everyone!
Last month, Machine Gun Kelly shared his thoughts about the state of the current rock scene, adding that he believed that the genre "needed a defibrillator" while claiming that he played a key role in reviving it.
While speaking to Billboard, the rapper-turned-pop punk star also defended himself against accusations that he's just a cosplay punk and poser, stating, "if I have to be a scapegoat for people’s own insecurities, whatever. I’m more punk rock than you are because at least I’m willing to put my ass on the line.
“I know it kills certain bands in that community that I got the success that I got," he continued. "But I earned that shit. Dude, I was fucking loading up the van with our drums and amps in 2010, driving to Indiana and Chicago, playing Warped Tour. I can tell you the fucking Wi-Fi codes to venues in Blackfoot, Idaho. Can you say that shit as a band?
“It opened the lane back up for people to make money," says Kelly. "It opened up these festivals. [Rock] needed a defibrillator. Who cares who gives it, just as long as that motherfucker doesn’t die?”
