Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Rocky Comfort Records) - Country music superstar
Tracy Lawrence was met with an impressive response by record buyers across the United States the first week his new CD, FOR THE LOVE, was available in stores. With sales just shy of 17,000 units, Lawrence entered Billboard magazine's 'Top Independent Albums' chart at No. 3, the 'Top Country Albums' chart at No. 6, and 'The Billboard Hot 100' albums chart at No. 53. The CD marks the first release on Lawrence's own record label, Rocky Comfort Records (RCR)/CO5 Nashville [Distributed by A2M], and is the first studio collection from Lawrence in nearly three years.
At a series of successful CD signing events in Texas, including sellouts in San Antonio and Dallas, sales of FOR THE LOVE moved at a rapid clip along with other Tracy Lawrence product, while fans lined up early in hopes of meeting Lawrence and having him autograph a copy of the new CD. The CD release celebration will continue at upcoming in-store appearances in St. Joseph, MO, Saturday, Feb. 10 and Denver, CO Saturday, March 17. He'll participate Monday, Feb. 12 in a special St. Jude Partner In Hope concert and signing event in Kansas City, MO.
'One of the most impressive things about the album's debut week is that we achieved sales of nearly 17,000 units against a very conservative national ship number of 55,000,' notes Artist To Market (A2M) general manager Paul Ignasinski. 'It's unheard of to see a 31% sell-through first week, and it's evidence of Tracy's die-hard fan base and the strong marketing and radio campaign behind this album.'
In a climate where digital sales continue on a post-holiday decline, Lawrence's single has bucked that trend by consistently increasing in sales. This week, his digital downloads are up 124% against a business condition backdrop for single tracks that's down 2%.
'You can tell a lot about an artist by the fans they attract,' says Digital Delivery Services president Ed Gertler. 'I saw firsthand at our signing events that Tracy's fans are enthusiastic, friendly and respectful. They were very aware of the new album and single and were eager to purchase the new music.'
The first single, 'Find Out Who Your Friends Are,' from FOR THE LOVE is currently climbing the Top 40 and is poised to enter the Top 30 on national music industry trade charts in the coming weeks. According to Mediabase national radio callout research, the song has ranked among the Top 10 favorites overall (men and women – all ages) and among the Top 10 favorites with females (all ages) since the second week of December 2006. This week it is positioned at No. 4 overall and No. 5 with females.
