AC/DC's 'Black Ice' Sells 118,000 Copies In Canada

October 29, 2008

Last night Australian hard rock legends AC/DC kicked off their world tour in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and today their highly anticipated album "Black Ice", the first release from AC/DC in eight years, struck No. 1 on Canada's Nielsen SoundScan Top 200, selling 118,759 units its first week. "Black Ice" is AC/DC's first No. 1 Canadian debut in the SoundScan era and the largest first week sales in the industry in Canada since 2003.

In 2008, the first week scans of "Black Ice" smashed this year's previous sales record set by COLDPLAY's "Viva La Vida" (90,053),also surpassing other superstar acts this year such as METALLICA, MADONNA, and JACK JOHNSON.

Released globally on Monday October 20, 2008, "Black Ice" topped sales charts in 29 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, Canada, France, Argentina, Japan, Australia, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and more. Over 5 million copies of "Black Ice" have been shipped worldwide. Combined with close to 5 million in catalogue copies sold this year, the band is poised to sell more than 10 million copies this year alone.

Outside of the U.S., Canada represents the highest selling market for AC/DC catalogue in the world, with Sony BMG Music (Canada) having sold 2 million units of catalogue albums and videos in the last 5 years. As "Black Ice" debuts at the top of the chart, AC/DC simultaneously registers 10 albums on the Canadian Nielsen SoundScan Top 200 Catalogue Albums Chart. In addition, "No Bull: The Director's Cut" — a newly edited, comprehensive HD DVD of AC/DC's 1996 Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas concert in Madrid, Spain, released September 9, 2008, debuted in the No.1 spot on the Nielsen SoundScan Top Music DVD chart, and has remained at the top of the chart since.

"Rock N Roll Train", the first single from "Black Ice", has topped Canadian Rock Radio charts since its release in late August, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Nielsen BDS Rock Chart. The week of release, four tracks from "Black Ice" debuted on the Rock Radio chart following a "track by day" preview. XM Radio in Canada are also celebrating this exciting new chapter in the band's history by creating AC/DC Radio, a 24-hour station devoted to playing the band's classic rock songs and exclusive interviews with the band.

AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band TrackPack, featuring master recordings from the band's fabled 1991 performance at Donnington Castle, will be available in Canada in November.

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