But like much of the happenings in retail in the past several months, things didn't quite go as planned. According to the Wall Street Journal, in its first three weeks the album has sold only about 318,000 thousands of the of 1.3 million copies of the CD that Best Buy reportedly paid millions for up front.
"Chinese Democracy" debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, but after middling reviews and poor word of mouth, slipped 78 percent in its second week. It has also failed to garner much radio play, and band leader W. "Axl" Rose has reportedly refused to make videos, give interviews, or perform live in order to promote the album.
"Black Ice," by contrast, has sold 1.6 million albums in the U.S. since its release in October, and that's not including T-shirts and other ancillary products that Walmart has positioned along with it in its stores.
However, according to the Journal, "Chinese Democracy" is succeeding in one market- strip clubs. Two of the albums songs were included on a compilation of music to be played in adult entertainment establishments nationwide.
