Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:51pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - The original Broadway cast recording of "The Book of Mormon" comes roaring in at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
It re-enters with 61,000 sold (up 2,116%) following the show's nine Tony Award wins, including best musical, on June 12. It's the highest-charting Broadway cast album-and first top 10-since 1969, when "Hair" spent 13 straight weeks at No. 1.
"Mormon" (Ghostlight Records, distributed by Sony) also owns the largest sales week for any cast album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.
The previous best sales week for a cast set belonged to the original London cast recording of "Phantom of the Opera" (Highlights), which sold 54,000 during Christmas week of 1992.
The set's eye-popping sales were bolstered by Amazon MP3's multi-day sale-pricing of the digital album. The retailer offered it at $1.99 for three days during the sales tracking week that ended on June 12. Amazon MP3 tweeted and promoted the set almost daily from midnight on Thursday through Sunday evening. The theatrical production's Twitter account (@bookofmormonbwy) tweeted about the deal 10 times during the tracking week as well.
Additionally, Amazon ran a TV commercial during the Tony telecast, touting its $1.99 deal. In turn, of the album's 61,000 haul, downloads account for 85% of the total. Executives at Ghostlight and Sony didn't respond to requests for comment on the Amazon MP3 deal, though sources say Ghostlight worked with Amazon by giving it a pricing discount to help its promotion of the set.
Amazon's "Mormon" deal follows its controversial move to sell Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" for 99 cents on two days during its release week. The difference here is that Gaga's label (Interscope) and distributor (Universal Music) quickly distanced themselves from the deal and said the retailer acted alone in its decision to sell and promote the set for such a low price.
"Mormon"-with music and lyrics by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and "Avenue Q" co-writer Robert Lopez-opened March 24 at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theater. Ads touting the cast album have been running during "South Park" episodes on Comedy Central, while Parker and Stone have promoted the show on NBC's "Today" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."
The musical's nine Tony wins included best direction, featured actress (Nikki M. James) and score.
(Editing by Zorianna Kit)
