Oliver Anthony Music Had 37% of All Country Track Sales Last Week, Led by ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’
Written by djfrosty on August 21, 2023
As previously reported, Oliver Anthony Music’s breakout viral song “Rich Men North of Richmond” soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts (dated Aug. 26).
Officially released Aug. 11, the track drew 17.5 million streams and sold 147,000 downloads in the U.S. through Aug. 17, according to Luminate. Not being promoted to radio, the song also tallied 553,000 radio airplay audience impressions, the bulk on country stations.
“Richmond” concurrently debuts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, and No. 4 on Streaming Songs.
It’s one of a whopping 13 tracks by the unsigned, Farmville, Va.-based singer-songwriter to debut on the 50-position Digital Song Sales chart, as “Richmond” has sparked interest in his overall catalog of songs (all released since 2022).
Here’s a look at his haul on the latest list:
- No. 1, “Rich Men North of Richmond” (147,000 sold Aug. 11-17)
- No. 2, “Aint Gotta Dollar” (17,000)
- No. 5, “Ive Got To Get Sober (12,000)
- No. 10, “I Want To Go Home” (8,000)
- No. 11, “Virginia” (6,000)
- No. 15, “Rich Mans Gold” (5,000)
- No. 19, “Always Love You (Like a Good Ole Dog)” (4,000)
- No. 21, “Feeling Purdy Good” (4,000)
- No. 23, “Doggonit” (3,000)
- No. 24, “Stuck Living in the New World” (3,000)
- No. 29, “90 Some Chevy” (3,000)
- No. 37, “Hell on Earth” (2,000)
- No. 43, “Between You & Me” (2,000)
The 50 top-selling songs Aug. 11-17 sold 375,000. Anthony’s 13 songs above sold 216,000 – a 58% share.
“Richmond,” meanwhile, outsold the Nos. 2-18 songs on Digital Song Sales combined.
Looking at Anthony’s week-over-week gains for his previously-released songs – all except for “Richmond” above – those 12 charted tracks sold 73,000 Aug. 11-17, a 2,054% vault from 3,000 Aug. 4-10.
Beyond the Digital Song Sales chart, Anthony has 16 song releases available for purchase, with the three that did not make the survey (“Cobwebs and Cocaine,” “Long Gone” and “Vcr Kid”) upping his total to 220,000 downloads sold Aug. 11-17. Industry-wide, he sold 7.8% of all songs in the tracking week (220,000 of 2,813,000).
Plus, Anthony is the first living solo male to chart as least 13 titles in the top 50 of Digital Song Sales at once. (The chart was formerly 75 positions-deep.) Among all acts, five previously reached that mark in a single week, led by Prince with 21 on the May 14, 2016, list, following his passing that April 21. The only other solo male prior to Anthony with at least that many simultaneous top-50 entries was Michael Jackson, with a personal-best 17 on the July 25, 2009, after he died that June 25.
The other acts to have amassed at least 13 concurrent tracks in the top 50 on Digital Song Sales: BTS (18; March 7, 2020, as the group’s album Map of the Soul : 7 premiered atop the Billboard 200), Taylor Swift (16; Nov. 5, 2022, concurrent with the No. 1 Billboard 200 start of her album Midnights) and Rihanna (14; Feb. 25, 2023, following her halftime show performance at Super Bowl LVII Feb. 12).
Anthony’s 13 songs listed above also all debut on the 25-position Country Digital Song Sales chart, from “Richmond” at No. 1 to “Between You & Me” at No. 25. He ties the record for the most simultaneous top-25 entries; 13 titles by Kenny Rogers reached the ranking dated April 4, 2020, following his passing that March 20.
Meanwhile, with all 16 of Anthony’s song releases in the country genre, 37.3% of all country track sales last week were by Oliver Anthony Music (220,000 of 591,000).
All charts dated Aug. 26 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Aug. 22.