US CONSUMERS TOUGHER ON CHILD-BED-SHARING THAN UK COUNTERPARTS

The surprising number two position for the Michael Jackson Essential Collection in the UK has been trumped by an even bigger surprise in the opposite direction in the US - Jacko managed to persuade just 8,000 Americans to part with money for his latest best-of. If the album was intended as a test to see how the land lay for a massive comeback, the results aren't that encouraging. And that's despite the massive campaign spreading the news of the new album by carrier pigeon:



There is some suggestion that the fact this is the third Jackson collection in about three weeks may have depressed sales a notch, but that hasn't harmed the take in the UK. And, to be honest, the fact that an album is little more than a repackaged hodgepodge of stuff you already know has never really proved to be much of a stumbling block to the music industry pushing its product in the past. The logical conclusion seems to be that in the US, where the likes of the near-journalists at Fox News attempts to keep a permanent paedo-alert burning round the clock, even if people don't believe that Jacko is a kiddie-fiddler, nobody wants to bump into their neighbours at Target with a copy of his record in their shopping basket.

music michael jackson