On Facebook today Merge Records posted the original master release info for Neutral Milk Hotel’s landmark 1998 LP In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, complete with estimated sales figures of 5,500 CDs and 1,600 LPs. Reads the caption: “The original master release info for Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, circa July 1997. It has sold more than we initially expected.” How badly did Merge underestimate Aeroplane’s appeal? The album went on to sell about 300,000 copies, and as Spin reports, it was still in the top 10 for vinyl sales in 2008, a full 10 years after its release. Hundreds of indie label heads agree: Better this than having thousands of unsold records stacked up in your garage.

For more on the economics of Aeroplane, check out this feature from 2011. Neutral Milk Hotel is currently on a long reunion tour that keeps getting longer. Dates:

1/13 Ithaca, NY @ The State Theatre
1/14 Jersey City, NJ @ Loew’s Theatre
1/16 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
1/17 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
1/18 Montreal, QC @ Olympia
1/19 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
1/20 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
1/22 Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
1/23 Brooklyn, NY @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
1/24 Brooklyn, NY @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
1/25 Brooklyn, NY @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
1/27 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
1/28 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
1/29 Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
1/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
1/31 Washington, D.C. @ DAR Constitution Hall
2/1 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
2/2 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
2/4 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
2/5 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
2/6 Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
2/7 Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
2/8 Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theater
2/10 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
2/11 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
2/13 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
2/14 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
2/15 Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
2/17 Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater
2/18 Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
2/19 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
2/20 New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
2/21 New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
3/26 Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Theatre
3/27 Indianapolis, IN @ Old National Centre
3/29 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
3/30 Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
3/31 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
4/1 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
5/15 Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Limelight
5/16 Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street
5/17 Manchester, England @ Manchester Albert Hall
5/18 Manchester, England @ Manchester Albert Hall
5/19 Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland
5/21 London, England @ Roundhouse
5/22 London, England @ Roundhouse
5/23 London, England @ Roundhouse
5/24 Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli-De Helling
5/25 Paris, France @ Le Trianon
5/27 Toulouse, France @ Metronum
5/29-31 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival
6/1 Munich, Germany @ Kammerspiel
6/2 Zagreb, Croatia @ Culture Factory
6/4 Padova, Italy @ Castello Carrarese
6/5 Ravenna, Italy @ Beaches Brew
6/6-7 Porto, Portugal @ Optimus Primavera Sound
8/8 Oslo, Norway @ Oya Festival