What a weak thread title; couldn't think of anything better. From hardradio.com: 7/19/07 Page 8 The Associated Press has issued the following report from Jake Coyle: Much of the rock 'n' roll and pop canon is well established. Buying the albums of 60s and 70s acts like the BEATLES, the BEACH BOYS, LED ZEPPELIN, JIMI HENDRIX and BOB MARLEY is akin to a rite of passage for any young music fan. These are the artists that baby boomers love to keep buying, and with whom seemingly every teenager at some point experiments. Now that the 80S AND 90S are ancient history, what albums are people still buying from those decades? Do critical favorites like RADIOHEAD and the PIXIES grow more popular with time? Or do the BACKSTREET BOYS and MADONNA still rule the charts? The short answer is that, above all, people are buying vintage METALLICA, AC/DC, BON JOVI, GUNS N' ROSES and, well, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. AC/DC's Back In Black (1990) last year sold 440,000 copies and has thus far sold 156,000 this year, according to the Nielsen SoundScan catalog charts, which measure how well physical albums older than two years old are selling. (All figures for this article were provided by Nielsen SoundScan.) Those Back In Black numbers would make most contemporary CDs a success. Metallica's self-titled 1991 album is altogether the second-biggest selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era, which began in 1991. Metallica sold 275,000 copies last year. Bon Jovi's 1994 Cross Road last year sold 324,000 copies, while Guns 'N Roses Appetite For Destruction (1990) sold 113,000. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1996) continues to be a holiday favorite; it was bought 289,000 times last year.
This goes back to that thread about the hate for Creed and Nickelback: If you're good, your relevance over time is assured. Good find, man. Appetite for Destruction is, I believe, still the biggest selling debut album of all time by any artist.
Hard rock/metal is a niche market that appeals to a very loyal fan base who likes a certain style of music. When kids who like metal go looking for metal bands, they will undoubtedly listen to classic metal. In addition, people who grew up in the 80's and early 90's (people who were in their teens and 20's), lived during the last period of time when music was still a primary source of entertainment. Today, video games outsell music 4 to 1 and there are a ton of different entertainment options. Music, which only provides auditory stimulation, isn't as interesting to kids who were multitasking out of the womb. Hard rock music is the beneficiary of a system that gave them a brief amount of mainstream popularity, just enough to hook a large audience during a time when people were much more loyal to the bands they loved. My only argument with the above is the Trans Siberaian Orchestra stuff. It may have been pioneered by metal guys, but that isn't what makes it popular. John Tesh's Christmas record sells as many copies as that does.
Could it be that it’s the people from the older generation that are buying these albums? Kids from this generation are more apt to get their music from Lime Wire. Also, younger people are more apt to purchase a particular song for their IPod and not the whole album.
i think you are right. 1980, if im not mistaken. that was the first one w/out bon scott, and i think they have said the album was a tribute to him (hence the name) - must have been a typo. i bought the cure's disintegration last week for at least the 3rd or 4th time. at this point i only had it on cassette and i found it used for 8 bucks. even though it is on rhapsody, it is still an cd that i have to own, as that was a biggie for me as a young lad. i think the early 90's will see steady sales - nirvana's albums, pearl jam - 10, soundgarden - badmotofinger, alice in chains - dirt, smashing pumpkins, ect. radiohead will continue to sell - i see them in 20 years as being regarded as floyd is now, and they still sell a butt-load of records. i think the pixies will be like the velvet underground - not many people in 20 years will buy their albums or know who the heck they were, but the majority of the few who do will be the ones starting bands.
That's one part of it. There are a number of factors: more entertainment options, no longevity for artists, consolidation of major labels and retailers ending in fewer overall releases, the slow demise of terrestrial radio, the sharp increase in the cost of concerts resulting in fewer shows and lower ticket sales. There are a TON of things that have altered the way people listen to music today. Some cultural. Some economical. Some commercial/industrial.
i think it matters what type of genre of music is still being bought depends exactly that, what genre it is. people that like bon jovi are the ones that are to dumb to know how to use a computer. its actually really simple.
I would imagine The Cult Love and Electric still sell well for being 20 years old -- they play them enough on the radio that's for sure.
ding ding ding! I know barely anyone my age (25) that would buy those albums rather than downloading them.
Here's the crazy thing: the #2, 3, 4, and 5 best-selling albums of all time are Dark Side of the Moon, Back in Black, Sgt. Pepper, and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (I think it's those 4, I might be off on one). These albums have each sold between 40 million and 50 million, with probably about several million at the most between each one. #1? Michael Jackson's Thriller has sold over 100 million copies, at least 50 million more than #2. Crazy.
My girlfriend's stepmother used to work for ASCAP and she recently bristled when the son of a friend said he never buys music and doesn't understand the big deal because it should be free. Personally, I HATE the idea of free music because I know all the musicians who have left the industry to take normal day jobs and the art we lose as a result. But, I also know that the business is changing and we all have to adapt. I'm not going to give music away myself - not a lot of it - but I know there will have to eventually be a way to monetize playing music or popular music will get worse and worse.
One REALLY REALLY important thing to remember is that the late 70's through the 80's were the heyday for the mainstream music industry. It was a time when music and business were in near synchronous alignment with one another. Labels really did develop artists and care about their long-term success understanding that it would ultimately lead to records like Thriller. The fact that the Beatles have one of the top 5 of all time is a remarkable accomplishment in an era dominated by singles, not LP's.
You are correct about the different genes. Country music continuously increases its revenue while the overall music industry keeps falling sharply.
That's loyalty and that is ultimately the key to success in the new music business. It's no longer about selling records. It's about finding a core audience and keeping them. Country music has built-in loyalty as long as the artist sticks within what country considers the mainstream. Of course, get outside that mainstream like Rosanne Cash, kd lang or Lyle Lovett and the industry isn't so loyal anymore.
how about cutting record labels out all together? or start a website for artists to sell their own music for however much they like. the artist would then pay the web host a small % fee of the artists earnings. then the profit goes into the pocket that created the music not the corporate suits. it's how 3d art/textures/software/code is sold. Example
The problem is people. People are lazy when it comes to entertainment. In the case of 3d art or stock photography, you have an audience made up of people who need that stuff - businesses, other artists, etc. In music, your audience is everyone who likes it. The thing that the late 70's and 80's had going for it was the fact that there was a clear line of product and distribution. Artists made music. Labels supported artists in that task by paying their up front costs. Distributors facilitated moving that music to stores. Retailers put the records in the hands of buyers. Terrestrial radio promoted CD's and promoters put artists in front of people at live venues. All that has broken down. Labels consolidated and were taken over by accountants more interested in the bottom line than in creating great music. As labels consolidated, distributors disappeared unable to survive against monster conglomerates and the deals they made selling direct to big box retailers (Target, Wal Mart, Best Buy). Independent record stores died off with the distributors. Terrestrial radio was bought out too and dee jay decisions were replaced by those made by regional or even national program directors with little regard for the local community. In an effort to find new means of income, artists sold to commercials, television shows, films and sponsors, all exacting a degree of control over the music to fit into tiny soundbites just big enough to fill a 30-second spot or 20-second soundtrack moment in a movie or tv show. The internet facilitated an even more efficient means of getting music, but it devalued what was once a real commodity and took the emphasis off of records and put it on singles that need to grab you within the first 10 seconds of hearing them or risk the buyer moving on to something else. The end result of all this is a buying public that is unwilling to search for music. They want whatever is fast and easy because there are so many messages constantly bombarding them. Music is no longer the backdrop of people's lives - a way to define their history. It is just one more entertainment option among dozens. The reality is that the days of the diamond record are over. Rock stars will no longer exist as we once knew them. If you can make a decent living as a musician or have it as a second income, you'll be successful. Most artists won't last more than a year or two and then they'll move on to something that pays better so they can support themselves and their families.
