Idol Sales News – Week Ending 12/28/08

How long until sales will be available from HDD or any source? How long did it take in past years?

Also, when does the regular itunes store usually get back to normal (again, by comparing to last year, if anyone might know?

^HDDis suposse to be on vacations… we depend on Ken… if not until next week…

We should hear about the top 10 albums sometime this morning through billboard. Numbers for some of the top R&B records have already come out. (Beyonce and Kanye West are up a bit from last week; the three big R&B debuts from last week are all down between 55% and 66%.) Otherwise, for album numbers, we’ll probably have to wait until this afternoon from Ken. Ken said last week that he’d report on last week and this week’s numbers, as well as year-end numbers.

For digital downloads, the usual source is traveling this morning, so we may nor may not get numbers on that until Ken reports this afternoon.

No clue about when itunes’ regular store will get back to normal.

From Billboard:

Digital Tracks Set New Weekly Record
December 30, 2008 – Digital and Mobile | Retail

All but two songs on Billboardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Hot Digital Songs chart increased their sales by triple-digit percentages last week. During the corresponding week last year, ten songs on that chart sold more than 200,000 downloads; this Christmas week, 15 songs did so.

I’m really interested in seeing all the #’s.

We’ll see some numbers yet today then! :cool1_tb:
I thought we might have to wait until Jan 2nd, so this is good news!

The Big News: Taylor Swift managed to keep the top spot on love lockdown for yet another week, selling 262,000 more copies of Fearless (which went double platinum). Platinum was the theme of the week as Britney Spearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Circus, Nickelbackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Dark Horse, Kanye Westà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 808s & Heartbreak and the Twilight soundtrack all crossed the million-selling plateau on their way to charting at three through six, respectively. Beyoncà ©Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s I Amà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Sasha Fierce jumped from five to second place thanks to an additional 210,000 copies sold, while Kanye leapt from 11 to five thanks to that repackaged 808s with the new artwork. With four of the top six releases geared toward females, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s comforting to know women are at least still purchasing CDs.

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/31/on-the-charts-taylor-swift-beyonce-and-britney-spears-lead-the-charge-in-big-sales-week/

We should hear about the top 10 albums sometime this morning through billboard.

Rolling Stone has published some of those (which gives us an idea about sales volume last week):

1. Taylor Swift 262,000 (now double platinum).
2. Beyoncà ©Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 210,000 (1,458,800)
3. Britney Spears (now platinum)
4. Nickelback (now platinum)
5. Kanye West 165,100 (now platinum, 1,023,900)
6. Twilight (now platinum)

ETA: metsfan beat me to the RS article, but I’ll just leave the list because I added a few numbers from another article.

Seems like it’s going to be a mixed bag in terms of album sales increases and decreases this week.

1. Taylor Swift 262,000 (now double platinum).

Seriously people, she can ´t sing!!!!!!…. sorry I need it to get it out my system…

To keep us occupied, Radio & Records just posted the BDS/Nielson radio airplay charts that will get published in Billboard this week:

Mainstream Top 40
TW lw Artist Title
^22 (23) David Cook LIGHT ON
36 (35) David Archuleta CRUSH

Congrats to Crush, it just made 20 weeks on the BDS Mainstream Top 40 chart and it’ll go recurrent there. It’s off this particular chart next week, regardless of position (well, unless it surges into the top 20 again, which it won’t do).

Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
TW lw Artist Title
11 (11) David Cook LIGHT ON
17 (17) David Archuleta CRUSH

Adult Contemporary Tracks
TW lw Artist Title
^1 (4) David Cook TIME OF MY LIFE
^7 (10) Daughtry FEELS LIKE TONIGHT
^9 (12) David Archuleta CRUSH
^10 (13) Daughtry WHAT ABOUT NOW
21 (19) Kimberley Locke WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS
23 (16) Carrie Underwood HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING

BTW, it is nice to see the Idol domination in the above chart’s top 10. lol.

DC’s back up to #10 on the Billboard 200, with 101,000 units sold this week:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/taylor-swift-reigns-again-on-billboard-200-1003926053.story

That should put him at roughly 815,000 units sold for the year.

“Seriously people, she can ´t sing!!!!!!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦. sorry I need it to get it out my systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦”

I got Taylor’s album for Christmas as a surprise gift (that I didn’t ask for, heh) and I’m surprised how much I’m really enjoying it. Her songs are just so relatable and catchy. She doesn’t have powerhouse vocals but her voice works on the songs she writes for herself. I can see how she got so super popular. David A is quite a fan of her album too.

DCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s back up to #10 on the Billboard 200, with 101,000 units sold this week:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/taylor-swift-reigns-again-on-billboard-200-1003926053.story

That should put him at roughly 815,000 units sold for the year.

Oh, HECK yeah!!!

Wow on the numbers for DC! So close to plat!! Congrats also to Cook for being back in the Top 10!

HELL YEAH! All I wanted was for him to end 2008 with hitting 800,000 and this is even better!

She doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have powerhouse vocals but her voice works on the songs she writes for herself.

Thank you!

Ken Barnes over at Idol Chatter has an amazing wrap up of the year end charts

Here are the mentions for the Season 7 Idols (but there is a lot more for chart watchers to see for Idols from previous seasons):

> David A.: #10 new artist overall, #67 Hot 100 artist, #48 Pop 100 artist, #45 digital songs artist (Billboard)

Crush #57 digital song, #76 Hot 100, #52 Pop 100, #37 AC, #89 Canada (Billboard); #66 Top 40, #45 AC, #79 Hot AC (Mediabase), #58 Top 40, #37 AC, #73 Hot AC (R&R).

> David C.: #8 new artist overall, #41 Hot 100 artist, #46 Pop 100 artist, #8 AC artist, #28 digital songs artist (Billboard), #73 artist overall, #8 AC artist (R&R).

The Time of My Life #65 digital song, #69 Hot 100, #79 Pop 100, #8 AC, #26 Adult Top 40, #75 Canada (Billboard), #97 Top 40, #12 AC, #29 Hot AC (Mediabase), #69 all-format, #93 Top 40, #8 AC, #26 Hot AC (R&R).

Congrats to Crush, it just made 20 weeks on the BDS Mainstream Top 40 chart and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll go recurrent there.

Yay for Crush. What a great debut single for David A.

I got Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album for Christmas as a surprise gift (that I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t ask for, heh) and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m surprised how much Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m really enjoying it. Her songs are just so relatable and catchy. She doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have powerhouse vocals but her voice works on the songs she writes for herself. I can see how she got so super popular. David A is quite a fan of her album too.

^I respect this, I still don ´t like her…

Yeah, Taylor’s a better songwriter than singer.

But…different strokes ‘n stuff.

All I wanted was for him to end 2008 with hitting 800,000 and this is even better!

He’s still surprising me. I’m such a doubter!!

WOW! I’m so happy, I really didn’t expect DC to climb back up into the Top 10! And with another 6 figure week! Whooooooot!
I’m so happy for him. He could possibly reach Platinum sometime in March, even with the January slump (fingers crossed).

And hell yeah to the Magic Raibow having another week at #1 on Billboard, I’ve been waiting for that.

BTW – who fell out of the Top 10? I can’t remember why I thought DC wouldn’t be able to get back in, but I did, so some heavy hitters must have taken a bigger fall than I expected.

^I respect this, I still don ´t like herà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I respect that too. lol I never imagined I could get pulled into the Taylor craze but I really do understand why some artists music has such mass appeal. I get it about Britney and even Rihanna too (still not a real fan of Rihanna’s but love some of her songs). None of these women got where they are by having the most spectacular voice ever. Surprisingly, I really like Britney’s voice on her recorded ballads though.

I’m always happy when someone who didn’t “get” David A before finally realizes why he’s so awesome.

I’m really, really looking forward to Ken putting up the numbers.

So thrilled to see DC in top 10 again and with 6 figure addition making 814,000. DCTR is still riding high on itunes and on Amazon and LO is rising steadily and up to 37 on itunes and the album remains high on the retail outlet lists. So hopefully we can not drop too much next week. Only 186,000 to platinum.

Only 186,000 to platinum.

OMG Yay! Can’t help but squeeeeee a little at that.

BTW – who fell out of the Top 10? I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t remember why I thought DC wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be able to get back in, but I did, so some heavy hitters must have taken a bigger fall than I expected.

From last week’s top ten, only Fall Out Boy and AC/DC fell out which allowed Kayne West and David Cook to re-enter. George Hamilton was in front of DC last week but like FOB, their albums were both debuts and had the normal second week drop.

BTW – who fell out of the Top 10?

Fall Out Boy & AC/DC
I am very surprised that DC passed AC/DC in sales, I was thinking he would definitely be #11. But I am very happy with these results :clap_tb:

I definitely wasn’t banking on DC passing AC/DC, that’s for sure.

As an FYI, at some point, LadyM posted some numbers on DCO re: January sales in typical years, and they are usually a small fraction of December sales for just about everyone. So, while I’m hopeful that, with no big debuts coming up in the next few weeks, DC can hang around the top 10, I’m bracing myself for much lower numbers until February. Anyone getting his/her heart set on huge sales for a favorite artist next month is likely to be disappointed.

WhooooHoooooo David Cook!!!!! :clap_tb:

Congratulations again to David Cook and his fans! That album is doing very well.

I hope we get some numbers for David Archuleta today — especially for “Crush” since it rose on iTunes last week.

OMG Yay! Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t help but squeeeeee a little at that.

Hell Yeah! I can’t help but squeeeeee a LOT at that! He has been in the top 10 all weeks except one? Woot woot! I just can’t believe he is over 800,000. Somebody pinch me.

Oh, I got Taylor Swift’s album for Christmas also, and I just love it. “White Horse” is my favorite song. It is just a gorgeous song. I have her first album also (someone gave it to me), but I think her current album is 10 times better. I can see why it is selling so well. I think it appeals to a large audience base (teens as well as older people), and yeah, she can’t sing live….oh well.

Another article: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/25945/chart-watch-extra-the-year-that-songs-overtook-albums/;_ylt=AvjZd327Ic6kumHCF1DEJZvzvSUv

Under the digital download section:

43. David Archuleta, “Crush,” 1,305,000. Archie came in second on American Idol, but his first single sold more downloads than the first single by the winner, David Cook. “The Time Of My Life” sold 1,045,000 copies to rank #65. (Cook sold more albums, though. David Cook is #36 for the year. David Archuleta is #68.) Bottom line: They both won.

It looks like both Crush and Magic Rainbow had nice jumps this week in sales. And both Davids rank in the top 100 album sales for the calendar year, with DCTR being #36 (?!).

^^ That means Crush sold 129K this week. That’s a 330% increase from last week. lol.

Based on Ken’s numbers from the week before last and Magic Rainbow’s steadiness on the itunes pop chart, I’d guess that it managed to pull between 20K and 25K this week, for a jump of about 400%. That should mean that LO had a good jump, too….

Man, do I want to see the digital download numbers. Of all of the weeks for them to be delayed….

soundscene….you think they will show ALTNOY’s sales from last week?

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a 416% increase from last week. lol.

416% is too high. I believe it is over 300% (didn’t do the exact math)?

^^ I corrected my math before you posted. It’s around a 330% increase.

soundsceneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.you think they will show ALTNOYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sales from last week?

Not unless Ken thinks to post them.

While Ken usually posts “off-chart” album sales, he usually does not post “off-chart” digital download sales, unless someone has requested it and his source has come through. I believe that a request for that song’s sales was made last week, but it may have come after he’d left for vacation.

Great, great sales again for DC!! Man, I’m so happy for him.

The best thing about him being back in the top 10 (well, selfishly, the best thing for me) is that we got the numbers early instead of having to wait. It’s been a loooong two weeks.

I think Jordin Sparks should get some props for having the #8 single (and two other top 100 singles) of the year with No Air.
“9. Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown, “No Air,” 2,612,000. This was the biggest collaboration of 2008 in which the partners received equal billing. Sparks has two other songs on the year-end chart: “One Step At A Time” at #63 and “Tattoo” at #72. …”

The Yahoo article is a very interesting read on the big story in music sales in 2008 -the rise of the individual song download.

Hooray for 6 figures in 6 weeks. Hooray for Top 10.

David Cook is the #73 Billboard artist overall, per Ken Barnes? What?! Overall?!That is truly remarkable. Thanks for the Kirsten for Barnes article, I thought we’d get a new one next week given the holidays. Nice treat to see.

Happy New Year everyone!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ think Jordin Sparks should get her props for having the #8 single (and two other top 100 singles) of the year with No Air.

Go Jordin!! She did fantastic in 2008!!

^^ That means Crush sold 129K this week. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a 330% increase from last week. lol.

Gosh, those are amazing numbers for Crush! I can’t wait to find out how well DATA did. Go Archie!!

So now, I know next week everyone will be drastically down, but how much are we talking here, on average? 60% drop? More? Less?

I also wonder if DC can stay in the Top 10. Next week doesn’t have any major new releases, except maybe some soundtracks, and I don’t know how well they’ll sell. I’m guessing a 6th week in the Top 10 looks like a possibility.

Jordin started 2008 with a bang.

Last years:

Billboard Hot Digital Songs
1 1 FLO RIDA LOW 467149 163 177518 1551766
3 2 TIMBALAND FEAT. ONEREPUBLIC APOLOGIZE 318843 170 118209 2370921
7 3 BROWN*CHRIS KISS KISS 277144 233 83225 1454485
11 4 SOULJA BOY TELL’EM CRANK THAT (SOULJA BOY) 271132 299 68007 2909263
4 5 KEYS*ALICIA NO ONE 269261 161 103231 1740300
2 6 BAREILLES*SARA LOVE SONG 268936 123 120788 625491
6 7 FINGER ELEVEN PARALYZER 242258 189 83693 1354790
5 8 FERGIE CLUMSY 229600 168 85692 1012615
10 9 CAILLAT*COLBIE BUBBLY 220682 214 70200 1842189
9 10 SPARKS*JORDIN TATTOO 219837 200 73350 859883

Yowza!!! Big sales for the Davids! Way to go!!

9 10 SPARKS*JORDIN TATTOO 219837 200 73350 859883

Yeah, “Tattoo” was just peaking when Christmas week happened–Jordin has had incredible timing with her singles.

OMG. I just popped in to see if we had numbers and…Wow! I actually did a little clap to myself and tried to control the squee. So very happy for DC.

In case anybody’s curious, Pulse has the top 20 albums from Billboard (can’t find the link to the original though):
1 1 TAYLOR SWIFT Fearless
2 5 BEYONCE I Am…Sasha Fierce
3 4 BRITNEY SPEARS Circus
4 6 NICKELBACK Dark Horse
5 11 KANYE WEST 808s & Heartbreak
6 7 SOUNDTRACK Twilight
7 2 KEYSHIA COLE A Different Me
8 10 VARIOUS ARTISTS Now 29
9 3 JAMIE FOXX Intuition
10 13 DAVID COOK David Cook
11 9 AC/DC Black Ice
12 17 SOUNDTRACK High School Musical 3
13 21 PINK Funhouse
14 16 ENYA And Winter Came…
15 34 T.I. Paper Trail
16 31 AKON Freedom
17 18 SOUNDTRACK Mamma Mia!
18 8 FALL OUT BOY Folie A Deux
19 28 KID ROCK Rock N Roll Jesus
20 35 METALLICA Death Magnetic

So no numbers yet for Archie, but T.I. at 15 sold 78k, for reference. That’s the only number I saw so far for the 11-20 spots.

Digital Sales:

lw TW Artist Title TW % lw Total
39 22 ARCHULETA*DAVID CRUSH 128226 315 30929 1304665
46 42 COOK*DAVID LIGHT ON 82489 206 26918 428912
126 80 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE JUST A DREAM 49297 327 11547 516002
104 85 SPARKS*JORDIN DUET WITH CHRIS NO AIR 46614 248 13406 2677114
141 97 SPARKS*JORDIN ONE STEP AT A TIME 41198 293 10472 1085180
– 178 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE BEFORE HE CHEATS 23987 379 5005 2572168
– 179 COOK*DAVID TIME OF MY LIFE 23976 231 7241 1044940

The top 33 songs all sold over 100K. 29 songs in the top 50 at a 200% or more increase, 6 songs in the top 50 had a 300% or more increase, and 1 song in the top 50 had more than a 400% increase (that would be “Lovebug” by the Jonas Brothers). David A. has the highest percentage increase in the top 30.

39 22 ARCHULETA*DAVIDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ ¹ CRUSH 128226 315 30929 1304665
46 42 COOK*DAVID LIGHT ON 82489 206 26918 428912
126 80 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE JUST A DREAM 49297 327 11547 516002
104 85 SPARKS*JORDIN DUET WITH CHRIS NO AIR 46614 248 13406 2677114
141 97 SPARKS*JORDIN ONE STEP AT A TIME 41198 293 10472 1085180
– 120 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE ALL-AMERICAN GIRL 33310 447 6089 844302
– 178 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE BEFORE HE CHEATS 23987 379 5005 2572168
– 179 COOK*DAVID TIME OF MY LIFE 23976 231 7241 1044940

HOLY CRAP! :surprised_tb:

^^ Yep. lol.

So Idols sold at least 430K singles downloads last week. That truly amazes me.

82,000 boat anchors? Woohoo! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist)! Just joshin around

Great numbers for everyone today! It is a happy day.

Not to devalue how well Idol singles did this week but the top selling single this week (Gaga) sold almost as much as all the Idol singles combined.

2 1 LADY GAGA FEAT. COLBY O’DONIS JUST DANCE 418666 190 144585 1742912
1 2 BEYONCE SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON I 382445 157 148821 1253109

And every song in the top 10 sold 200K plus. This was an incredible week for singles and that’s why Yahoo called this a turning point week as singles take over from albums in total sales.

I wonder what will happen sooner – the album going Platinum, or Light On going Gold? Hmmm… I’m guessing LO will get there first, but who knows.

Not to devalue how well Idol singles did this week but the top selling single this week (Gaga) sold almost as much as all the Idol singles combined.

Well, yes, as was the case last year as well (although this year the love was more evenly spread, with 33 songs selling over 100K rather than last year’s 27 and 15 songs selling over 200K rather than last year’s 10). If you look over the chart you’ll see that certain types of songs benefited the most. Current smash radio hits benefited greatly of course (like “Just Dance” and “Single Ladies”). Older songs that may have faded from airplay but, in their time, were very popular, benefited greatly as well. You’ll also see songs by artists with a large youth fan base doing extremely well because it’s teens that often get iTunes gift cards for Christmas. All songs will benefit, just some more than others.

This was an incredible week for singles and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why the Yahoo chart this was a turning point week as singles take over from albums in total sales.

I think the Yahoo article hit it spot on. Album sales are trending downward (as we know) and single sales are trending upward. It’s like were back in the 50s and 60s, except songs are even more accessible now. The top pop album in 2008 (and we’re talking pop only, no cross-over into R&B or Rock or Alt or Country) was Jack Johnson’s latest, which sold 1.4 million. Think about that. You need to cross-over to multiple audiences or have some sort of gimmick to sell the way most top artists used to sell 2 or 3 years ago. Otherwise you’re topping out at under platinum and a half (which is still awesome for Jack Johnson, just nowhere near what he probably would have sold 5 years ago).

Great looking numbers. DA’s digital downloads are obviously great.

DC managed to sell over 100,000 albums and (combined between Magic Rainbow and LO) over 100,000 digital downloads.

Carrie’s Just a Dream looks strong.

And look at Jordin Sparks’ two. Wow.

I wonder what will happen sooner – the album going Platinum, or Light On going Gold?

Good question….

The big exception to the downward spiral in album seems to be Taylor Swift.
She still manages to sell albums “the old fashioned way” – huge numbers and could even go double platinum by 1/09 (a long shot.) Pop males seems especially hit by the decline in album sales. Supposedly only two songs on the whole chart didn’t go up by at least 100% in sales this week. Boy those artists must feel pretty crappy.

(I hate the comparison game because things have changed so much but is Crush now the best selling single ever released by a runner up? I know Clay had some big hits back in the day but I’m not up on my numbers.)

I’m kinda stunned at LO’s numbers. DC had a good week.

I wonder what will happen sooner – the album going Platinum, or Light On going Gold?

It’s going to be fun following the race!

46 42 COOK*DAVID LIGHT ON 82489 206 26918 428912

Color me blown away. Do you see my hair flying in the wind??. Gold within reach for LO? Am beyond thrilled. There’s just some about David Cook’s songs. Happened with Magic Rainbow and it looks like it could very well happen for LO. Slow to burn but rock steady. Awesome.

Good questionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Heh, well LO has 71k to go, whereas DCTR has 186k to go. I think LO is winning this race.

I wonder… Since we already have the “Platinum Rainbow”, will we now have a “Golden Light”?

OK, I’m lame, but I’m too giddy to care.

I wonderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Since we already have the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Platinum Rainbowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , will we now have a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Golden Lightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ?

Wow. :laugh_tb:

More like Golden (g)LO. Yeah, I’m lame too. Just too giddy to care though. Hee.

The big exception to the downward spiral in album seems to be Taylor Swift. She still manages to sell albums à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the old fashioned wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  – huge numbers and could even go double platinum by 1/09 (a long shot.)

Oh, she’s major crossover. She’s the exception only that she’s got far more going for her than other artists in terms of mass appeal. She’s country and pop and teen all rolled into one. Plus, she’s pretty and sweet. She’s not selling like a pop artist because, at her core, she’s not a pop artist. Nor is she simply a country artist. Cross-over artists will take the longest to feel the full hit of the album sales decline. Pure pop artists are feeling it first (save the gimmicks–Britney Spears and her media-fueled comeback).

Pop males seems especially hit by the decline in album sales. Supposedly only two songs on the whole chart didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t go up by at least 100% in sales this week. Boy those artists must feel pretty crappy.

Yeah, pop males but pop females are feeling it too–just pop in general. It’s a young person’s genre and I tend to think the younger you are, the more you’re buying singles instead of albums.

What explains the huge jump in “Crush” sales, especially since it’s on a fast decline in radio spins? Were they gifted via itunes as cyber stocking stuffers? I mean, the song has done great, and I could see a 100% increase like other songs, but 400%? The new single is about to hit the scene… so why now for this single? Why so much this week?

First off…Im so happy for DCTR….its sales numbers are great…I love the cd…every song is great…….Hope it goes platinum soon..(but I know jan and feb sales are gonna suck) Second, Yay for LO’s sales…..Im hearing it all the time on the radio and I hope the sales keep going strong..

Third…Crush..Wow…Scott…the huge number increase is prolly because the kids got itunes cards and such…but really its a good song…a good seller…and a hell of a hit for archie…congrats to him….!!

Scott- I think the Crush huge jump is due to itunes cards kids got for Christmas. I know I got my 18 year old son his first ipod (I have avoided it so he would socialize and not have headphones on all of the time and he has been too busy with school and other things to think too much about it). He also got over $50 in itunes gift cards from different people and has been having fun buying music. Remember, pop sells more singles.

Oops, Taylor Swift went double platinum this week.
TAYLOR SWIFT FEARLESS 262,399 -21 2,112,179

Not such a long shot after all. Last week should be officially called the iTunes gift card week. I wonder if the great numbers spill over into this week as well. I sure hope so.

What explains the huge jump in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  sales, especially since ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on a fast decline in radio spins? Were they gifted via itunes as cyber stocking stuffers? I mean, the song has done great, and the new single is about to hit the sceneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ so why now for that single? Why this week? Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s like 400%

It was a very popular song. I tend to think it was more popular than its radio peak would indicate. Call it the Viva La Vida of pop because they both just stick in the top 50 of iTunes regardless of where they are on the radio (eventually they’ll fall, but not yet). I guess a lot of the people that got iTunes cards for Christmas decided they wanted Crush (and a lot of teens get iTunes gift cards for Christmas–no secret David has a large youth fan base).

Crush isn’t even declining fast on radio–it lost 5 spins today on CHR and gained 24 yesterday. It was declining fast for awhile but it’s slowed down a lot since then. It’ll go recurrent next week on the Mainstream Top 40 with its last position at 36.

Hot 100:
45 27 DAVID ARCHULETA CRUSH (20 wks; recurrent when it falls below 50)
40 40 DAVID COOK LIGHT ON

R&B 100
58 51 JENNIFER HUDSON IF THIS ISN’T LOVE

Congratulations to both Davids. What a wonderful 2008 it has been for them and for us. We didn’t even know them a year ago. Looking forward to many more DC and DA adventures in 2009. Happy New Year everyone.

Mac,

I am probably behind, but that is the first time I have heard LO called “boat anchors”.

So now, I know next week everyone will be drastically down, but how much are we talking here, on average? 60% drop? More? Less?

Here are the average weekly declines for the albums that were in the Top-10 going into January 2008:

-62%
-54%
-31%
-10%
2%

January, and even a few weeks into February, are not going to be pretty. For anyone. Well, except Taylor Swift it seems.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not a gifting campaignà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’sales from DAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s core fan base pretty much stopped after its first week or two. Nobody was trying to get Crush up there. It just happened.

I may have missed it, but I don’t think anyone said it was a gifting campaign.

I am probably behind, but that is the first time I have heard LO called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“boat anchorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

It’s an in-joke from another board. Not really worth getting into.

Crush was also on a lot of year end countdowns on Christmas week and probably getting more exposure than it had in awhile. It’s just a song that sells and give it any exposure and it delivers. It has from the start. That’s why I say it’s a song that deserved to peak higher on CHR (same goes for Viva La Vida).

I may have missed it, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think anyone said it was a gifting campaign.

Scott said “gifted via iTunes as cyber stocking stuffers.” I could have misconstrued, but that really wasn’t the most important point of my post anyway. But I’ll take it out anyway because I don’t want to debate semantics today.

Crush was also on a lot of year end countdowns on Christmas week and probably getting more exposure than it had in awhile. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just a song that sells and give it any exposure and it delivers. It has from the start. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why I say ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a song that deserved to peak higher on CHR (same goes for Viva La Vida).

That too. Crush started rising before Christmas. It was at #37 starting on Monday but had moved to #29 by Christmas Eve. It wasn’t just the post-Christmas gift card sales. Year-end countdowns brought it back to life. It’s a song that people buy when they hear it.

What explains the huge jump in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  sales, especially since ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on a fast decline in radio spins?

Even though the song has peaked on CHR, it has still sold at a pretty decent rate ever since (I think it has sold less than 40K for only a couple of weeks or so since it was released). The song is still being heard even though it has been losing spins. It’s not all that surprising that it benefited from the same post-Christmas boost in single download sales that other songs received.

I hear crush all the time. Its played around the clock on all the radio stations here, so if its losing spins…my radio stations forgot to read that memo LOL……..Really, if you think about it…that song really appeals to people of all ages. Its just a good song. I think archie has more in store for us as well..as does cook….happy new years all!!!

soundscene, you are right, I don’t think anyone suggested a gifting campaing. Not sure where that idea came from. My question was based on an assumption that CDs would make great physical gifts, so of course lots of album sales went up these last two weeks leading to, and right after, Christmas. I just couldn’t figure out how a 99 cent item made such a jump based on holiday gifts… but everyone’s explanation about teens using their new gift cards makes total sense. I agree, Crush is an excellent song and a monster hit. Even if it’s not one’s personal taste or preferred genre, you can’t deny that it’s a little pop gem.

:smoke_tb: : Dude, I might turn gold and stuff? Party on….

Seriously, though, sometime, say, March or April-ish, Cook could be looking at two platinums and a gold? That’s kickass. :king_tb:

As for the singles vs. albums stuff….Trend schmend. Maybe it’s overreaching to project that music is largely reverting back to the time of the 45 single. I think it’s a big chunk of the market, but not the only wave of the future. There’s also the MySpace/blog phenom, wherein indie acts catch on in a grassroots way by pretty much projecting an image opposite of the pop singles artist. Personally, I think the music industry will always have room for artists who create interesting, cohesive albums. So you can aspire to be the next Rhianna or the next Coldplay or the next Vampire Weekend. If that makes sense.

Not only teens buy Crush with their gift cards either. I’m not a teen and I have a whole lot of store credit now from the iTunes cards I got for Christmas. Both my sisters are over 25 and neither of them are hardcore fans of David or go online to look for info on him. Yet they both purchased Crush just based on hearing it on the radio and liking it. The notion that Crush doesn’t appeal to adults is false to me.

All of Taylor’s songs are catchy Pop and/or Country tunes about young love and disillusionment and she’s selling like hot cakes with her huge exposure and all around positive buzz. She deserves it though, imo.

I’m such a Taylor fangurl now. Heh.

As for the singles vs. albums stuffà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.Trend schmend. Maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overreaching to project that music is largely reverting back to the time of the 45 single. I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a big chunk of the market, but not the only wave of the future. Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s also the MySpace/blog phenom, wherein indie acts catch on in a grassroots way by pretty much projecting an image opposite of the pop singles artist. Personally, I think the music industry will always have room for artists who create interesting, cohesive albums. So you can aspire to be the next Rhianna or the next Coldplay or the next Vampire Weekend. If that makes sense.

I don’t think the album as a musical format is going anywhere anytime soon, just that it will become less and less important as a money-maker as time goes on simply because in time most may not sell enough to sustain the cost of creating them. And maybe, in time, we will stop seeing albums in mainstream music (I’m talking decades from now, though). Labels have to adjust and find new ways to cover costs and make profits. We’re not reverting back to the 40s or 50s, but the idea that single songs are the musical format of choice for a lot of buyers is similar to how people enjoyed music back then.

I admit to being a single buyer. I buy very few albums. I am part of the downward trend.

Here are the album stats for both Davids from Ken Barnes, finally!

When last we left David Cook, his album was No. 10 with 104,000 sold. It zoomed to 129,000 the next week, but fell to No. 13 on the chart. This week it rebounds to No. 10, but sells just 101,000. Go figure. Nonetheless, all good solid weeks (the holiday season certainly helped him out), and his total is now 812,000. (Which gives him the No. 7 album for this year’s holiday season, by the way.)

David A. was at No. 21 two weeks ago with 59,000. He then leaped to 79,000 but fell to No. 22, as most albums on the chart were packing on the pre-Christmas sales. This week he drops to No. 33 with 56,000, for a total of 566,000. Belated congratulations on passing half a million as well! The Davids’ combined total of 1.38 million tops the combined total of last year’s top two, Jordin and Blake (1.29 million).

LINK

My 15yo daughter is a music lover who joyfully fills her iPod as often as I can buy her iTunes cards (rewards for good grades, mostly.) She bought albums as a child, but eventually resorted to decorating her room with the discs. Just puts songs on her iPod now 99% of the time. I’d say that most of her friends would respond the same, and I know some of the kids in the Archuleta groups went out to buy the album and said it was the first album they’d bought in years.

I’m not disappointed in DA’s album sales this week–could do without that ranking though. lol. I mean, the Christmas rush was only Monday through Wednesday, basically. Albums don’t sell like singles do with iTunes gift cards. So not much was sustaining his sales Thursday through Sunday–his song is in the lower half of the top 40 on radio now (and he is more likely to sell Crush than an album with just one song on the radio), there was zero promotion for the album, and it wasn’t even on sale last week (Target sale ended, not on sale at Wal-Mart), so I didn’t expect big numbers. I do see that older popular albums moved up quite a bit (TI, Metallica, Kid Rock, soundtrack to Mamma Mia).

DA’s doing awesome nonetheless. I think once ALTNOY gets going, and he has two songs that people know, he’s more likely to sell based on his radio airplay.

Overall, it is no surprise that the numbers across the board are up as it accounted for late Christmas presents and post-Christmas sales.

I am guessing that most will decrease next week and REALLY fall to earth in 2 weeks as the January drop-off takes full effect. This is probably the high water mark for the next little while, since there are no blockbuster Idol albums on the horizon (unless Melinda or LaKisha does remarkably well).

Yeah, I’d say this year’s winner and runner up have outpaced last year’s handily. They also ended the year on the positive and good side of the media and critics. Not always easy to do post Idol (look at THicks), so I’d say the Davids have come strongly out of the gates for debut artists. If some people continue to find disappointment or negativity with their nascent post AI careers, well, that’s just unfortunate. Given the abyssmal state of the music industry and this economy, the Davids have both had great commercial success so far. Who knows what 2009 will bring. Their albums just came out in November, but they both have gold records and platinum singles. Both are gaining more fans, are being taken seriously as musicians/singers, getting radio play, and selling singles and records. I think the Davids and their fans have much to celebrate.

Yay. It feels like it took forever to get confirmation DATA went Gold even though I technically knew. lol

Since I know January’s going to be slow, I’m happy David’s album went gold before that.

Ken’s last album updat confirms that DCTR is currently the 11th best selling Idol album. It’ll shortly pass Jordin for #10, and after that… we’ll see when the next single comes out.

So appearantly if DCTR sells 45k next week that’ll be a great feat. Ugh, can’t it be February already?

DC’s numbers blow me away. If you go by the lowest album price $10, times 813,000= 8,130,000. Holy Crap! Who get’s all that money? LOL I would say AI made some money off of him. Then we get to add in LO & TOML for another 1,473,852 x .99 which is almost another mil and a half. Dang almost 10 mil so far.

Compared to what AI charges for their commercials it’s chicken scratch, lmao. Compared to my life earnings, holy moly.

ETA.. Anyone know what the artists percentage is? I kept seeing all the numbers year in and out and never took the time to really think of the $$. I would not even want to add up Carrie’s.
ETTA… I did not count AI show itune sales. Forgot those. 11 x _____ x .99 I don’t think they got much off of those though?

Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re not reverting back to the 40s or 50s, but the idea that single songs are the musical format of choice for a lot of buyers is similar to how people enjoyed music back then.

I don’t think single sales were the big deal in the 40s and 50s. That was my mom’s era, and she had lots of albums (78s, believe it or not) — Frank Sinatra, Mario Lanza, cast recordings of shows she liked, and lots and lots of big band stuff. I don’t recall her owning one single.

When I was pretty little, my sisters and I had a few albums (including this bright yellow one with music from the movie Cinderella), but a lot of 45s because they were cheap and we could have just the songs we wanted. By the mid-60s, though, we were already buying albums (and I was only 10). I had Monkees albums, while my oldest sister was happily collecting 4 Seasons and Neil Diamond albums.

If there was ever a time when single sales overwhelmingly fueled the music industry, it didn’t show up that way in my household, anyway.

And the problem with concluding that single sales will crowd out album sales is that you have to sell ten times as many singles to earn the same amount. So if the standard for a successful album is platinum, an artist (and a record company) has to sell ten times platinum to equal that success with a single. Or get ten singles to go platinum. Otherwise, well, I can’t imagine record companies will be happy with 1/10th the profits.

So Yahoo can conclude all they want that singles are the wave of the future, but somebody is going to have to create whole new business models for artists and for the companies and management behind them, for everybody to try to earn a living with 1/10th the money.

Lisa, the only one for sure I know is iTunes singles. The artist supposedly makes 9 cents for every single download. That’s slightly less than 10%, which is probably a good benchmark for the artist’s royalties on an album or single. Some may negotiate more or less, depending on their status and management. But 10% is a decent estimate.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think the album as a musical format is going anywhere anytime soon, just that it will become less and less important as a money-maker as time goes on simply because in time most may not sell enough to sustain the cost of creating them. And maybe, in time, we will stop seeing albums in mainstream music (Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m talking decades from now, though).

Oh for sure that’s definitely one way to conceptualize the future, but as I said, I think it’s a bit overreaching. Maybe album buyers will be the people who discover new music via music blogs and MySpace, etc, more often than the radio, the ones who find themselves investing in the artist beyond a particular song. I’m primarily an album buyer. I’m certainly not a tween or a teen, but I’m a young-ish professional. If I am interested in an artist, I will plunk down the 9.99 on iTunes and buy their albums. If I don’t GAS about an artist but can’t get their earwormy single out of my head, I might invest the .99. If things went the way you conjecture they might, not only would we lose the concept album, we’d lose the deeper album cuts not released to radio which I find are often my favorite songs. In effect, if the music industry became mostly about the singles, the record execs would essentially be cherry picking the music we listen to and consume via the singles they decide to release to radio, and I can see a possibility for a real resistance to that over time and a bounce for album sales in response. Methinks simply way too soon to be playing taps for the album as a selling tool.

I’ve always looked at singles as promotion for the album. Along the lines of a sampler – you like what you hear, maybe you’d want to get some more where that came from. If a single only sells itself, the profit is drastically reduced. I’m an album buyer – when I like a song, I’d download that song, but when I like an artist I’d download the album. I get to know which artists I like through their singles, but I don’t stop there. It’d be a shame to miss out on album tracks.

So if the standard for a successful album is platinum, an artist (and a record company) has to sell ten times platinum to equal that success with a single. Or get ten singles to go platinum.

I may have my facts wrong, but I believe that’s what they did with Rhianna. Didn’t she have, like, 8 singles from her last album?

Not to devalue how well Idol singles did this week but the top selling single this week (Gaga) sold almost as much as all the Idol singles combined.

And I hear that song on the radio more than all of the Idol singles combined, so it’s no wonder. Haha. I am *completely* over it though and only want it to go away. Talk about being overplayed. OMG. Heh.

Digital download sales from Ken Barnes HERE.

David Cook sold 101,000? I’m so very pleased. Now if he can sell ~50K a week for four more weeks he can get the platinum some time late January. Not easy I know, it’ll probably be more like 30-40K a week, but perhaps the post-Christmas slump may not as severe, or the sales can recover before we get to February (perhaps with a new single release?). Fingers crossed.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve always looked at singles as promotion for the album. Along the lines of a sampler – you like what you hear, maybe youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d want to get some more where that came from. If a single only sells itself, the profit is drastically reduced. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m an album buyer – when I like a song, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d download that song, but when I like an artist Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d download the album. I get to know which artists I like through their singles, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t stop there. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be a shame to miss out on album tracks.

I’m not an album buyer–I’m a single buyer, but I do buy album tracks, as singles. That’s why things are changing too. You don’t have to buy only the songs available on the physical singles. You can buy whatever you want.

And I definitely don’t see singles as only promotion for the album. They are a form of promotion, yes, but they are an industry all by themselves. Just this week proves that. Yes, albums can make more revenue in one purchase than a single can (10x is simplistic–albums go on sale; singles never do). But you can put out far more singles than albums for much cheaper (no printing cost, no shipping cost, only Apple takes a first cut). And you can sell album tracks as well. They may not count for a whole lot, but they still count.

Albums will continue to be made–labels aren’t going to drop them all of a sudden. But a successful artist can make money for their label by selling a moderate amount of albums and a heck of a lot of singles. They can make just as much money as an artist that sells a lot of albums and very few singles. Singles artists like Rihanna still sell albums (she’s double platinum by now; she just got their slower than artists who sell differently). And labels are already developing new business models to adapt to the way people consume music now. The labels that don’t adapt are the ones that will be in trouble. Albums and singles aren’t the only way to make a money, much less albums alone.

Yahoo’s weekly sales blog is up:

10. David Cook, David Cook, 101,000. The album returns to the top 10 after slipping to #13 last week. This is the album’s fifth week in the top 10. It’s also the fifth time in six weeks that the album’s weekly sales have exceeded 100,000 copies. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by “Light On” at #42.

Two albums fall out of the top 10 this week to make room for the rebounding West and Cook collections. AC/DC’s Black Ice dips from #9 to #11. Fall Out Boy’s Folie A Deux drops from #8 to #18. Fall Out Boy’s name, alas, is apt this week.

I love that list of accomplishments. And ouch on Fall Out Boy.

Nielsen Soundscan just released a very comprehensive 2008 top ten list. DC made the top 10 on 2 of the lists. Color me impressed again. Awesome.

TOP TEN SELLING ALBUMS DURING 2008 HOLIDAY SEASON
7 David Cook/ David Cook 811,000
2008 TOP TEN INTERNET ALBUMS (12/31/2007-12/28/2008)
10. David Cook/ David Cook 55,000

2008 TOP TEN SELLING DIGITAL SONG
9 No Air/ Jordin Sparks Duet 2,612,000
2008 TOP TEN SELLING DIGITAL
10. Jordin Sparks 4,918,000
Nielsen BDS: Top 10 Most Played
6 No Air/ Jordin Sparks Duet 365,000
Nielsen BDS: Top 10 Music Video Internet Streams
8 No Air/ Jordin Sparks Duet 4,348,000

TOP TEN SELLING DIGITAL ALBUMS OF SOUNDSCAN ERA (7/4/2004-12/28/2008)
4 Daughtry/ Daughtry 346,000

2008 Year End Factoids:
– Music purchases in 2008 reached 1.5 Billion, marking the fourth consecutive year music sales have exceeded 1 billion; 1.4 billion (2007) vs. 1.2 billion (2006) vs. 1 billion (2005).
– Music sales exceeded 65 million in the final week of 2008, representing the biggest sales week in the history of Nielsen SoundScan. The previous record was Christmas week 2007 with 58.4 million music purchases.
– Overall Album sales (including Albums and Track Equivalent Album sales) declined 8.5% compared to 2007.
– Total Album sales declined 14% compared to 2007.

Holiday Season Factoids: (last 6 weeks of year).
– Overall Album sales during the 2008 holiday season were down 19% compared to 2007, with sales of just over 80 million.
– Album sales during the holiday season accounted for 19% of all album sales for the year.
– Digital Album sales during the holiday season experienced significant growth over 2007 with an increase of 37% to 9.9 million sales.

Marketwatch

Is an album not the necessary ground for the single ?

I always thought they go in the studio and record 20, 30 or even 50 tracks and decide which go on an album. And than they decide which will be the first single or maybe even the other singles in the future.

I’m an absolute album buyer. I find singles to be so much less. I remember my sister’s singles. The ones she didn’t give a sh*t about after she bought them I remember them as poker chips. She doesn’t remember them much at all. Yeah, I’m old but I remember those singles as currency much more than music and talking to her, as much more than she ever cares to remember them. So to think that music has gone the single route again doesn’t make me happy. I’m sure it will make some happy if the single has done for them what they expect, but ultimately, it can’t bode well.

I love being able to buy singles on itunes. I pick and choose from lots of artists. But if someone has 2-3 songs I like, I buy the cd.

I remember buying cds before and being disappointed if only a few songs were good. I love the new opportunities to spend 99 cents for songs. I went back in time and bought lots of old songs I hadn’t heard in years. Every time I think of a song I used to like, I go look for it. I remember when I was young, and had piles of 45′s (as well as albums). I used to stack them and listen for hours. There were some Beatles B sides that weren’t on their albums, as I recall.

But a good concept cd can’t be beat. Like Sgt Pepper, or David Cook.

p.s. I am thrilled that DC made those lists. He’s doing so well.

I’m an album buyer, also. If I like a single enough to buy it…I’ll buy the album because usually the best stuff is never released as a single.

As an aside…I used to have many more albums, back in the days of vinyl. Back in the 70s, when I was around 17-18 my little brother and sister used several of my albums as frisbees in the back yard. They ended up in the creek. I’ve never forgiven them to this day. haha!

Singles are the soundtrack of my life. Hearing certain singles immediately evokes memories of good times and bad. To this day, new singles will be associated with times, places and people. I would be more specific with names and details but that would just give you an idea of how ancient I am.

So to think that music has gone the single route again doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make me happy. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure it will make some happy if the single has done for them what they expect, but ultimately, it canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t bode well.

Yet singles are what most artists are remembered by, even the ones that sold a lot of albums. The Beatles are definitely remembered by their singles. They don’t appear in the top 10 biggest-selling albums list, but they do appear in the top 10 biggest selling singles list. When you think of The Beatles, don’t you think of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” or “Yesterday”? When you think Elvis, you think “Love Me Tender” or “Jailhouse Rock”? When you think of The Rolling Stones, don’t you think of “Satisfaction” or “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”? Artists, no matter how long their careers or how many albums they ultimately sold (or didn’t sell) are remembered by their songs. The soundtrack of people’s lives. Singles are important; they’re not just album-selling tools–they’re the life of popular music. They’re what defines each decade. Forget about what sells more and how much profit an artist can make doing this or that–an artist needs a song that the public can grasp onto. They can sell three million albums, but if they don’t have that song, they won’t be remembered.

DCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s numbers blow me away. If you go by the lowest album price $10, times 813,000= 8,130,000. Holy Crap! Who getà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all that money?

Probably not the artist. Recoupment sucks.

Here is an article from Rolling Stone on the breakdown:

This breakdown of the cost of a typical major-label release by the independent market-research firm Almighty Institute of Music Retail shows where the money goes for a new album with a list price of $15.99.

$0.17 Musicians’ unions
$0.80 Packaging/manufacturing
$0.82 Publishing royalties
$0.80 Retail profit
$0.90 Distribution
$1.60 Artists’ royalties
$1.70 Label profit
$2.40 Marketing/promotion
$2.91 Label overhead
$3.89 Retail overhead

The artist needs to pay back their advance (used to pay for producing the album and to pay producers flat rates) and their share of the promo cost (including videos….for a bench mark, Blake said his cheap-a$$ video cost $200K to make and he was on the hook for 50% of that). For each unit sold, the artist typically also has to give a cut to the producer (hopefully, their lawyer gets that amount paid by the label and tacked onto the recoupment charges otherwise the artist may have to start paying the producer for every unit sold before the artist starts getting paid) and to his various managers (some rumours have 19M taking 50%).

BTW, Artist Royalty for albums sold on iTunes is typically $1.40.

And the problem with concluding that single sales will crowd out album sales is that you have to sell ten times as many singles to earn the same amount. So if the standard for a successful album is platinum, an artist (and a record company) has to sell ten times platinum to equal that success with a single. Or get ten singles to go platinum. Otherwise, well, I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine record companies will be happy with 1/10th the profits.

The buying public doesn’t give a darn about what the record companies want. I’m pretty sure nobody sits at their computer thinking, “Boy, I better not buy this iTunes download. I better get off my butt and go down to Circuit City and buy the CD or Clive Davis won’t be able to gold plate his office bathroom”. So, unless the record companies want to go the way of the Big 3 Auto companies, they better learn to adapt. The trends are the trends. Album sales are going down every year (and not by a small amount – 14% from 2007) while downloads are skyrocketting (up more than album sales are down – 27% IIRC from 2007).

The record companies either have to figure out how to make money selling singles or find a more creative way to convince people to buy albums. Whining about how the buying public isn’t buying your SUVs when gas prices are up or about how people won’t pay for business class airline tickets when the economy is in the dumps or that nobody wants to buy buggy whips now that those new fangled automobiles are in style never helped any industry. Adapt or get out. At least iTunes found a way to get people to pay for the stupid songs. If it hadn’t been for iTunes, just imagine how much money the labels would be bleeding now.

I will say one thing for singles: a hit single pretty much moves a million units these days. Even back in the day, not that many albums hit 1 million. So, that’s a start.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m pretty sure nobody sits at their computer thinking, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Boy, I better not buy this iTunes download. I better get off my butt and go down to Circuit City and buy the CD or Clive Davis wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be able to gold plate his office bathroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

ROFTLMAO! :lol_tb:

Thank you Kirsten! I thought you had posted it before!

Even after all of the expenditure’s it look’s like the boy’s will have a nice chunk of change left over. For Cook who barely had two dimes to rub together last year & Archie who just turned 18, what a way to come back/enter legal age with some bucks.

Is this the breakdown through a whole contract or can they get better deals on a next album? Just wondering the norm.

At least iTunes found a way to get people to pay for the stupid songs. If it hadnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t been for iTunes, just imagine how much money the labels would be bleeding now.

Kirsten,

Your whole post is well said. I know the artists don’t make much on a single, but I am SO grateful that itunes came along. I really believe in being honest and buying music instead of stealing it, and when my oldest son was a teenager, 6,7,8 years ago, I talked until I was blue in the face trying to get him to understand that he was stealing music when he didn’t buy it, but how in the world could a kid afford to buy every album of every song he liked? It was an impossible situation.

Luckily, my son has turned out to be a fantastic and honest person, but of course, itunes and similar services make it easier. My younger (young adults) do still buy albums, but only if they REALLY like the artist or if it is a soundtrack to a movie or musical that they love. Otherwise they buy singles and makes mixes. Better by far to sell tons of singles than nothing. . . . and those singles do add up. As people have said, once an artist puts out several hit singles from the same album, there is incentive for them to buy the whole thing. It seems to have worked well for Jordan.

When you think of The Beatles, don’t you think of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” or “Yesterday”? When you think Elvis, you think “Love Me Tender” or “Jailhouse Rock”? When you think of The Rolling Stones, don’t you think of “Satisfaction” or “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”?

NOPE.

I buy albums, rarely love the hit singles the best. The soundtrack of MY life is filled with some singles, but often with the deep cuts from the albums that I LOVE. Or the entire album, which I can listen to from end to end. Those songs you named are not my favorites from the artists that you named.

I’m a huge Beatles fan. HUGE. Don’t really like like “Yesterday” at all, and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is just meh.

Now, talk about some deep cuts from Revolver or Rubber Soul? Those are my precious Beatles tunes. I think the Beatles will be remembered more for Sgt Pepper–a revolutionary album that influenced everything that came after it–than for any single they produced, no matter how high it charted on Billboard.

I think the Beatles will be remembered more for Sgt Pepperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’a revolutionary album that influenced everything that came after ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’than for any single they produced, no matter how high it charted on Billboard.

I agree with this. I remember wanting to play with the album since it was so colorful and weird and fun but my aunt forbade me to be near it. A few moons later, I listened to it and was mesmerized. Now, I realized why she didn’t want to have any possibility of me breaking it. Even when I’ve listened to most of their catalog, the Beatles for me will always be Sgt. Peppers.

IMO, it’s nowhere near as iconic as SPLHCB but Michael Jackson’s Thriller album seems to evoke a similar response from those who grew up with it.

I too buy the album. If I bought just singles I would have missed some extraordinary music. Take “The Power of Gold” if I had bought just the single & not the album I would have missed the awesome experience of “Twin Sons of Different Mothers”. I could go on, but I have dated myself enough for tonight, lol.

I buy albums, rarely love the hit singles the best. The soundtrack of MY life is filled with some singles, but often with the deep cuts from the albums that I LOVE. Or the entire album, which I can listen to from end to end. Those songs you named are not my favorites from the artists that you named.

Obviously, I’m talking in general, as in the general public “you” not the specific you. There’s no way I could randomly hit on your favorite songs when I was attempting to make examples. There’s a reason why there are greatest hits albums, and why soundtracks like the one for Forest Gump sold so well. And why NOW flies off the shelf, and why Time Life keeps putting out those decades compilations. Yeah, they’re albums–full of hit singles.

I think the Beatles will be remembered more for Sgt Pepperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’a revolutionary album that influenced everything that came after ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’than for any single they produced, no matter how high it charted on Billboard.

By fans of The Beatles, I would assume. But it would be interesting to poll the Janes and Joes on the street and ask them what they think about when they think about The Beatles. Besides, my point wasn’t that albums weren’t important, just that singles are also important–a counterpoint to what I was responding to.

I am an average Jane, when I think of the Beatles (and do not laugh at this) what comes immediately to mind is “She Came in Through The Bathroom Window”. I. Love. That. Song. That. Is. All.

Next without a doubt would be Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. Again. Love. The. Song.

As for the financial aspect, how would the Idols who release singles and albums on their own do?

I have to put in a word for The White Album. I hold the album dear and still listen for hidden messages in Revolution no. 9.

I buy singles once and awhile, but I’m all for the deep cuts too. I just purchased and downloaded 5 cds today because I loved more than half the cd on each. Ironically, Taylor Swift is the one single I purchased today but the entire cd is not my cuppa. She’s Avril Lavigne country lite. On the flip side, I couldn’t stop myself from purchasing the entire cd of Lee Ann Womack’s latest Call Me Crazy and I’m glad I purchased more than her lead off single and listened to the entire melancholy “Solitary Thinking”. Good stuff.

But it would be interesting to poll the Janes and Joes on the street and ask them what they think about when they think about The Beatles.

Perhaps so, but your average Jane and Joe aren’t the people who are going to write pop culture history. Those dreaded critics are. “Yesterday” may live on if people keep covering it, but in a hundred years, the Beatles will be known more for “A Day in the Life” than “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” imo.

I buy albums, rarely love the hit singles the best. The soundtrack of MY life is filled with some singles, but often with the deep cuts from the albums that I LOVE. Or the entire album, which I can listen to from end to end. Those songs you named are not my favorites from the artists that you named.

Mostly lurk but wished to respond to this.

But this is what YOU love. This is just my opinion but it really looks like the general public seems to remember singles versus albums. If someone asked me do I remember what album P!nk’s song “Who Knew” was from, I couldn’t tell you. I could however tell you where the rock band The Killers songs are from just because i LOVE that band. My point is unless that listener happens to love that band/singer, then they couldn’t tell you what album it’s from.

I wasn’t around when the Beatles were a smash but my parents were and they definitely COULD NOT tell you what albums their songs “Yesterday,” “Michelle,” etc. They really liked (not loved) the Beatles’ songs so they couldn’t remember where their albums came from.

Trend right now is singles. It’s going to be for awhile and labels need to adjust. With singles so easily accessible for purchase on the internet, it’ll stay this way. The young audience will continue to purchase singles and as they get older, they’ll likely do the same unless there is more benefit to purchasing the album. Or, illegal P2P sharing it really put to a stop (which I don’t think will happen anytime soon).

Perhaps so, but your average Jane and Joe arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the people who are going to write pop culture history. Those dreaded critics are. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Yesterdayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  may live on if people keep covering it, but in a hundred years, the Beatles will be known more for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Day in the Lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Want to Hold Your Hand,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  imo.

And that’s fine–you could be right. You are talking about songs, here, though, which was my point. Artists will be remembered by different people for different songs since we’re not all the same.

This is the first year where more singles were bought than albums. The trend is clearly moving in a certain direction. And it’s not as if individual songs haven’t been a major part of music culture over the past 60 or 70 years, but the way it’s playing out now because of technology is that people can do what they couldn’t before–make their own albums from all the songs (be it singles or deep cuts) that they enjoy the most. That is why the industry is changing. Not that you can’t be somebody who enjoys the album more, or that albums aren’t important, but the thought that singles or individual songs are not as important is what I was responding to. I think the individual song is as important as the album nowadays.

But this is what YOU love.

Yep, and if you’ll re-read my post, I was answering a very specific question. YMMV as always.

Singles are definitely the trend right now, and the labels will have to adjust for sure. But I’m not ready to hold a funeral for the album…just yet. Hopefully, with whatever changes the industry goes through, there’s still room for artists to create that collection of songs, that when it’s great, is bigger than the sum of it’s whole. It’s better art, imo.

To me, some of the greatest achievements in pop music have been made through the album. Again, YMMV.

What is Revolver or Rubber Soul? Are they Beatles Albums? I ask because you mentioned in your post the Beatles.

What is Revolver or Rubber Soul? Are they Beatles Albums? I ask because you mentioned in your post the Beatles.

Yes, they are Beatles albums.

OK I will check them out and see which singles are on them.

Thanks

Don’t feel bad ercheers, I had to google those titles to see what they were and I am old enough to remember the beatles of the 60′s and 70′s. I’ve just always been a top 40 singles kind of music fan, as I believe most people are judging by the lack of radio stations that play full albums (some radio stations used to do that in the “old days”) and by sales trends.

Singles shmingles. Albums palbums. Labels don’t care how artists are remembered. LOL. Labels want to make money. They will figure out a way to make a profit no matter what. Or they will go out of business. But you all already knew that.

Anyway, both are important these days IMO, and neither are going away any time soon. Less overall albums sold does not mean NO albums are being sold, just that music buying patterns are different and labels need to figure out which albums will sell big and which won’t. They will adjust accordingly. Same deal with singles. The question for labels now is: since we know more artists are going to end up primarily single movers, how do we make money off of that? And how do we predict which ones that will be? All goes back to the different artists will be marketed/sold differently going forward. An all will be based on a business model that will allow them to make their labels money.

That said, I’m not even supposed to be on here! LOL! Peeps are looking for me as we speak. That’s what I get for indulging my idol obsession.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

I don’t feel bad.

If you don’t ask you never learn. I buy a lot of singles and I love some of the Beatles stuff and want to check them out. Retro music I love it.

Top 40 I download by the singles. I don’t like to waste my money on tunes I don’t care for so I just buy what I like.

My mom buys some album’s.

Thanks for the help.

Well, I mostly buy cds…..but I think younger people probably buy more singles than cds. (im not old only 40 lol) I did buy Cooks single..and I bought archies single crush…….but I also bought both of their cd’s (which are awesome btw)

I also just want to say for what its worth..i heard ALTNOY on the radio today…its not monitored on yes, but they play new music on this one top 40 station at noon…and low and behold..there was are own little archie…sounded good on the radio too.

Speaking of the “old days”, it made me think of those Time Life infomercials on “oldies”. On many of the songs they feature to get you to buy the collection, I’m always surprised that I can remember lyrics to complete songs. Often, I don’t even know who sang it, lol. When they show a clip of the musician singing the “hit” song, often I realize I don’t even know the artist…but I DO know the song. I guess I’m saying that some artist’s are immortalized by their “one hit wonder” if you will. Therefore, I think a hit single is pretty important. On the other hand, one huge hit will not make a career nor one huge hit album for that matter. I think in both of the David’s case, they are yet too new to know their future. I find myself thinking, oh no, DC will never sell a great single from his album and not last and not get to make another album. Further, I find myself thinking, oh no, DA will never have great album sales and just become one of those one hit wonders. We fans probably over-project success and/or failure in our minds. In the end, I really thnk it’s just tooooo early to tell regarding “The Davids” (I love that btw, “The Davids”, lol). I will say, it entertains me to the enth degree to follow their individual careers!

ETA (Guess who has nothing going on for New Year’s Eve………..me!), lol

Happy New Year MJ’ers!

Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a reason why there are greatest hits albums, and why soundtracks like the one for Forest Gump sold so well. And why NOW flies off the shelf, and why Time Life keeps putting out those decades compilations. Yeah, theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re albumsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’full of hit singles.

I watched an interesting documentary about the history of K-Tel the other day. K-Tel started off the “Greatest Hits From Lots of Artists or One Old Has-Been Artist” trend. The record companies had a love-hate relationship with them because they made money off those things and it was a great way to introduce your artists to new people (but the sales of those things ate into the sales of the original records themselves). Somebody might buy the album for Elton’s latest hit and fall in love with some other new artist. Plus, you could buy them in a hardware store (they would actually advertise that an album was available in a store that didn’t sell it so that the store would be badgered into stocking it by costumers. Kind of like early Idol fans). Anyway, an interesting thing about them is that K-Tel super cheaped out on the costs by using totally sub-standard vinyl. The stuff was crap and the albums wouldn’t last all that long. Nobody cared because the average schmoe just wanted to listen to songs. iTunes is kind of the same thing. The quality of the iTunes downloads are pretty low. But, people, they don’t care. They’ll listen songs on crappy tape drives if it’s convenient (and fly on airlines with sub-standard safety standards too!).

My point? The average person is not an audiophile and greatest hits are here to stay (in the form of NOW or iTunes). People like popcorn whether it is in the form of music, splashy non-sensical blockbuster movies (how often is the biggest selling movie of the year also the critical success of the year…excusing Pixar films). And (shakes her head at humanity) why CSI Miami (yes, the show with the guy with the sunglasses and the idiotic plots) is the most watched television show in the world (or it was last time I checked). Most people are generalists on most things. Few can afford or have the time to be a connoisseur of everything.;

BTW K-Tel went broke because they diversified into real estate at the same time the record labels decided to do those NOW like things themselves (they got pissed that K-Tel would have the Has-Beens re-record their greatest hits so that they would own the masters and the original record company got nothing).

Perhaps so, but your average Jane and Joe arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the people who are going to write pop culture history.

Yes they are. It’s pop culture. People will remember the Macarena and the Chicken Dance a lot longer than they will remember whatever quality dance was on SYTYCD. Same with movies. When was the last time you thought about “On Golden Pond”? It won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1982. I think Raiders of the Lost Arc had a bigger impression on Pop Culture. Star Wars. Jaws. People remember those movies. Every day people on the streets. I Dream of Jeanie. The Flintstones. The Brady Bunch. None of them high quality television. All remembered by most (even if you didn’t like them).

Those dreaded critics are.

I disagree. The dreaded critics can make all the lists they want. Pop culture will flow the way it likes.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Yesterdayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  may live on if people keep covering it, but in a hundred years, the Beatles will be known more for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Day in the Lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Want to Hold Your Hand,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  imo.

I think you underestimate “Yesterday” (LOL). “I Want to Hold Your Hand” will probably be on the slag heap of history, but I think that “A Day in the Life” is already unknown to many. That may be unfortunate, but there is no saying that be best quality is always what wins out. Unfortunately, none of us will probably live long enough to know which Beattle songs live on.

Awww DC got his magic platinum rainbow plaque on the Fox NYE show! Love that they gave him that moment!

If you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t ask you never learn. I buy a lot of singles and I love some of the Beatles stuff and want to check them out. Retro music I love it.

Of course, there’s no reason for you to feel bad at all.

Rubber Soul and Revolver are both great albums, definitely worth checking out.

I think you underestimate à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Yesterdayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (LOL).

No, actually I don’t. It’s a dreadful song (imo), but people keep covering it. It probably will live on, unfortunately.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Want to Hold Your Handà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  will probably be on the slag heap of history, but I think that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Day in the Lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is already unknown to many. That may be unfortunate, but there is no saying that be best quality is always what wins out. Unfortunately, none of us will probably live long enough to know which Beattle songs live on.

And the opposite is true. What’s the story of Mozart? His rival, Salieri, was more popular than he was back in the day. Does anybody remember him now? Only because somebody made a movie about it. Mozart lives on. And I’m betting music historians had at least a hand in that.

I can pull a random chart from the past, and there are songs that landed in the Top 10 that, ended up on Greatest Hits albums, that people loved at the time, that nobody cares about now.

I’m just not willing to contend that what is most most popular by the masses will equal what will last. There are too many examples of works of art that weren’t popular at the time, but wound up lasting anyway.

And I do think written history plays a hand in what gets remembered in the future.

When was the last time you thought about “On Golden Pond”

That was a terrible movie, so no I never think about it. LOL. Raiders of the Lost Arc, Star Wars, Jaws, are all in their own way, better movies. They are well crafted popcorn movies. The critics loved them.

No, actually I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a dreadful song (imo), but people keep covering it. It probably will live on, unfortunately.

I wasn’t talking about the quality of the song. It just seems to connect with a lot of people. I think that’s why it gets covered so many times. And I think that all those covers will help it to live on. That’s why I think it might be around in 100 years. Again, quality doesn’t always equal longevity (although, I will admit, I do like the song. It’s such a beautifully simplistic song to play on the guitar).

Whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the story of Mozart? His rival, Salieri, was more popular than he was back in the day. Does anybody remember him now? Only because somebody made a movie about it. Mozart lives on. And Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m betting music historians had at least a hand in that.

Mozart was loved by the people. That’s why he is remembered today. He wrote songs that spoke to people. Lots of people have written grand music that just didn’t connect with people and stays forgotten (although they may have been popular at the time). I seem to recall that Salieri wrote very good music and was actually one of the established stars of the court when Mozart showed up with his populist music. I don’t think that Salieri was the musical equivalent of Milli Vanilli of his days. I think the man had talent and is experiencing a bit of a revival.

History is littered with visionaries that were not popular with critics of the day (and maybe not even today), but became popular afterwards. And one only has to visit the great museums of the world to see many “famous” artists that average person has never heard about. For every Monet with his prints for sale in every Walmart, there are tonnes of other artists that were perhaps better that the average joe couldn’t pick out of line-up.

It would be interesting to see which Beatles songs live on. I’m always stunned at artists that were critically acclaimed who fade into obscurity. Madonna survived, but Cyndi Lauper did not. Why? It wasn’t the quality of Madonna’s writing and singing ability. She can do neither.

It would be interesting to see which Beatles songs live on. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m always stunned at artists that were critically acclaimed who fade into obscurity. Madonna survived, but Cyndi Lauper did not. Why? It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the quality of Madonnaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s writing and singing ability. She can do neither.

It will be really difficult to discuss music history in the future in a meaningful way without acknowledging Sgt. Pepper, imo. But there are Beatles songs, like “Yesterday” that will last because people like them.

Madonna survives because she keeps re-inventing herself. She’s a pretty savvy marketer, imo.

But who knows, in a hundred years, maybe there will be a Cyndi Lauper revival! LOL. It is hard to predict now.

On the subject of quality. I’ve never understood the Grammy’s. They seem so random. “My Humps” won a Grammy. Eh?

I can understand why most movies get nominated. I can see that a perfomance is well done, that the cinematography is amazing and that the editors have done a great job. I may not always agree with who actually wins (and some clunkers have won), but I can generally see where they are going with the awards.

I don’t quite understand the criteria for Grammy’s. What makes one song win and another not? It’s not on pure singing ability (because, let’s face it, some great singers don’t have the purest voices and autotune takes care of the missed notes). It can’t be the lyrics or “My Humps” (and lots of treacle) wouldn’t have won a thing. It’s certainly not on complexity of music because most pop/rock music follows the same simple chord progressions. It’s fun to watch the Grammy’s and I can do a decent job of predicting the winners, but I’m not sure the best song always wins. Music just seems too personal for that. Some songs are clearly just stupid (e.g. “My Humps”), but I think that a lot of songs could have won (and I think commercial success and rewarding long careers plays too much a part in who does win).

It will be really difficult to discuss music history in the future in a meaningful way without acknowledging Sgt. Pepper, imo. But there are Beatles songs, like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Yesterdayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  that will last because people like them

I don’t actually think we are really disagreeing. I think that Sgt. Pepper will live on. It will certainly be remembered by students of pop music history. But, there will be a lot of things that live on just because they do. Because they seem to hit some kind of nerve. They may not be the best of their era, but they survive or are reborn for almost random reasons.

Some things will always live on to people who are serious on the subject. Some will live on to the general populous for whatever reason. Some will do both. And interestingly, I can’t think of too many hit songs from 1908, so sometimes, not much survives at all.

“Take me out to the ballgame. Take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. I don’t care if I never get back…” But do you know the verses?

The first time I heard à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Viva La Vidaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was on a commercial for it during the Season 7 Finale. I remember thinking WOW this song is AWESOME!! The second time I heard it was in the car on my way home from one of the Idol Tour shows. It was playing on the radio and once again I was blown away at how wonderful it was. Soon afterwards, I bought the single off of iTunes. My sister happened to be in that car with me to hear me rave about the song. Hence, she surprised me with Coldplayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album for my birthday a couple of weeks later. Boy, was I excited to get it! However, when I listened to the CD, I was so disappointed! I did not like a single song on that album other than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Viva La Vida.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (YMMV) Ever since then, that CD has been sitting on a shelf gathering dust. I only listen to the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Viva La Vidaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  single that I downloaded.

The point of this long and drawn out story is that not all albums have multiple hits on them. I think that more and more people have come to realize this too. Why buy the whole album if youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going to listen to just one or two songs off of it? With the advent of iTunes and Amazon, it makes it very easy to cherry pick only the cream of the crop. Having said that, I would still purchase the entire album if I knew it consisted of several songs I really enjoy.

deleted

And interestingly, I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think of too many hit songs from 1908, so sometimes, not much survives at all.

That you even can think of one is interesting, no? “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” can survive for another hundred years as long as baseball survives, but how many songs from 2008 do you think anyone will remember in a hundred years? No one will want to sing a lot of the songs from the Top 100 from 2008 in ten years time, let alone fifty or a hundred years time.

Just out of curiosity, I took a listen to many of the songs from 1908. Many who are interested in music will recognise some of the songs (“Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, “The Glow-worm”, as well as the operatic arias and marching tunes), a lot of the others sounded very dated, some will only work nowadays only as quasi-folk, just a few can possibly be updated for modern ears. I don’t think, however, that we recognise fewer songs is simply because of the time past, rather it’s because the changes in recording technology (sound quality were quite poor then, they are simply not very listenable nowadays), and it was before the advent of sound in films when we become familiarised with a lot of the older tunes simply by watching old movies.

Popular music of course underwent a profound change in the next few decades which shaped the musical tastes of listeners right up to the present days. Looking at the chart of 1938 I can see that there are many more recognisable songs, some of them may be found in my mp3 player (e.g. Fats Waller’s “Two Sleepy People”, Artie Shaw’s “Begin The Beguine”). By the time we get to 1958 I can probably recognise more songs from that year than from 2008. That is however just a reflection of my lack in interest in newer music – I just think most of them are terrible .

On the issue of album – there isn’t much point in buying an album unless there are many good songs in there (and most albums have only a few good ones, if we lucky to get more than one that is), or if it is a concept album. If I like a singer/band/performer/etc. a lot I’d be willing to put up with many mediocre songs from their albums, otherwise no way will I spend money on them.

When you own the album, you love songs that never made the radio. I shrug when I see those “#1 Beatles Hits” cds that come out periodically. They are never the best songs. My favorite Beatles songs were rarely radio hits. So it’s true you discover a lot more about an artist with the whole cd.

Except – that many times, with other artists, they might have only 1 or 2 songs on the cd that I like, so I don’t want to waste my money buying 10 songs that do nothing for me.

It’s a gift to consumers to be able to choose between songs and cds, and it forces the labels to come up with better cds that are worth the money, or find a way to make singles work for them. As a consumer, I’m going to enjoy music the way that works for me.

When I trust and like an artist’s work, I will always buy their cds, knowing I’ll like most of the songs. But there are a lot of one-hit wonders.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who never liked Yesterday. Too syrupy.

Some of my favorite Beatles songs–
No Reply
Any Time at All
Things We Said Today
I’m So Tired
I’ll Follow the Sun
Hold Me Tight
I Call Your Name
Not a Second Time
All I Got to Do
Thank You Girl
You Can’t Do That
It’s Only Love
I’ve Just Seen a Face
Norwegian Wood
In My Life
Girl
Across the Universe
Baby You’re a Rich Man
I’m Only Sleeping
A Day in the Life

And so many more. Sigh.