{"id":125,"date":"2005-08-23T22:11:56","date_gmt":"2005-08-24T05:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/2005\/08\/23\/cdstickets\/"},"modified":"2005-08-23T22:20:49","modified_gmt":"2005-08-24T05:20:49","slug":"cdstickets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2005\/08\/23\/cdstickets\/","title":{"rendered":"CDs\/Tickets"},"content":{"rendered":"

CD Sales From Hits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Hilary Duff "Most Wanted"<\/strong>
Hollywood<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 200,477
Debut<\/p>\n

Don’t they usually release this shit just before Thanksgiving?\u00c2\u00a0 When moms no
longer in touch with their developing daughters buy something they USED to be
into as an Xmas gift?<\/p>\n

This is how far we’ve come.\u00c2\u00a0 When a useless cash-in remix album causes barely
a ripple of backlash.\u00c2\u00a0 The public knows the labels are whores who will do
anything for a buck.<\/p>\n

Then again, got to give Hollywood props.\u00c2\u00a0 Two years from now this stuff will
be worth nothing.\u00c2\u00a0 One year?\u00c2\u00a0 I just hope they made a deal with Target and
other retailers to sell this album at the cash register, so those picking up
school supplies can buy it on impulse.<\/p>\n

Hilary Duff sells records because she’s an icon.\u00c2\u00a0 On TV, in movies, the
records are souvenirs of her celebrity.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the business today.\u00c2\u00a0 The CD is the
t-shirt.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean how many times could you listen to this crap?<\/p>\n

Then again, I’d probably prefer this to the hip stuff.\u00c2\u00a0 At least there are
melodies and changes in teen pop.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas the stuff all the insiders rave about
you need a manual to understand.\u00c2\u00a0 Where it’s coming from is more important
than palatability.\u00c2\u00a0 THAT’S how screwed up this business is.<\/p>\n

3. Mariah Carey "The Emancipation Of Mimi"<\/strong>
Island\/IDJMG<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 108,919
Percentage change: +8%<\/p>\n

I was hoping to be emancipated from Mariah.\u00c2\u00a0 Referring to herself by her
alter ego…isn’t that guys like naming their dicks?\u00c2\u00a0 Shouldn’t we take her just
about as seriously as we do THOSE pricks?<\/p>\n

Mariah Carey is an uneducated twit with a good voice.\u00c2\u00a0 USED to be the most
important thing was how well you wrote, the song was king.\u00c2\u00a0 But, Tommy Mottola
overhyped this idiot and changed the business.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a triumvirate.\u00c2\u00a0 Clive,
Charles Koppelman and Tommy, with his lieutenant Donnie Ienner.\u00c2\u00a0 They changed
the business of one from career BANDS to talent-less icons sold via expensive
marketing campaigns.\u00c2\u00a0 Singing the songs of writers plumbing the depths of
mainstream bathos.<\/p>\n

It’s a celebrity culture.\u00c2\u00a0 Mariah’s moves are followed.\u00c2\u00a0 She gets to talk.\u00c2\u00a0
Used to be our music stars were thinkers, now they’re hangers, wearing the
clothes of fashion designers.\u00c2\u00a0 Doubt me?\u00c2\u00a0 Tune in to Sunday night’s VMAs, I
GUARANTEE you the outfits will upstage the music.<\/p>\n

Levy was right to pay her to go.\u00c2\u00a0 Because he didn’t have anybody on his team
who could bring her back.\u00c2\u00a0 It takes a man of talent and vision like L.A. Reid.
\u00c2\u00a0Then again, we now applaud people for making TRIPE successful?\u00c2\u00a0 John Hammond
brings us Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.\u00c2\u00a0 L.A. Reid oversees the comeback
of Mariah Carey?\u00c2\u00a0 Used to be scouts like Mr. Hammond were revered.\u00c2\u00a0 Now they’re
seen as jokes.<\/p>\n

6. The Black-Eyed Peas "Monkey Business"<\/strong>
A&M\/Interscope<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 82,350
Percentage change: +13%<\/p>\n

How successful would this act be if Fergie hadn’t been added to the mix?\u00c2\u00a0
They’re selling sex appeal.<\/p>\n

8. Faith Hill "Fireflies"<\/strong>
Warner Brothers<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 72,712
Percentage change: -38%<\/p>\n

Country will never forgive her for going mainstream, abandoning them.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure,
Shania did it first, but did anybody REALLY believe Shania was country?\u00c2\u00a0 (Then
again, Shania should have stayed country too…who wanted all those other
mixes of her last album?)\u00c2\u00a0 Talk to the jam bands.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll tell you it’s all
about playing to the core.\u00c2\u00a0 Talk to John Paluska.\u00c2\u00a0 if they hassled Phish’s fans at
a building, he wouldn’t go back.\u00c2\u00a0 The fans and the band were in it TOGETHER!\u00c2\u00a0
Now the band is in it with the bank.<\/p>\n

Didn’t Faith have ENOUGH success?\u00c2\u00a0 Did she REALLY have to cross over?<\/p>\n

Based on this decline, based on the first week sales, country’s not letting
her back in.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s no longer queen.<\/p>\n

11.\u00c2\u00a0 Coldplay "X&Y"<\/strong>
Capitol<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 59,821
Percentage change: +1%<\/p>\n

"What if there was no lie
Nothing wrong, nothing right
What if there was no time
And no reason or rhyme
What if you should decide, that you don’t want me there by your side.
That you don’t want me there in your life"<\/p>\n

Oh, "What If" ALMOST sounds like a Supertramp song, from before they went
mainstream with "Breakfast In America", when they were hip and great.\u00c2\u00a0 But
Supertramp wouldn’t have written lyrics so trite and unimpressive.<\/p>\n

Then there’s "Talk", which is a DIRECT rip-off of Kraftwerk’s "Computer
Love", just worse.\u00c2\u00a0 They literally lift the riff.<\/p>\n

I don’t mind that you enjoy this stuff.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t mind that it goes well with
your glass of wine and the house you’ve finally bought with your professional
job money.\u00c2\u00a0 But just because it fits in well with your thirtysomething
lifestyle, don’t tell me it’s GOOD!<\/p>\n

Is this how far we’ve come?\u00c2\u00a0 Where second-rate music is exalted and seen as
the savior of our business?<\/p>\n

Do they have some interesting hooks, and occasionally memorable lyrics?\u00c2\u00a0 Of
course, but the previous album was MUCH better.\u00c2\u00a0 And any random Roxy Music
album that sold a fraction of "X&Y" is far superior.\u00c2\u00a0 Really, if you think this is
good, listen to "Avalon".<\/p>\n

The fact that something’s not offensive.\u00c2\u00a0 That it’s not hip-hop.\u00c2\u00a0 That it’s
moody and sets your mind free.\u00c2\u00a0 Does THIS mean it’s fantastic?<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

14.\u00c2\u00a0 Green Day "American Idiot"<\/strong>
Reprise<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 52,875
Percentage change: +33%<\/p>\n

The way it used to be.\u00c2\u00a0 Make the very best album you can.\u00c2\u00a0 Make speaking from
your heart more important than worrying about the marketplace.\u00c2\u00a0 And, find out
that what resonates with you, who you are, what you’re saying, resonates with
the public at large, since we’re all human.\u00c2\u00a0 People feel that Billie Joe is
on their wavelength.\u00c2\u00a0 I have no idea what wavelength Mariah Carey is on.<\/p>\n

Then, when your album catches fire, don’t do endless publicity.\u00c2\u00a0 Focus on
your fans.\u00c2\u00a0 Touring.\u00c2\u00a0 For a reasonable price.\u00c2\u00a0 So they don’t feel ripped off, but
entertained and fulfilled, and want to come back.<\/p>\n

And then the album sells and sells and sells.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only in year one, but
probably forever.<\/p>\n

24. Jack Johnson "In Between Dreams"
<\/strong>Brushfire\/Universal<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 33,640
Percentage change: +3%<\/p>\n

See Green Day above.<\/p>\n

It’s not about flash, it’s about culture.\u00c2\u00a0 INTEGRATING with your audience.\u00c2\u00a0
Building trust.\u00c2\u00a0 Jack Johnson’s got a good backstory, he doesn’t play the
sell-out hype game.\u00c2\u00a0 His audience believes in him.<\/p>\n

31. Silverstein "Discovering The Waterfront"<\/strong>
Victory<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 29,335
Debut<\/p>\n

Now, all in unison, WHO THE FUCK IS SILVERSTEIN?<\/p>\n

That’s the Victory magic.\u00c2\u00a0 They focus on the fan.\u00c2\u00a0 Victory is cool, the kids
know, they’ll give ANYTHING on the label a chance.<\/p>\n

Let me share with you one of Tony Brummel’s endless forwards.\u00c2\u00a0 I hate to aid
him in his one man propaganda game, but it’s educational.<\/p>\n

\n

From: Mark Bubb <Mark@victoryrecords.com<\/a>>
To: PROMO STAFF <PROMOSTAFF@victoryrecords.com<\/a>>
Sent: Mon Aug 22 23:45:49 2005
Subject: Baltimore show Report 8\/22<\/p>\n

I’m lucky I still have all my fingers the way the BTBAM samplers were
being taken from me tonight.<\/p>\n

The venue sucked for what we do. It is directly down town with no parking, no stopping, no picking up, everywhere. I unfortunatly had to park a few blocks down the street. But what was funny about that is, Sony, who’s tour it is, and only dows the end of show work, ended up being moved and put farther away than my van. From that point it was an old fashioned contest of sidewalk skills.<\/p>\n

The arena closed all exits except forthe main two and filed everyone
out. I was there, Sony was there, and the randow bums selling fake shirts were there and being real pushy. They stepped in front of me, so in turn stood right in the doorway. Everyone looked right past them when they heard I had free Victory samplers. They relocated because they couldn’t compete. And now that I was right next to Sony, people were asking them for cd’s and they would hold out there stickers, and kids would just turn, and walk to me, or just leave. Like you said Tony, why are they even wasteing their time.<\/p>\n

I went through a ton in an extremely short time. Being we are on the
east coast, lamb of god, DH, unearth, as I lay dying shirts were pooring out the door and right up to me.<\/p>\n

I got out 850 BTBAM samplers out at the show, and made Sony look like crap. It was a good night.<\/p>\n

I’m in Baltimore all tommorow and NYC tommorow night.<\/p>\n

Bubb
VAT<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In an era where radio plays almost nothing, you’ve got to give it away.\u00c2\u00a0 To
get the story started.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t look at it as lost sales, look at it as a
marketing investment.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, would the kids want these promos if they weren’t Victory samplers?\u00c2\u00a0 Victory’s built a brand, you can believe in Victory.<\/p>\n

31. Nickel Creek "Why Should The Fire Die"<\/strong>
Sugar Hill<\/p>\n

Sales this week: 20,807
Percentage change: -40%<\/p>\n

This band is one hit single away from blowing up.<\/p>\n

Of course, there’s no place a single of theirs could BECOME a hit.<\/p>\n

In the seventies, a band would put out three or four albums, build up a fan
base, radio would play them all the while.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, developing their sound,
they’d come up with that one palatable track, that’s what bands do when they see
music as a career as opposed to stardom, they develop their craft, their art,
and this one track would get banged on FM and suddenly become UBIQUITOUS!\u00c2\u00a0 The concert dates would sell out.\u00c2\u00a0 The band would move up to bigger and bigger halls.\u00c2\u00a0 And now, thirty years later, they’d still be selling tickets.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Live business grosses from Celebrityaccess:<\/strong><\/p>\n

7\/30-31-Dave Matthews<\/strong>, et al, 2 sell-outs at Randall’s Island, 63,954, gross:
$3,555,314<\/p>\n

See Dave’s new album on the chart?<\/p>\n

Of course not, it sucks.\u00c2\u00a0 He should just return to his roots, hell even work
with Glen Ballard again, that would be better than THIS crap.\u00c2\u00a0 But, does Dave
CARE??\u00c2\u00a0 Used to be the tour was the ad for the record, now it’s the other way
around.\u00c2\u00a0 Dave got all the publicity for his new release, which did go
platinum, and this buzz drove people to buy tickets.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, Dave would do great anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 Because first and foremost he’s got FANS!<\/p>\n

\n

8\/12-13-Neil Diamond<\/strong>-2 sell-outs Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA, 33,693,
gross: $2,040,850<\/p>\n

Have you listened to "Cherry, Cherry" recently?\u00c2\u00a0 Download it and then play
ANYTHING from the Top 40, and THEN you’ll know why this dude still sells out
today.<\/p>\n

But it’s not only "Cherry, Cherry".\u00c2\u00a0 There’s "Kentucky Woman".\u00c2\u00a0 And "Sweet
Caroline".<\/p>\n

I’m down on the Jonathan Livingston Seagull stuff.\u00c2\u00a0 I used to push the button
when "I Am…I Said" came on.\u00c2\u00a0 But all these years later I’d rather see Neil
than the Stones.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s somehow still human.\u00c2\u00a0 Mick and Keith are cartoons.\u00c2\u00a0
And, Neil CHARGES a whole hell of a lot less.\u00c2\u00a0 $85 top at this concert.<\/p>\n

It all comes down to songs.<\/p>\n

\n

7\/30-Tom Petty & Black Crowes<\/strong>, sell-out, Saratoga Performing Arts Center,
25,081, gross: $776,992<\/p>\n

"She’s a good girl, loves her mama"<\/p>\n

Tell me you wouldn’t want to hear this.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, your body would writhe when they
played "Breakdown", but when Tom and the boys played this L.A. anthem you’d
sway from side to side with your loved one, stare at the sky and sing AT THE
TOP OF YOUR LUNGS!<\/p>\n

"And I’m free, FREE FALLIN’"<\/p>\n

You can’t see from most of the lawn at Saratoga.<\/p>\n

But you had to be there.<\/p>\n

Tickets were just under $60 tops.\u00c2\u00a0 And, you got the bonus of seeing Chris
Robinson shake his moneymaker.<\/p>\n

This is what summer used to be.\u00c2\u00a0 A celebration of great music.\u00c2\u00a0 By bands who
were lifers, who did it for the joy, to IMPART that joy TO YOU!<\/p>\n

\n

8\/10-Green Day<\/strong>, sell-out, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL, 15,424, $686,083<\/p>\n

And here’s where antiquity and modernity merge.<\/p>\n

Then again, Green Day is over a decade old itself.<\/p>\n

You’ve got to start at the bottom.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to want it, you’ve got to NEED
IT!\u00c2\u00a0 What did the Australians say?\u00c2\u00a0 IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP IF YOU WANT TO
ROCK AND ROLL?<\/p>\n

Fans want to be along for the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 They want to pick you out of the crowd
and go on the trip with you.\u00c2\u00a0 And they don’t abandon you if you don’t
immediately blow up, you’re a member of the FAMILY!\u00c2\u00a0 They buy your next album without hearing it first, they want to show their DEVOTION!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about expending marketing dollars, but SWEAT EQUITY!<\/p>\n

That’s how it’s done on the Web.\u00c2\u00a0 It may not cost much in dollars, but it’s a
lot of effort to launch your site and get the word out.\u00c2\u00a0 And then try to
establish a career.\u00c2\u00a0 It takes desire, perseverance and luck.\u00c2\u00a0 Just ask Arcade
Fire.\u00c2\u00a0 Who a major label would have playing arenas already.<\/p>\n

But then they’d have no fans.<\/p>\n

It’s not about the labels.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s not about the venues.\u00c2\u00a0 They were both
built around one thing, the talent.<\/p>\n

You can’t manufacture talent.\u00c2\u00a0 You can manufacture a facsimile, but not the
real thing.\u00c2\u00a0 All you can do is RECOGNIZE the real thing. And, when you find it,
you don’t criticize it, you don’t change it, rather you MIDWIFE IT!\u00c2\u00a0 You try
to HELP it.\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t ever say no, you try to say YES, you try to help the
talent fulfill its creative vision.\u00c2\u00a0 Knowing that nobody knows what works more
than the people who make the music.\u00c2\u00a0 THEY know what resonates with the public.<\/p>\n

The mainstream business is upside down.\u00c2\u00a0 They start from the dollars and work
backward.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to start with the music.<\/p>\n

But you don’t need me to tell you this.\u00c2\u00a0 All you’ve got to do is compare
these two charts.\u00c2\u00a0 The major labels are not interested in creating new lifers,
they only want to generate revenue, TODAY!<\/p>\n

Think about it.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re working at Warner or EMI, and you’re headed for
merger, aren’t you a CHUMP for thinking five years down the line?<\/p>\n

And Sony’s run by a non-music guy.<\/p>\n

And Universal is a bunch of bullies.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, you’d rather be on the side of
the bully than the wimp, but that’s not the fit you desire either.\u00c2\u00a0 You want a
friend.\u00c2\u00a0 The band wants a friend.\u00c2\u00a0 The fan wants a friend.\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s what
great music is.\u00c2\u00a0 A friend.\u00c2\u00a0 The best friend you’ve ever had.\u00c2\u00a0 One you can COUNT
ON!\u00c2\u00a0 You can break up with your girlfriend, you can lose a parent, but the
record will always be there for you.<\/p>\n

There’s an element of that in Coldplay.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why they’re selling out.<\/p>\n

But their used to be a plethora of these acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Creating such cutting edge
music we couldn’t even CONCEIVE OF IT!\u00c2\u00a0 Really, who could come up with
Jethro Tull?<\/p>\n

And not every act sold the tonnage of Tull, but those Ry Cooder records,
those Charlie records, those Wendy Waldman records.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d still go see any of these
acts today.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re like relatives.\u00c2\u00a0 I may not have seen them in a while,
but I haven’t forgotten them.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re bonded forever.\u00c2\u00a0 People are not bonded in
the same way to almost ALL of today’s acts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CD Sales From Hits: 1. Hilary Duff "Most Wanted"Hollywood Sales this week: 200,477Debut Don’t they usually release this shit just before Thanksgiving?\u00c2\u00a0 When moms no longer in touch with their developing daughters buy something they USED to be into as an Xmas gift? This is how far we’ve come.\u00c2\u00a0 When a useless cash-in remix album […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-shows","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-21","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}