{"id":2845,"date":"2010-04-29T07:45:29","date_gmt":"2010-04-29T15:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=2845"},"modified":"2010-04-29T08:46:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-29T16:46:00","slug":"sales-week-ending-42510","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2010\/04\/29\/sales-week-ending-42510\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales-Week Ending 4\/25\/10"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Glee "Power Of Madonna"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 97,973
Debut<\/p>\n

Madonna always knew a hit song, no matter who wrote it (or who she wrote it with), and we learn once again the song is king.\u00c2\u00a0 A great song can be sung by anyone.\u00c2\u00a0 But what’s most interesting here is the sheer quantity of product, what is this the third Glee cast album?\u00c2\u00a0 With another one to be released in weeks?\u00c2\u00a0 What we learn here is TV can still sell records, as long as music is integral to the show, up front and central, not behind the scenes, but the main focus of hopefully a scripted show.\u00c2\u00a0 AND that if the iron is hot, release a ton of product, it’s what the public wants, NOW!<\/p>\n

Who the hell is going to want these albums three years from now?\u00c2\u00a0 Two?\u00c2\u00a0 Today the cycle is compressed on crap, and this is crap.\u00c2\u00a0 So, release umpteen records a year, get that cash quick, before the fad is over.<\/p>\n

In other words, there IS NO artist development if there’s no ARTISTRY!\u00c2\u00a0 This is commerce.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a fad.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a souvenir.<\/p>\n

And this is also the benefit of digital distribution.\u00c2\u00a0 There are no inventory controls, none of the b.s. that prevents physical from having a ton of product in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if Glee can sell product continuously, maybe real artists can too.\u00c2\u00a0 Imagine if release dates were taboo, imagine if people were checking iTunes EVERY DAY for new product.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the future, not a return to the twentieth century where you take years to polish a turd that no one wants.<\/p>\n

2. Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 82,794
Percentage drop: -12
Weeks on: 13
Cume: 1,852,480<\/p>\n

\n
Nothing to do with Mutt but what the hell is wrong with American Idol’s mixing team? I thought this girl from Lady Antebellum could sing but she sounds awful. <\/p>\n

Between Diddy, Kesha, Rihanna (*shudder*) et al. who have been guest stars on this weds show, I think there’s a conspiracy to make sure the contestants sound good in comparison. Or their booking team needs a wake up. <\/p>\n

-Brian Feener<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the Internet world, we’re all critics, with an equal voice, which is why movie criticism died, we’re sick of being dictated to by self-satisfied arbiters.\u00c2\u00a0 But, if you suck in public, it doesn’t fade away.\u00c2\u00a0 Whitney Houston should cancel her tour, because if she doesn’t, by time she’s done, her career will be too.\u00c2\u00a0 The endless press, the bad clips…\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t cover up disaster anymore.<\/p>\n

4. AC\/DC "Iron Man 2"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 75,974
Debut<\/p>\n

Who’s buying this?<\/p>\n

So, it’s called "Iron Man", but do we really need another repackage?\u00c2\u00a0 AC\/DC just seems backward.\u00c2\u00a0 Not selling digitally. They’re bread whores.\u00c2\u00a0 How about one great new track?\u00c2\u00a0 Arguably, since "Who Made Who" (which was part of a compilation soundtrack), they haven’t done anything memorable in DECADES!<\/p>\n

Just gimme one track.\u00c2\u00a0 No, two.\u00c2\u00a0 And sell ’em on iTunes.\u00c2\u00a0 If these nitwit Top Forty acts can survive on singles, shouldn’t AC\/DC be able to too?<\/p>\n

Hell, THEY’RE AFRAID OF FAILURE!<\/p>\n

7. Jimmy Buffett "Encores"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 30,822
Debut<\/p>\n

Come on, ANOTHER LIVE ALBUM?<\/p>\n

Jimmy, if only you could cut one more classic (see AC\/DC above).<\/p>\n

But the real story is Jimmy’s no longer a guaranteed sellout.\u00c2\u00a0 Certainly not indoors.\u00c2\u00a0 You get to the point where people can skip it, especially if you haven’t cut a new hit since your concert attendees had hair.<\/p>\n

12. Sevendust "Cold Day Memory"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 26,736
Debut<\/p>\n

The modern music business.\u00c2\u00a0 Band most people have never heard of has loyal fans who love ’em and keep ’em alive. Band debuts top twenty and does good road business while the hypes fade out.<\/p>\n

14. Ke$ha "Animal"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 24,334
Percentage change: -22
Weeks on: 16
Cume: 623,840<\/p>\n

No one thinks this is a real act.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s a creature of Dr. Luke.<\/p>\n

You know how you can tell if someone’s real?\u00c2\u00a0 Fans want the albums!\u00c2\u00a0 People just want Ke$ha’s singles.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s no different from the one hit wonders of the sixties.<\/p>\n

22. Crazy Heart<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 17,426
Percentage change: +200
Weeks on: 14
Cume: 195,445<\/p>\n

What?<\/p>\n

The DVD release is stimulating album sales.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what’s going on here, the DVD came out last week.<\/p>\n

23. Sade "Soldier Of Love"<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 16,884
Percentage change: -32
Weeks on: 11
Cume: 1,116,411<\/p>\n

I was driving down Sunset last night and I didn’t see a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac, but I did see a "Soldier Of Love" billboard, thought I was back in ’76.\u00c2\u00a0 Alas, it was the only one.\u00c2\u00a0 The rest were for movies and TV and products no one wants.\u00c2\u00a0 If billboards didn’t sell records, why do movie and TV billboards on Sunset work?\u00c2\u00a0 The point is they might not work, but they do give an impression, that something’s going on, they build excitement.\u00c2\u00a0 Used to be Sunset Boulevard was a mecca.\u00c2\u00a0 You drove from Doheny to La Cienega looking not only at the billboards, but the Whisky and the Roxy where stars were born.\u00c2\u00a0 Talk about a city in ruins…<\/p>\n

33. Slash<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 12,992
Percentage change: -40
Weeks on: 3
Cume: 94,983<\/p>\n

Too many bad albums and mediocre live performances have turned me off.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, he and his brethren cut the best hard rock debut of all time, but that was twenty plus years ago and he hasn’t done anything worthwhile since.\u00c2\u00a0 Nice guy, lame music.<\/p>\n

_________________________________<\/p>\n

What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where the number one album doesn’t even sell a hundred thousand copies?\u00c2\u00a0 One where music has lost its perch atop the entertainment food chain.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like music is the sideshow at the entertainment circus.\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t want to stay too long, the stink might stick.<\/p>\n

Used to be artists spoke from the heart, we waited to hear what they had to say with bated breath, we quoted them.\u00c2\u00a0 Now we feel superior to them, as the blogs make fun of their antics.\u00c2\u00a0 And then there are those so indie that the mainstream doesn’t care.\u00c2\u00a0 Used to be you started outside the mainstream and then the mainstream came to you.\u00c2\u00a0 Now, it’s like these acts are on the other side of the Continental Divide, and their music has never got a chance with the general public, the twain shall never meet.\u00c2\u00a0 And you wonder why?\u00c2\u00a0 It’s just not vital enough.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, there’s more honesty on a Facebook page than there is in music.\u00c2\u00a0 And a dying media is complicit with the dying labels.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re in cahoots hyping tripe to the point where most people just don’t give a fuck.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a business?<\/p>\n

Every day people forward you links.\u00c2\u00a0 Telling you to check out great shit.\u00c2\u00a0 How often is it a record?\u00c2\u00a0 And, if it is music, do you even bother to listen?<\/p>\n

Music is the land of losers.\u00c2\u00a0 The "New York Times" piece on Irving Azoff was more riveting than any album on this chart. This is a guy who did it his way, who gave the middle finger to the man and won.\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t that what the musicians used to do? Now they want to cozy up to the man.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t you think there’s a problem with that?<\/p>\n

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

1. Glee "Power Of Madonna" Sales this week: 97,973Debut Madonna always knew a hit song, no matter who wrote it (or who she wrote it with), and we learn once again the song is king.\u00c2\u00a0 A great song can be sung by anyone.\u00c2\u00a0 But what’s most interesting here is the sheer quantity of product, what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","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":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-JT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2845","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2845"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2849,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2845\/revisions\/2849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}