{"id":786,"date":"2007-05-07T17:23:11","date_gmt":"2007-05-08T01:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/2007\/05\/07\/last-weeks-sales-3\/"},"modified":"2007-05-07T17:23:11","modified_gmt":"2007-05-08T01:23:11","slug":"last-weeks-sales-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2007\/05\/07\/last-weeks-sales-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Week’s Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Avril Lavigne "Best Damn Thing"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 121,630
Cume: 408,509<\/p>\n

The best damn thing is those not interested NEVER EVER HAVE TO HEAR IT!<\/p>\n

The mainstream is now niche, it’s a sideshow.\u00c2\u00a0 Crossing over?\u00c2\u00a0 How are you going to reach people who are not paying attention?<\/p>\n

In an era where you can customize your news at Yahoo, do you think people are going to be spoon-fed crap via bogus terrestrial radio and behind the times print?<\/p>\n

I don’t think so…<\/p>\n

2. Joe "Ain’t Nothing Like Me"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 98,090
Debut<\/p>\n

Isn’t this the braggadocio that helped put the urban sound in the dumper?<\/p>\n

Now there are retailers and label people following this act closely.<\/p>\n

The rest of us, we just don’t care!<\/p>\n

Joe, is that the same as Fat Joe?\u00c2\u00a0 Which Joe is this?<\/p>\n

It all slides right by us in the endless menagerie of overhyped crap sold by baby boomers looking to maintain their lifestyles.<\/p>\n

3. Nine Inch Nails "Year Zero"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 57,666
Cume: 245,929<\/p>\n

Why it’s bad to be a label today.\u00c2\u00a0 Disc sales don’t count.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about the TOUR!\u00c2\u00a0 And Trent’s "Year Zero" hype, driven by USB sticks and Web-hysteria, spoke to his core, which will all attend the show at a high price.\u00c2\u00a0 And his core will buy this album.\u00c2\u00a0 As for breaking through to the casual buyer?\u00c2\u00a0 Trent seems to be abandoning him.\u00c2\u00a0 With no TV play, and no terrestrial radio play, and fear that if he gets it it will alienate his core fan base, Trent is focusing JUST on his core fan base.\u00c2\u00a0 Trent knows it’s 2007.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you?<\/p>\n

5. Daughtry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 48,505
Cume: 2,359,037<\/p>\n

A phenomenon.<\/p>\n

If you’re crowing about this, if you think this is important, then you’ve got a piece of this disc or are Daughtry himself.<\/p>\n

Daughtry was the beneficiary of TV exposure.\u00c2\u00a0 He made a decent record as opposed to a Clive Davis bland pop concoction.\u00c2\u00a0 I think the point here is if you have decent songs, all that exposure can help you sell records.\u00c2\u00a0 IN THE TRADITIONAL SPHERE!<\/p>\n

As for a hard core fan base, longevity…\u00c2\u00a0 That will elude this man.\u00c2\u00a0 He should save his money!<\/p>\n

7. Arctic Monkeys "Favourite Worst Nightmare"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 44,149
Debut<\/p>\n

Could that be the one wherein an overhyped English band gets no traction in America?<\/p>\n

This is the album’s peak.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s down, down, down from here.<\/p>\n

9. Martina McBride "Waking Up Laughing"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 37,116
Cume: 277,038<\/p>\n

She’s laughing because she’s in the country world, where the ability to play and sing still count, where fan loyalty rivals that of the classic rock era.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, disc sales are down, but there’s a tour, and she’s not starting over from ZERO on her next album!<\/p>\n

11. Amy Winehouse "Back To Black"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 34,323
Cume: 297,112<\/p>\n

Word of mouth and indie retail are selling this record.\u00c2\u00a0 And they’re more powerful than any publicist created conquer the world hype plan.\u00c2\u00a0 This record continues to sell as people get the word.\u00c2\u00a0 I wouldn’t want to hold tickets for a canceled show, but Amy’s a rock star of the old stripe.\u00c2\u00a0 Doing whatever she wants, fuck the system.\u00c2\u00a0 Getting drunk.\u00c2\u00a0 Speaking her mind.\u00c2\u00a0 As opposed to Jon Bon Jovi perfectly coiffed and loving everybody.\u00c2\u00a0 Make me puke.<\/p>\n

14. Timbaland "Timbaland Presents Shock Value"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 31,179
Cume: 267,896<\/p>\n

Guess he’s no Dr. Dre.<\/p>\n

The man behind the hits gets his big solo chance and blows it.\u00c2\u00a0 Word on the street is this record is just not that good.\u00c2\u00a0 And the street buzz COUNTS!<\/p>\n

16. Joss Stone "Introducing Joss Stone"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 28,910
Cume: 305,232<\/p>\n

Toast.<\/p>\n

Oh, don’t argue with me, don’t tell me you’d like a piece of the billing.\u00c2\u00a0 Point is after all the hype, all the ink, almost nobody cares.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s peaked.\u00c2\u00a0 Unless she releases a sex tape…<\/p>\n

17. Justin Timberlake "Future Sex\/Love Sounds"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 26,093
Cume: 3,174,997<\/p>\n

If you’re salivating over this number, you’re in trouble.<\/p>\n

Okay, you’re gonna get someone ubiquitous, hook them up with an established producer and make a record for the CLUB!<\/p>\n

Have you ever been to a club?\u00c2\u00a0 IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MUSIC!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about touching other people, it’s about TRYING TO GET LAID!<\/p>\n

You know we’re in trouble when music is the special sauce and not the burger.<\/p>\n

Indies realize you can’t shoot for the moon.\u00c2\u00a0 It leaves too many people out.\u00c2\u00a0 The majors are shooting for an ever-smaller green surrounded by water.\u00c2\u00a0 We all want a hole-in-one, but isn’t that a lucky shot (and I’ve had one!)<\/p>\n

This record is meaningless.\u00c2\u00a0 Toast the cash generated, count the babies born, but there’s no viable blueprint here, not for going forward.<\/p>\n

18. Nickelback "All The Right Reasons"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 26,012
Cume: 5,278,400<\/p>\n

Funny, there’s no straight ahead rock record above this one on the chart.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s been on for over 82 weeks.\u00c2\u00a0 Longer than anything else in the Top 50!<\/p>\n

Is Nickelback unique?\u00c2\u00a0 Are they working a new paradigm?\u00c2\u00a0 Is there nothing to be learned?<\/p>\n

No, Nickelback is a straight ahead rock band with catchy tunes.\u00c2\u00a0 An impossible formula to duplicate?\u00c2\u00a0 No!\u00c2\u00a0 So then how come almost nobody else IS!<\/p>\n

Fuck the pretty faces.\u00c2\u00a0 Find a band, that doesn’t even have to look good.\u00c2\u00a0 Let them play their own guitars, let them rock.\u00c2\u00a0 You just might end up with a career.<\/p>\n

This is how it was done in the seventies.\u00c2\u00a0 Find rock band, develop their career ("How You Remind Me" was not on Nickelback’s first record).\u00c2\u00a0 And then reap the rewards for years as the fan base grows.\u00c2\u00a0 Nickelback is the most important record on this chart.\u00c2\u00a0 But most people working at major labels don’t know it.\u00c2\u00a0 They’d rather sell something more obvious, something that they have more control over.<\/p>\n

22. Neil Sedaka "Definitive Collection"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 24,152
Debut<\/p>\n

Either you read the "Wall Street Journal" or you don’t.<\/p>\n

Yup, the business paper of record had the story.\u00c2\u00a0 These were almost all sold on QVC!<\/p>\n

Razor & Tie is a more savvy label than the majors.\u00c2\u00a0 They realize if you want to sell discs, you’ve got to sell them very fast, via TV exposure.\u00c2\u00a0 Real records have a lifespan, project records, concept records, records made for MONEY, have a brief shelf life, based on mania.<\/p>\n

They created the mania here.\u00c2\u00a0 The point you’re not aware of it PROVES the point.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about a self-congratulatory ad in "Billboard", it’s not about Top Forty airplay, it’s about figuring out new, innovative ways to SELL MUSIC!<\/p>\n

23. Rascal Flatts "Me and My Gang"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 23,871
Cume: 3,976,472<\/p>\n

There’s just a little bit of magic in that country music they’re singing…<\/p>\n

25. Corinne Bailey Rae<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 22,171
Cume: 1,450,568<\/p>\n

If this is a star, I’m resigning from the music club.<\/p>\n

Music made for men without dicks and women who wince when they hear four letter words.\u00c2\u00a0 Spin it at your cocktail party, but take it off when I arrive.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s gonna put me to sleep.\u00c2\u00a0 Music should make your dick hard, whether it’s Mozart or Metallica.\u00c2\u00a0 This doesn’t.<\/p>\n

39. Modest Mouse "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 14,871
Cume: 267,405<\/p>\n

You most certainly were.\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, your label ran you up the flagpole.\u00c2\u00a0 They thought they established a base.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’re still an indie act, minus some cred.<\/p>\n

You can be all over TV, but you’re probably just flavor of the moment.<\/p>\n

40. Pink "I’m Not Dead"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 14,766
Cume: 714,235<\/p>\n

Number one at Top Forty radio and not even 15,000 people buy this disc?\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, Top Forty radio just doesn’t mean that much.\u00c2\u00a0 Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it!<\/p>\n

44. Bright Eyes "Cassadaga"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 13,607
Cume: 92,540<\/p>\n

What’s wrong with music today.<\/p>\n

The lyrics are positively sophomoric.\u00c2\u00a0 The music is far from memorable.\u00c2\u00a0 But the media heralds him as the new white singer-songwriter hope.<\/p>\n

Just imagine that you like that music.\u00c2\u00a0 And you buy this disc.\u00c2\u00a0 YOU MAY NEVER BUY ANOTHER CD AGAIN!<\/p>\n

And it’s not like his fan base is even that big.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s not even at 100,000?<\/p>\n

And he’s nearing thirty.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s no longer a boy genius.<\/p>\n

God, at least hype me on something good.\u00c2\u00a0 Otherwise I’m going back to my Jackson Browne albums.<\/p>\n

45. John Mayer "Continuum"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 13,473
Cume: 1,636,475<\/p>\n

He’s overexposed, he’s fucking a nimrod, but he still sells records because he’s got a modicum of TALENT!<\/p>\n

Take that Conor Oberst!<\/p>\n

I don’t often choose to listen, but I’ve got to say that "Waiting On The World To Change" is LISTENABLE!<\/p>\n

But how long do we have to wait until the NEW acts are better than the OLD acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Or AT LEAST AS GOOD!<\/p>\n

51. Elton John "Rocket Man-Number 1’s"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 12,435
Cume: 115,735<\/p>\n

This is what the business is surviving on…\u00c2\u00a0 REPACKAGES!<\/p>\n

That’s why you can’t start a new label, that’s why DreamWorks folded its tent.\u00c2\u00a0 You need a CATALOGUE!<\/p>\n

I love Elton but he needs some discipline.<\/p>\n

Then again, his voice has never been the same since his throat operation.<\/p>\n

But he did cut "Club At The End Of The Street" thereafter.\u00c2\u00a0 And "Blue Avenue".<\/p>\n

And "Birds" on the recent "Peachtree Road" is quite decent.<\/p>\n

He needs a manager.\u00c2\u00a0 Not one like Merck with the bogus idea of making a sequel to one of his classic albums (as if that wasn’t doomed to failure, by COMPARISON if nothing else), but one who’ll push him to do great work, by saying most of what he’s put out recently SUCKS!<\/p>\n

But, the dirty little secret is, if Elton did make a great new record, it still wouldn’t sell.\u00c2\u00a0 Because there’s nowhere to expose it!\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, he could do well with the soundtrack to an animated movie, but without some kind of tie-in, on the back of mega-marketing dollars, a classic rock musician can no longer sell discs.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of them have nothing left to say, but if you do, nobody wants to hear it.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re older, you’re wiser, and you’re on the scrapheap.<\/p>\n

Then again, you can probably still get a blowjob after the show!<\/p>\n

60. Patti Smith "Twelve"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 11,127
Debut<\/p>\n

I told you so.<\/p>\n

Why even bother to make these albums?<\/p>\n

God, this is some of her most palatable work!\u00c2\u00a0 The jerk-offs in the press were creaming in their jeans about it.\u00c2\u00a0 But almost NO ONE cares.<\/p>\n

Her label should have saved all the production costs.\u00c2\u00a0 She should have cut just a couple of covers at home, and given them away for free on her Website, or MySpace.\u00c2\u00a0 There’d be MORE of a story, and people might actually check the tracks out and her live business might have gone up.<\/p>\n

But no, we’ve got an ALBUM!\u00c2\u00a0 Worked the traditional way.<\/p>\n

Tradition died, just in case you didn’t get the memo…<\/p>\n

64. Jennifer Lopez "Como Ama Una Mujer"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 10,646
Cume: 124,643<\/p>\n

She was all over the media, even coaching contestants on "American Idol" how to sing (ain’t that a laugh), but she STILL couldn’t sell her record.<\/p>\n

Cheap shots don’t work.\u00c2\u00a0 And most Latin singers REALLY CAN!<\/p>\n

71. Snoop Dogg "Presents The Big Squeeze"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week 9,607
Debut<\/p>\n

This is like the Oprah channel on XM.\u00c2\u00a0 Why the fuck do we want it if she’s not on it?<\/p>\n

How fucking stupid are the marketers.\u00c2\u00a0 How fucking stupid is the label that gave Snoop this deal in an era where almost NOBODY can sell a record and rap sales are falling…<\/p>\n

84. Arcade Fire "Neon Bible"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 8,202
Cume: 216,874<\/p>\n

Would they have sold just as many without the "New York Times Magazine" and SNL?<\/p>\n

Yes, they would have.<\/p>\n

It’s a cult band with a rabid fan base.\u00c2\u00a0 By trying to reach new people via the traditional means you’re actually going BACKWARDS!\u00c2\u00a0 Put out great shit, establish a fan base, have people PULL the music.\u00c2\u00a0 No one is interested in having shit pushed upon them today (and that’s for all you assholes who sign me up for your e-mail blasts without asking me first…like I’m going to READ them?)<\/p>\n

99. Good Charlotte "Good Morning Revival"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 7,150
Cume: 122,126<\/p>\n

Fucking Hilary Duff does nothing for your cred.<\/p>\n

I hate these guys just from seeing them on awards shows.\u00c2\u00a0 Back when I used to watch awards shows…<\/p>\n

________________________________________<\/p>\n

God, I could go on and on, but the point is selling albums IS NOT the point.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about establishing careers, and making money from all 360 degrees of revenue.<\/p>\n

Hell, don’t even put out albums.\u00c2\u00a0 Why keep yourself out of the public eye for all the time it takes to make them?<\/p>\n

Watch your tour grosses, not your album sales.\u00c2\u00a0 They should be going up in every market.<\/p>\n

No one hears most of this crap.\u00c2\u00a0 Let people hear it for free or you’re playing with one arm tied behind your back.\u00c2\u00a0 Make it available on MySpace, YouTube and your own site.\u00c2\u00a0 In an era where most people have not heard the number one record, what chance is there that they’re going to hear YOURS?<\/p>\n

And don’t throw in with the major on other revenue streams.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s no one working there anymore and none of them know the tour\/ancillary business.\u00c2\u00a0 Cliff Burnstein and Irving Azoff can recite the numbers in their sleep, they know where every dollar is buried.\u00c2\u00a0 The label guys know the restaurants and the number of the limo company.\u00c2\u00a0 They know lifestyle, not career.\u00c2\u00a0 They just care that SOMETHING hits.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas the manager has to have essentially ALL of his artists do well.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, no one’s gonna sign with a manager who has over a hundred acts.<\/p>\n

Or, one can ask, how hungry are you?\u00c2\u00a0 A manager doesn’t get paid unless you do.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s a great incentive.<\/p>\n

As for discs themselves…\u00c2\u00a0 We live in an iPod world.\u00c2\u00a0 And ONLY an iPod world.\u00c2\u00a0 You think it’s about DRM?\u00c2\u00a0 No, it’s about that connector on the bottom of each device, that slot that not only transfers your tracks and charges your iPod, but the one that hooks up to a WORLD of accessories.\u00c2\u00a0 No one’s invading the iPod’s turf.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, Creative just started emphasizing iPod ACCESSORIES!<\/p>\n

Get your music on that iPod.\u00c2\u00a0 Where not only its owner can hear it, but his friends, at the beach, at parties, via speakers.\u00c2\u00a0 Radio used to be the gatekeeper, now the iPod is.\u00c2\u00a0 Shit, you should PAY Apple to sell the device pre-loaded with your crap.\u00c2\u00a0 But Apple won’t do this, because they know it’s crap, and they know we live in an individualist society, where people only want EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT!\u00c2\u00a0 Which touches their souls, not their little sister’s…<\/p>\n

The revolution is here!\u00c2\u00a0 The fact that the major labels can’t figure out how to play, can’t figure out a reasonable form of online distribution, has NOTHING to do with the music itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Music is getting healthier by the minute.\u00c2\u00a0 Unrestrained, musicians are following their creativity.\u00c2\u00a0 The fact that we’re not exposed to much of the good stuff?\u00c2\u00a0 That’s gonna change.\u00c2\u00a0 Word of mouth already helps, but someone’s gonna establish a great filter, and it won’t be Pandora or MTV or Yahoo, but something closer to Critical Metrics<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 And then we’ll know where to go.<\/p>\n

As for now, these SoundScan numbers are like the Dead Sea Scrolls.\u00c2\u00a0 Evidence of a long lost world that’s never coming back.<\/p>\n

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

1. Avril Lavigne "Best Damn Thing" Sales this week: 121,630Cume: 408,509 The best damn thing is those not interested NEVER EVER HAVE TO HEAR IT! The mainstream is now niche, it’s a sideshow.\u00c2\u00a0 Crossing over?\u00c2\u00a0 How are you going to reach people who are not paying attention? In an era where you can customize your […]<\/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":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-cG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786","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=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}