Madonna's ticket sales may have gotten off to a slow start, but Janet Jackson's are doing fine, claims Live Nation, their concert-tour company.
Jackson is hitting the road to promote her latest CD, "Discipline," which has moved just 392,000 copies. Even with changes in the music biz, that's less than half what it should have sold. In a further bid to keep her name in the headlines, the pop star has announced plans to star in a reality show.
Jackson blames the album's poor showing on her new label, Island Def Jam, where she fled with boyfriend Jermaine Dupri after leaving Virgin when her CD "20 Y.O." tanked. The breast-bearing singer says that Island isn't promoting the CD - her first without producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Could it be the reviews? Giving "Discipline" a grade of C- in Entertainment Weekly, Margeaux Wilson called Jackson's X-rated lyrics "creepy" and tells her, at age 41, to "drop the nympho shtick instead of competing with the Beyoncés and Rihannas." A source told us that when label bigs heard the album, they did decide to promote ... Mariah Carey.
But hopes are still high for Jackson's tour at Live Nation, where the chairman shoeleathered last week after criticism that he was paying stars too much for the return. She's a tour record-breaker, having grossed more than $100 million in her career.
So why is Jackson apparently selling well while only half of the seats at Madonna's L.A. show have been sold? Her tickets are cheaper than Madonna's, ranging from $46 to $126 at the Izod Center in New Jersey, for example, where Jackson performs Oct. 17. And unlike Madonna, who almost always favors her new material in shows, Jackson is willing to do the fan-favorite hits.
"We're very happy with the ticket sales," said a Live Nation spokesman. "She hasn't complained about us. Thank God."

http://www.nydailynews.co...son_f.html

banks said:

Well the label invested alot of money in this album and alot more in Mariahs and niether performed to the goal that Def Jam set, the bigger disappointment has been with Mariah since much more $$ went in, which is what its all about people, even if Mariah pulls in 1.5 million in the states, the label was hoping for half that just week one. But they really have themselves to blame, the records were nothing new, both continued to alienate the crowds that put them where they were, and made no attempt to go a different way, so im not surprised by either album not pulling in the $$ that was pumped in, and also, LA better watch his back, cause like the METS GM Omar Minaya who spent 100+million for a team that has lost more than its won, he will be out of a job at the end of the baseball season, as will Mr. Reid if these crazy useless $$$Promotions, start making some sense. I mean what the fuck was the importance of Paying NYC a few million to Light the Empire State Building in MC colors??? Did anyone say "hey gotta get the new Mariah joing, look at that building". somebody fire this clown already.

yeaaa janet.... im not surprised.. cause everyone knows janet can put on a great tour... that is what sets her apart from any other artist....

banks said:

lastdecember said:

i agree with most of what you said.. expect for i think that mariah and janet make albums for their "fans"... and not albums for everyone... thats what they want to do

i've never missed a janet show but money is hard to come by nowadays for many of us. although i'm quite sure i'll eventually buy tickets and go, it wasn't a priority next to my car note and mortgage and don't forget the price of gas. The 300 it'll take for us to have good seats could go toward our vacation this summer.

no one has cash to just throw at either janet or madonna

Evvy said:

so true... gas prices are going up like crazy... i think cause the saudi's want to hoard more money in their bank accounts....

but anyways i would settle for a tick that is $60 ....

See it's not really about gas, etc. because I'm actually doing something different and catching the bus to Janet's show because I know good and well I'll be tired after her show...

sorry, the notion that Janet has sold more tickets than M is bullshit - Madonna has sold a million tickets to her tour worldwide so far, including 3 nights at Madison Square Garden have sold out. Not trying to knock JJ, glad her tix are doing well, but she is only playing like one show in each arena and I don't think most of them are even sold out yet?

The main problem I find with both Janet's and Madonna's new albums is that it uses techniques and effects that even I could reproduce with the right software. So there's not the same level of magic to the music, I find. Plus, I feel she hit her peak with The Velvet Rope, and has been sliding since. Damita Jo could have brought her to a higher place, if it had been more focused.