As expected, Lionel Richie hit the upper limit of what the company projected he would do from the hour-long live performance broadcast by the Home Shopping Network on March 16.

While Universal Music Group executives privately said they expected "Tuskegee" to sell 15,000-20,000 units, the superstar artist in fact sold a little more than 20,000 units, according to Universal Music Nashville VP of marketing Tom Lord.

Like most music events, HSN put the item up for sale on its website weeks before the event. But the company also preceded the event with an hour-long pre-concert show that featured Richie talking about making the album. Moreover, the overall event helped drive social chatter, which in turn was pushed by HSN's own twitter push, Richie's and the Universal Music Group's own social media efforts, Lord said.

While the album features duets with some of country's best-known artists, the only artist that appeared live with Richie during the broadcast was Kenny Rogers, who sang "Lady" with him. But each song during the broadcast was preceded by a taped vignette which had Richie talking about the upcoming song, and showing clips on which country music star sang it with him in the studio, while making the album.

"This was really important to tell the viewers what the album was about," Lord said.

While there had been a small number of units sold before the show began, once it started, the orders took off. "They have a clock and watching it is like watching the stock market," Lord said. "You can see the wave of orders coming in."

Typically when superstar artists have events on the Home Shopping Network or QVC, successful shows can generate pre-orders of 5,000 units to 25,000 units, with the high-water mark being set by Susan Boyle's appearance on QVC to support the release of "I Dreamed a Dream," which generated upwards of 80,000 units at that time. Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Donny & Marie Osmond, Susan Boyle and Tony Bennett have all reaped increased sales thanks to appearances on either HSN or rival shopping channel QVC.

With the slightly more than 20,000 in pre-orders, industry prognasticators suggest that Richie's album, which hit stores today, will generate about 75,000-100,000 for the week ending March 25.

Richie's HSN appearance originally began as simply a concert. Then channel executives recalled the success of past shows by Stewart, Bennett, Randy Travis and Natalie Cole, and decided to fashion an ongoing series around the performance. As a result, Richie's concert kicked off HSN Live, featuring exclusive live performances at least once each quarter, if not more often, according to HSN executive VP of TV/executive creative director Andy Sheldon. "Part of our strategy is to create an entertainment lifestyle network that has commerce as part of it," he says.

While the networks have attempted to reach teenage buyers, those efforts rarely yield enough increased sales to justify the additional advertising costs targeting those demos. When the appropriate artists target the channels' older demos, however, the special programming can deliver incremental sales that otherwise might not be achieved. For example, when Donny & Marie Osmond appeared for a half-hour on QVC in April 2011, their "Donny & Marie" album sold nearly 11,000 units, according to SoundScan.

The industry will get other chances to test the selling power of QVC vs. HSN. While HSN featured Richie on Friday, tonight QVC will broadcast Wilson Phillips previewing songs from its new "Dedicated" album. The release features songs made famous by three of the trio's parents, who were members of '60s hitmakers the Mamas & the Papas and the Beach Boys. Two months later, the Beach Boys will reunite for their 50th-anniversary celebration with a live performance at QVC's studios on May 16, while simultaneously promoting a career-spanning boxed set on the channel, according to QVC PR manager Denise Kovalevich.
http://www.billboard.biz/...1152.story

Lionel's a pimp...

Nah but seriously, great hustle...

It's already gold in Denmark!

Not buying it but I do appreciate when a brother is still successful.

Guess shut ins have money to spare.

lazycrockett said:

Guess shut ins have money to spare.

Timmy84 said:

Lionel's a pimp...

Nah but seriously, great hustle...

It's already gold in Denmark!

Not buying it but I do appreciate when a brother is still successful.

Props to Lionel for this and when talking about INDIE it seems the older cats are the ones really doing it and not just talking it! Lionel,Syleena Johnson,Mya, Amerie, Rashaan, Van Hunt, Melody Thornton, Heart, Styx, Rick Springfield, etc..... all doing it their way and selling records, it may not be THE CHART NUMBERS that the billboard zombies on here talk about, but hey at the end of the day, the bank account speaks more than billboard ever will

And also why shouldnt Lionel do this? its not like a tv show is gonna showcase him, or a video station is gonna let him do his thang, i mean Manilow pimped his last album on their and good thing he did because he moved more there than his label could to stores. I mean this artists dont have support, and why shouldnt they pimp just like fake ass artists tonight use twitter and facbeook and BS Hype, at least these cats have real product to sell

[Edited 3/24/12 17:56pm]

Good idea Lionel! That is amazing.. I have a Lionel story but won't go into it now...Maybe Prince should go on HSN & sell Ally new album then his...

[Edited 3/24/12 19:15pm]

This is great way to sell to a more mature demographic. Lionel Richie is always reinventing himself.

I actually got caught up watching by accident last Friday when i started

channel surfing. I was amazed at the way Lionel was moving product on

their. It was a good marketing strategy and the truth is Lionel didn't have

to do a whole lot. The audience were already familiar with the songs and

they got the same songs with a little country twist.

phunkdaddy said:

I actually got caught up watching by accident last Friday when i started

channel surfing. I was amazed at the way Lionel was moving product on

their. It was a good marketing strategy and the truth is Lionel didn't have

to do a whole lot. The audience were already familiar with the songs and

they got the same songs with a little country twist.

There's no shame in your game in admitting you watch the HSN. A fan are we?

TD3 said:

phunkdaddy said:

I actually got caught up watching by accident last Friday when i started

channel surfing. I was amazed at the way Lionel was moving product on

their. It was a good marketing strategy and the truth is Lionel didn't have

to do a whole lot. The audience were already familiar with the songs and

they got the same songs with a little country twist.

There's no shame in your game in admitting you watch the HSN. A fan are we?

Actually not unless they are selling NFL gear.

I thought it was comical at first just the idea of him doing his songs over with

country artists and i almost bust a gut seeing him in the studio with Darius Rucker.

I can only imagine what Darius Rucker's version of Stuck On You is like with

his Charleston southern drawl. I watched for about 20 minutes and his performance

wasn't as bad as i thought but HSN could do a promotion in my backyard and i

still wouldn't buy this album.

lastdecember said:

Timmy84 said:

Lionel's a pimp...

Nah but seriously, great hustle...

It's already gold in Denmark!

Not buying it but I do appreciate when a brother is still successful.

Props to Lionel for this and when talking about INDIE it seems the older cats are the ones really doing it and not just talking it! Lionel,Syleena Johnson,Mya, Amerie, Rashaan, Van Hunt, Melody Thornton, Heart, Styx, Rick Springfield, etc..... all doing it their way and selling records, it may not be THE CHART NUMBERS that the billboard zombies on here talk about, but hey at the end of the day, the bank account speaks more than billboard ever will

And also why shouldnt Lionel do this? its not like a tv show is gonna showcase him, or a video station is gonna let him do his thang, i mean Manilow pimped his last album on their and good thing he did because he moved more there than his label could to stores. I mean this artists dont have support, and why shouldnt they pimp just like fake ass artists tonight use twitter and facbeook and BS Hype, at least these cats have real product to sell

[Edited 3/24/12 17:56pm]

True. If he does like 200,000 this way, he makes more money than those who sell a million in a week.

HAPPYPERSON said:

Like most music events, HSN put the item up for sale on its website weeks before the event. But the company also preceded the event with an hour-long pre-concert show that featured Richie talking about making the album. Moreover, the overall event helped drive social chatter, which in turn was pushed by HSN's own twitter push, Richie's and the Universal Music Group's own social media efforts, Lord said.

really?

This is bizarre but then again it's not.

It's presenting the right content to the target demographic. In that sense, it's effective marketing and business planning.

lastdecember said:

Timmy84 said:

Lionel's a pimp...

Nah but seriously, great hustle...

It's already gold in Denmark!

Not buying it but I do appreciate when a brother is still successful.

Props to Lionel for this and when talking about INDIE it seems the older cats are the ones really doing it and not just talking it! Lionel,Syleena Johnson,Mya, Amerie, Rashaan, Van Hunt, Melody Thornton, Heart, Styx, Rick Springfield, etc..... all doing it their way and selling records, it may not be THE CHART NUMBERS that the billboard zombies on here talk about, but hey at the end of the day, the bank account speaks more than billboard ever will

And also why shouldnt Lionel do this? its not like a tv show is gonna showcase him, or a video station is gonna let him do his thang, i mean Manilow pimped his last album on their and good thing he did because he moved more there than his label could to stores. I mean this artists dont have support, and why shouldnt they pimp just like fake ass artists tonight use twitter and facbeook and BS Hype, at least these cats have real product to sell

[Edited 3/24/12 17:56pm]

Lionel is NOT an independent artist. He is still signed to Mercury Records. They just marketed this one under the Mercury Nashville label.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Good idea Lionel! That is amazing.. I have a Lionel story but won't go into it now...Maybe Prince should go on HSN & sell Ally new album then his...

[Edited 3/24/12 19:15pm]

I thought of the same thing!!!

It's the only way he will make some real sales.

(Sings) Pay You Pay Me. Pay it for always...........

That's good to hear!

daPrettyman said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Good idea Lionel! That is amazing.. I have a Lionel story but won't go into it now...Maybe Prince should go on HSN & sell Ally new album then his...

[Edited 3/24/12 19:15pm]

I thought of the same thing!!!

It's the only way he will make some real sales.

I'm sure he watched it 2 c the results....

Happy for Lionel-genius.

carlcranshaw said:

(Sings) Pay You Pay Me. Pay it for always...........

That's good to hear!

Years back, Lionel was diagnosed with an irreversible case of funk impairment. Initially, I couldn't accept what I'd heard, but the new album of country duets proves the report was right all along.

"So much VAL-YA (value)!!!!!!!"- The Commodores "Just To Be Close To You" (1976)

woogiebear said:

"So much VAL-YA (value)!!!!!!!"- The Commodores "Just To Be Close To You" (1976)

carlcranshaw said:

(Sings) Pay You Pay Me. Pay it for always...........

That's good to hear!

phunkdaddy said:

TD3 said:

There's no shame in your game in admitting you watch the HSN. A fan are we?

Actually not unless they are selling NFL gear.

I thought it was comical at first just the idea of him doing his songs over with

country artists and i almost bust a gut seeing him in the studio with Darius Rucker.

I can only imagine what Darius Rucker's version of Stuck On You is like with

his Charleston southern drawl. I watched for about 20 minutes and his performance

wasn't as bad as i thought but HSN could do a promotion in my backyard and i

still wouldn't buy this album.

Lionel Ritchie while with the Commodores charted on the country chart.

Lionel Ritchie also wrote 'Lady' a country and pop #1 for Kenny Rogers.

lazycrockett said:

Guess shut ins have money to spare.

you cannot be that stupid, can u?

daPrettyman said:

lastdecember said:

Props to Lionel for this and when talking about INDIE it seems the older cats are the ones really doing it and not just talking it! Lionel,Syleena Johnson,Mya, Amerie, Rashaan, Van Hunt, Melody Thornton, Heart, Styx, Rick Springfield, etc..... all doing it their way and selling records, it may not be THE CHART NUMBERS that the billboard zombies on here talk about, but hey at the end of the day, the bank account speaks more than billboard ever will

And also why shouldnt Lionel do this? its not like a tv show is gonna showcase him, or a video station is gonna let him do his thang, i mean Manilow pimped his last album on their and good thing he did because he moved more there than his label could to stores. I mean this artists dont have support, and why shouldnt they pimp just like fake ass artists tonight use twitter and facbeook and BS Hype, at least these cats have real product to sell

[Edited 3/24/12 17:56pm]

Lionel is NOT an independent artist. He is still signed to Mercury Records. They just marketed this one under the Mercury Nashville label.

True and neither is manilow per say, but the thinking is smarter, they know the score, they know radio is never ever gonna play them again, Lionel is only gonna get oldies on the radio now, sad to say if this was the 80's he you could have Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones in their 40's and 50's charting right along with teens like Debbie Gibson and sharing the same playlist at a station, now there are SO MANY labels we put on music that nothing new can happen

lastdecember said:

daPrettyman said:

Lionel is NOT an independent artist. He is still signed to Mercury Records. They just marketed this one under the Mercury Nashville label.

True and neither is manilow per say, but the thinking is smarter, they know the score, they know radio is never ever gonna play them again, Lionel is only gonna get oldies on the radio now, sad to say if this was the 80's he you could have Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones in their 40's and 50's charting right along with teens like Debbie Gibson and sharing the same playlist at a station, now there are SO MANY labels we put on music that nothing new can happen

I totally agree with you.

I think it's a genius move for an older, established artist that has sold millions like Lionel. Especially with him doing the country thing. Most of the people that are in the target demo for HSN grew up listening to Lionel. They probably all had the "Can't Slow Down" album growing up.

I think Prince would do wonders with something like this if he would be willing to sit down with the annoying hosts to sell the project. It would have really been genius to market the Lotus project. Especially since he was introducing a new artist with the album.

Lionel Richie was No. 1 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes

Well maybe he need to hip Smokey to this selling strategy, because Cracker Barrel ain't cutting it.

I stopped by Best Buy to grab a copy of this and I must say, that it's not horrible (as I expected it to be). I did question a couple of the remakes ("You Are" and "Sail On"), but overall it is not bad. My favorite remake is "Just For You" with Billy Currington. I hated the original arrangement, but I think it works really well as a country song.

You can hear it here (it's not on youtube yet...only a "making of" on it).