Well, Madge may not be selling a lot of records but she sure sells a lot of (expensive) tickets! A few of them to me! I don't think Janet's been able to do very well touring since nipplegate, am I correct?

Madonna actually hasn't gone down saleswise. One of her last albums sold 18 milion.

CandaceS said:

Well, Madge may not be selling a lot of records but she sure sells a lot of (expensive) tickets! A few of them to me! I don't think Janet's been able to do very well touring since nipplegate, am I correct?

She couldn't find any promoter that would fund a tour for her Damita Jo due to the controversy of the superbowl. According to the Jacksons longtime manager/promoter Leonard Rowe Janet was supposae to tour for the 20 YO album but Live Nation pulled the plug. Her last arena tour was in 2008 and that did not gross very much only 13 million. One blog posted a picture of one of the Rockwitu shows and there were alot of empty seats. Which is most probably why she toured in smaller venues for her Number Ones album which sold about 400,000 copies worldwide.

Damita Jo would have a couple hits and gone double platinum without nipplegate, 20yo would probably have been the beginning of the end if she did the same followup to a more successful Damita Jo.

That ship sailed without Ms. Jackson a long time ago, it happens to every artist.

fluid said:

Ever since Al4U her sales have went down.Damita Jo just wasn't great. But her last 2 didn't get much radioplay. Discipline sold only 500,000 copies. Is it music quality or mediaplay that's keeping Janet down?

With the stratedgy and Mtv do you think she can do another Control?

I think it is a combination of both. Alot of people have not said this but The Jacksons were blackballed by the overall industry through 2004-2008 ish. The industry blackballed them ex. MTV, Grammys, Radio, Clear Channel etc. It was a nasty time to be a "Jackson" around that period because anything they did was going to be overly criticized. I personally think Janet got that over the top backlash for the Superbowl because of her older brother

s controversies. It was blown wayyy out of proportion whether it was her fault or not. So all this talk that the "Superbowl did not have that much effect" is not accurate. This is not the ONLY reason why Janet's previous releases have not done as good but it is just as much a reason for why they did not.....no getting around it. She is a pop star. She needs the industry's support and marketing whether her output is good or not.

****

I am not a BIG Damita Jo album fan but there were some songs that could have done fairly descent if they had a little bit more airplay and if they were promoted better. Janets releases after Velvet Rope, (All4 You, Damita Jo, 20 YO, Discipline) are not that good musically. All4U is not that bad but it was a very weak followup to the incredible Velvet Rope. Like Mariah, Toni, etc who fell into the mindset that you have to be like the " young girls" in order to prove yourself, Janet played right along with that and she should not have. I actually think that water down her legacy a bit. Why do you have to "compete with the young girls" when you are already an Icon? What do you have to prove? I never understood that. She should have continued to push herself artistically, not go backwards or use the same previous methods.

*****

Lastly, I wouldn't recommend anybody (if they call themself a "real" artist) to try to compete in the mainstream market today because the industry is COMPLETELY different from what it was 15-20 years ago. The industry has WAY more control over who gets popular, what gets radio airplay, what does not get radio airplay, who gets awards, who gets marketing, etc. The public is a non factor in those categories and are constantly getting f#$%ed over by gimmicks because the music is trash. They have concised the competition down to where its only five or six people and they are choosing to promote certain artists that fit their agenda because ain't no way in the world these pop stars are making artistic music worth buying. I ain't falling for the okie doke lol.

***

Ain't no pop girl out now has made an album as influential as "Rhythm Nation" or as autobiographical as "The Velvet Rope".No pop star makes iconic music videos or has iconic performances like Janet has. Ain't no pop girl killing it on the stage or brings NEW and creative elaborate performances, customs etc like Janet did during her prime. NOBODY for damn sure dances as good as the woman did either. Janet will be fine, trust. She is an ICON. I just wish the industry would show her the respect she deserves as an ICON. You have to wait for somebody to die to give them the respect they deserve? F$%^ the industry

[Edited 1/12/14 3:20am]

fluid said:

Timmy it went more like this,

Control 12 million

RN 12

Janet 18

VR&Al4U???

This is more accurate. "Janet" sold 20 million world wide. Velvet Rope sold 9 million and I am not 100% sure about All4You. I remember it being in the 3-5 million range. Janet has to get her albums recertified. She has probably sold way more. Her peak was during the JANET era. By the time Velvet Rope released, her popularity had died down down a bit (she still sold out arenas/stadiums though)

[Edited 1/11/14 4:04am]

lastdecember said:

Cause she hit her peak in the 90's just like Prince and Madonna and Michael hit it in the 80's, every artist has their "honeymoon period" Janet was big for her time but as times changed new YOUNGER ladies came out, she was viewed as OLD NEWS, seem reason no one gives a crap about Mariah, they will always sell to their base audience, they will sell out shows etc...but give it up with the idea of platnum albums and number one hits and across the board coverage.

AGE is the number one reason, the Superbowl thing mattered for about a month, kind of as long as people "were united" after 9/11, sounds good on paper but lets be real that shit ended right away. Plus the last few albums are not good at all, sorry but they aint, they are disposable, phoned in, they all sound as if they are the same long album, and TIMES CHANGE, when was the last time PRINCE sold a record? 10 years ago? and before that when? the very early 90's. Janet had her day let it go.

I agree with all of this. I just think that the Superbowl and all the little things that came out of it (blackballed, censorship, etc) hurt her career as well. Although her sells were already going down, I think the SB had just as much of an effect on the success of her 00's albums too.

The problem with Janet is she needs to focus on her audience and age range. Yes, she never will make anymore number one pop hit songs, yes she might not sell as much and so forth but she could still have a shot with the adult R&B market. It is not a situation where it would be impossible for her to find ANY future success on the radio (like some folks make it).

There are artists way older than her that have success with this market. Granted they have the singing chops to do it but I still think if Janet truly was inspired to create something artistic she could as well. I personally don't think her "heart" and desire for music is there like it once was. She is an Icon and she has been famous since she was a little girl. So if she wants to rest and enjoy her life she deserves too. She has nothing to prove.

[Edited 1/11/14 4:40am]

why is this even a topic as if janet really cares? she married 2 a billion she a legend with her place frimly in music history with all the beyonces and rihanna trying 2 do what she has already done . just like with prince he has his core audience that brings him in multi millions per year why should he care about being #1.prince stated that back during 1999 era that he didnt give a hot damn about being number 1 and people still pressing him about something he dont care about

The music business is youth oriented. Janet's album sales dropped because there isn't much of an audience for a 40+ year old black woman recording dance music. Like someone else said, Beyonce and Rhianna are covering that ground and they are much younger.

kitbradley said:

The music business is youth oriented. Janet's album sales dropped because there isn't much of an audience for a 40+ year old black woman recording dance music. Like someone else said, Beyonce and Rhianna are covering that ground and they are much younger.

The unfortunate reality.

Gunsnhalen said:

Or maybe she is just past her prime.

Come on y'all... Janet has had a ton of shits, and as stans like to remind us ''sold more records than Jesus''

There is a time when ANY artists stops making hits.

Stevie Wonder 60's-80's had huge non stop hits... once the 90's hit not so much.
Whitney Houston-80' & 90's huge hits, 00's nada.
Rolling Stones 60's-90's. Huge hits, huge albums, by the mid 90's not a drop of a hit.

Those were just a few examples... but the artists who are big at one time. Eventally stop having hits and selling big. It's that simple. No one is going to make number 1 hits for 50 years.

wow somebody finally gets it. janet is not the only icon whose commercial success has declined over the years.im a big time fan and i have no expectations for huge record sales if she decides to make another album,all i want is good music.of course the superbowl affected her career,im positive that if nipplegate never happened songs like feedback would have been big chart hits but even that was like 5 years ago,not saying that she can never have another million seller(i hope she does) but her age is working against her.

fluid said:

kitbradley said:

JanFan said:

Why is Janet always picked on for her sales but not her contemporaries? They all have dwindled dramatically. Prince hasnt had a #1 since 1991 or a real hit album since then. He's still a fantastic artist and one of my favorites but lets be honest. Prince peaked commercially long before most of his contemporaries. Before they died Whitney and Michael hadn't had a hit single or a great era since the 90's, why isn't that noted? Madonna hasn't had a #1 single in 14 years and her last few albums barely scrapped 500k stateside. Truth is Janet, Prince, Madonna, Whitney and MJ's last albums were all mediocre in comparison to their primes. Is it because she's a Jackson? Black? A woman? Because I don't understand why Janet is always targeted for her sales decreasing yet her contemporaries who have also flop albums are given a slap on the wrist. At the end of the day no artist stays on top forever. It's a known fact. It doesn't take away their impact. All the artists I named are all influential legends who none of these newer artists will replace.And like someone said, Janet could care less about charts. She has other agendas. She has a husband, aging parents and her family. She has other things to worry about than the charts. [Edited 1/11/14 14:47pm] [Edited 1/11/14 14:51pm]

All the artist you named are being slammed for their records sales, their was a lot of press about the flop of MAdonna´s MDNA, MJ's Invinseble was considered a huge flop and is mentioned a lot, there were a lot of jokes about Mariah's and Whitney's flops....

A lot of people don't even know Prince still releases albums....so no, it's not only Janet.

[Edited 1/12/14 0:21am]

I'm not exactly a huge Janet stan, but I gotta stand up for her here....

Damita Jo was, IMO, a stronger album than A4U. And Discipline was a decent comeback attempt (Feedback was a great single, far better than anything Beyonce or Rhianna have churned out lately). I honestly don't think there was a marked decline in the quality of her music (although 20YO was patchy), I think she's just been blacklisted by the industry for:

1. Being a Jackson

2. Being in her mid-forties

3. Nipplegate

I would like to see her have a successful comeback, but I fear it is too far gone now....

[Edited 1/12/14 0:39am]

MattyJam said:

I'm not exactly a huge Janet stan, but I gotta stand up for her here....

Damita Jo was, IMO, a stronger album than A4U. And Discipline was a decent comeback attempt (Feedback was a great single, far better than anything Beyonce or Rhianna have churned out lately). I honestly don't think there was a marked decline in the quality of her music (although 20YO was patchy), I think she's just been blacklisted by the industry for:

1. Being a Jackson

2. Being in her mid-forties

3. Nipplegate

I would like to see her have a successful comeback, but I fear it is too far gone now....

[Edited 1/12/14 0:39am]

Agree with everything but especially the bolded. Her pop charting days are long gone but I think she still has a shot at the R&B charts with the (right song of course). In all honesty, I think all these "Janet career" discussions arise because people really miss Janet lol I think people want to hear new music from her. I'd like to see her comeback myself...

"Nipple Gate" had very little to do with it. What Janet suffers from is what all artist of her stature and age go through from time to time. It's a case of, "If it ain't broken, (which it wasn't, especially at the time of her "Janet" CD) let's fuck it up and, and try an compete with those "So-called" artist of today". She needlessly went away from the sound that placed her on the map, in the first place, and adopted a sound that not only dogs could hear, but rhythemically made no sense. The same thing could be said of Usher, who has not made a decent album since, "Confessions". Everything that he's made since that album, has sounded like, dog shit. If these "so-called" legendary artist wanna be on top of the charts and start selling again, then they need to go back to basics and STOP listening to those people who are telling them, that they must change their sound in order to be on top again....smh

shorttrini said:

"Nipple Gate" had very little to do with it. What Janet suffers from is what all artist of her stature and age go through from time to time. It's a case of, "If it ain't broken, (which it wasn't, especially at the time of her "Janet" CD) let's fuck it up and, and try an compete with those "So-called" artist of today". She needlessly went away from the sound that placed her on the map, in the first place, and adopted a sound that not only dogs could hear, but rhythemically made no sense. The same thing could be said of Usher, who has not made a decent album since, "Confessions". Everything that he's made since that album, has sounded like, dog shit. If these "so-called" legendary artist wanna be on top of the charts and start selling again, then they need to go back to basics and STOP listening to those people who are telling them, that they must change their sound in order to be on top again....smh

this is as the core of what happened, she got caught up in the mechanism of the Pop Ascension where in the climate of the past couple of decades, you're replaced by the time you've reached your 30s, and due to that threat, especially when u ar a woman, leads u to deviate from what really made u successful to embrace a more sexually charged image

when Janet tried to project that sexually charged image, u could tell in the videos she wasn't happy, that unhappiness reflected in her songs too during that period

the super bowl incident hurt because the showing of her breast was no mal function

I think the best thing Janet could do at this point is a fun, get-on-the-floor dance album filled with catchy hooks, with a sorta old-school retro vibe. Take advantage of the trend towards 70s/80s retro dance music that Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Daft Punk and others have been having success with. Nothing too ambitious, just a fun dance-pop album.

Madonna's most successful recent album was "Confessions on the Dance Floor," a straight-up dance album. Cher was able to have a huge comeback success in the '90s with "Believe," a great collection of catchy, upbeat dance tracks.

I could see Janet having some success with something like that. Modern sounding but with a retro vibe, get a collection of fun, catchy songs together and just put something out that her fans can have fun with. She's not too old to have a commercial comeback --- but i'm not sure she's really interested at this point.

NoVideo said:

I think the best thing Janet could do at this point is a fun, get-on-the-floor dance album filled with catchy hooks, with a sorta old-school retro vibe. Take advantage of the trend towards 70s/80s retro dance music that Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Daft Punk and others have been having success with. Nothing too ambitious, just a fun dance-pop album.

Madonna's most successful recent album was "Confessions on the Dance Floor," a straight-up dance album. Cher was able to have a huge comeback success in the '90s with "Believe," a great collection of catchy, upbeat dance tracks.

I could see Janet having some success with something like that. Modern sounding but with a retro vibe, get a collection of fun, catchy songs together and just put something out that her fans can have fun with. She's not too old to have a commercial comeback --- but i'm not sure she's really interested at this point.

Janet should just do what she's doing now because the industry is finished

errant said:

The Super Bowl absolutely had everything to do with why DAMITA JO didn't do the usual "Janet" numbers. She was immediately blacklisted. This was a woman who just a few years before had embarked on a successful world tour, put out the biggest first-week sales of her career, and who, for the 18 years prior, had released hit single after hit single, hit album after hit album, and had basically been one of the preeminent dance divas. To just drop off of the music radar practically overnight, which was kind of what happened, is proof that the SB debacle is why Janet stopped doing "Janet" numbers. MTV and radio pretty much shunned her, and did so with all of her subsequent albums (MTV did start coming around with DISCIPLINE, which was probably partly why it debuted at #1, but...). All in all, to me, DAMITA JO was not a "lesser-than" Janet album, particularly with standout tracks like "All Nite (Don't Stop)", "Island Life" and "I Want You". However, because of the Super Bowl, we'll never know what its true selling potential would have been.

SEANMAN said:

The Super Bowl absolutely had everything to do with why DAMITA JO didn't do the usual "Janet" numbers. She was immediately blacklisted. This was a woman who just a few years before had embarked on a successful world tour, put out the biggest first-week sales of her career, and who, for the 18 years prior, had released hit single after hit single, hit album after hit album, and had basically been one of the preeminent dance divas. To just drop off of the music radar practically overnight, which was kind of what happened, is proof that the SB debacle is why Janet stopped doing "Janet" numbers. MTV and radio pretty much shunned her, and did so with all of her subsequent albums (MTV did start coming around with DISCIPLINE, which was probably partly why it debuted at #1, but...). All in all, to me, DAMITA JO was not a "lesser-than" Janet album, particularly with standout tracks like "All Nite (Don't Stop)", "Island Life" and "I Want You". However, because of the Super Bowl, we'll never know what its true selling potential would have been.

amen.........

SEANMAN said:

kitbradley said:

The music business is youth oriented. Janet's album sales dropped because there isn't much of an audience for a 40+ year old black woman recording dance music. Like someone else said, Beyonce and Rhianna are covering that ground and they are much younger.

Agreed, however she is married to a very rich man and she too is wealthy. With wealth you can get radio play, it will also open many doors. So, if she wants to spend the money, Janet can be on top again.

errant said:

SEANMAN said:

The Super Bowl absolutely had everything to do with why DAMITA JO didn't do the usual "Janet" numbers. She was immediately blacklisted. This was a woman who just a few years before had embarked on a successful world tour, put out the biggest first-week sales of her career, and who, for the 18 years prior, had released hit single after hit single, hit album after hit album, and had basically been one of the preeminent dance divas. To just drop off of the music radar practically overnight, which was kind of what happened, is proof that the SB debacle is why Janet stopped doing "Janet" numbers. MTV and radio pretty much shunned her, and did so with all of her subsequent albums (MTV did start coming around with DISCIPLINE, which was probably partly why it debuted at #1, but...). All in all, to me, DAMITA JO was not a "lesser-than" Janet album, particularly with standout tracks like "All Nite (Don't Stop)", "Island Life" and "I Want You". However, because of the Super Bowl, we'll never know what its true selling potential would have been.

The promotion for the album had already been botched before the Super Bowl, though. I love Just For A Little While but it was not a good single to kick things off with, it got no actual release in the US, and the video either materialized late or not at all.

"I Want You" could have and still should have hit though. Got Til Its Gone was the first single off VR and flopped. All For You (album) sold 650,000 copies it's first week. Every star fades but it shouldn't have happened that fast for Janet.