Please don't blame the internet for poor album sales!

Record companies are to blame, like some of you have said, there is oversaturation, the album comes out without asingle to promote it, nowadays record companies don't want to spend money promoting a song on the radio, thus the lack of radio airplay.

Yelsiap said:

Good point.

DavidEye said:

I think part of the problem is that they put out 17 songs every year! 3 albums prior to Cd's was about 24 songs or 8 songs per record. Now there's much more filler and less good shit. Think of the classic Time albums, there were about 3 songs per side but they were pretty much all good. If 1999 and Sign were released today they would be considered single discs.

I say they stick to 10 songs and CD's would be more solid and more listenable all the way through.

DMSR said:

Whoops. Stuck my comment in the middle of a quote there.

It should read: "I agree wholeheartedly. Let's hope Janet goes minimalist on her next one. I'm tired of the bloated 70+ minute records she puts out (with the exception of Rhythm Nation, which somehow managed to have no filler). Madonna has basically always stuck to the 10-12 songs format, too. It works."

It takes about six months to break an album.

The tools to help sell albums are now old.this isn't the early 80's anymore, MTV isn't in it's infancy.There are not too many grounbreaking artists or superstars anymore, no Thrillers, like a virgins or Purple Rains.

The music industry is basically a dinosaur now, and it didn't utilise the Internet back when it needed to.All those artists mentioned in this thread have limited talent, and it's not enough to carry them through, so therefore they were always going to have a limited shelf life.

Years ago Sept thru Dec were the months the heavy hitters brought out their albums. There was one November years ago with Mariah & Whitney & Garth Brooks all had albums released on the same day & it was a big deal who would sell more. The biggest deal this winter was Britney's cd. Nelly I can understand being thought of as a big act but Missy & Pink are performers who will get lost in the x-mas rush. Their cds need nurturing & promotion. They don't break away from the pack right out of the gate.

twink69 said:

Cuz they all suck!!!

Marrk said:

Excellent points! I've always said MJ would never be as huge without his breakthrough videos. He was MTV! It should have been called MJTV! And even though I hate to admit it, "Purple Rain" was like a long video compilation with perfect luck of timing as well. These days Purple Rain would probably get the response that "Glitter" got.

These days Purple Rain would probably get the response that "Glitter" got.[/quote]

OMG, I know 2 drag queens who will disagree with you there and say Glitter was the best movie since "showgirls"

twink69 said:

OMG, I know 2 drag queens who will disagree with you there and say Glitter was the best movie since "showgirls"[/quote]

I didn't mind Glitter, I liked the club scenes and the 80's vibe, but nobody else seemed to care.

Yeah, now that I think about it, I can understand that Pink and Nelly Furtado are bombing because of lack of promotion. That's particularly a problem when the market is oversaturated as it usually is in November. So who's to blame when a record isn't being promoted? Is it usually the artist's fault or the record company's fault?

My point is it's not because of the music- because (and this is just my opinion) the above mentioned albums are pretty strong. And I can understand Britney Spears losing her steam over the last couple of years (even if she has started making decent music on her newest album)- because that kind of downfall happens to everyone who is just incredibly popular for superficial reasons.

And I'm not blaming hip hop or rap for anything, but still, why are those artists more heavily promoted than artists in other genres?

Maybe it's just me, I guess I just don't understand why folks would see most of today's popular hip hop as anything worthy of attention...

I make an exception for Outkast, but those guys are truly creative...

Oversaturation is very interesting because I heard on the radio tody Beyonce' will be releasing her second album in March.Isn't her most recent album still a baby?

Anyway,creativity seems to be a thing of the past. People talk about how terrible music was in the 80's but at least the level of creativity and fantasy in the music and videos kept us interested. Today most artists out there, and yes I will say it, especially in the Hip Hop world, are too dependent on other peoples talents and they have gone through everything from TV shows, to commercials, to one gaining "legendary" status when most of her hits are through remakes, and the resources have run out and they don't know how to be creative and come up with their own stuff. What will it take to get their attention and to make them hear the outcry?

Promotion is really the key 2 the whole equasion. If a record company wants an album 2 sell billions of copies, they'll promote the hell out of it until we cant stand it, and it'll sell like hotcakes. How do U think the whole boy band/Britney thing got started? Promotion. It was basically an artificially created movement. The record companues told people what they should like and the people responded.

These recent albums aren't getting promoted probably because the record companies assume that since they had a big record last time, the artist's name itself will take the place of full on promotion. It's really funny how record company practices seem 2 go against every kind of common business sense.

Part of the thing with downloading is that (and rightly so) most people don't want 2 spend $15 on a CD when they know that the songs they will probalby like best R the 1's they hear on the radio. When most of the music that gets promoted is shit, people think that's all there is out there and hold on 2 their money. Most people don't want 2 search thru bins at record stores trying 2 find some obscure great album 1.because its time consuming and 2. because with what CD's cost nowadays, if the album sucks, they're out $15.
Hip hop is the new punk. It's semi-dangerous and parents dont' like it so that's part of why it gets promoted so well. Never mind the fact that it gets used 2 sell everything from clothes 2 cheeseburgers! Any of y'all seen or heard those new Mickey D's commercials with the rappers...man, fuckin HORRIBLE shit! Rapping about how good a cheeseburger is.

twink69 said:

Good taste comes into it somewhere. All those new albums you mentioned are crap.

paisleypark4 said:

well, actually. Under construction came out in 2003, This Is Not A Test is in 2003. So Addictive came out in 2001,[/quote]

"Under Construction" came out in 2002. It was either October but probably Novemember. Maybe you live outside the US though.

There is sooo much stuff out there to buy, that some cds just get lost. It's a 50/50 gamble releasing in Thanksgiving. Either it stands above or gets caught in the frenzy of the holidays. Doesn't mean its good or bad, but money is tight. I have to buy Britney for my cousin, or Bette Midler for my sister, then buying Missy or Pink for myself needs to be put on hold. Like posted in another thread, Janet's cd coming out in Feb. will really stand out, just because of the time placement.

DMSR said:

Then how did 8-Mile do so well?

Because Eminem is white.

DavidEye said:

Even two a year wasn't unheard of then. Hell Cameo released "Cameosis", "Better Days", "Knights of the Sound Table" & "Alligator Woman" all within 22 months of each other.

intha916 said:

...and I bought all but one of those Cameo albums.

thedoorkeeper said:

Interesting comment. I have always felt that Nelly Furtado was a singer with marginal talent -- certainly compared to Missy (who was employed as a songwriter years before beginning a solo career) and Pink (who released perhaps the best project of 2001 with Missundaztood). In five years, VH1 will probably be doing a 'Where Are They Now?' piece on Nelly Furtado.

I think hip hop does well out of the box because all the kids have to have the new Jay Z or Ludacris record before anyone else. Pink will be a grower. Theres no "Get the Party started" on there and I suppose people are sick of her.

jthad1129 said:

I hear ya.I never understand why so many record companies insist on releasing so many CDs around the Christmas season.That's such a hectic time and the competition is fierce.Better to wait until the first quarter or the summer.

DavidEye said:

In the past, it worked well for them. I remember that the day everyone dubbed the first "Super Tuesday" in 1998 in November when Whitney, Mariah, Grath, Jewel, Seal and others had new releases out. They all did pretty good (although some people said Whitney's was a dissapointment for her at 13). That's when people were still excited about CDs and they just aren't anymore becuase they would rather download them. For me, unless I'm sure the album is going to suck and has only one real amazing hit, I like to have the album in my hands. Guess I'm old school.

All thosse "artists" are already multi-millionaires and they still will have careers for awhile as they already have a big fan base. Maybe they are on the dowhnill, career-wise, but they still have some heat left in them.

thetimefan said:

I'm 36...just think how I feel. I think in my early 20s, I realized that MTV had left me behind or vice versa. Actually, as you get older, you start to get wiser/smarter and see through all the totally contrived bullshit on MTV. They have everything down to a formula that they sell to the naive kids who don't know any better. I find it utterly unwatchable now and have for years and years.