Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Jon: As far as the lowest common denominator argument goes, I'm not sure what to make of it. The Beatles have sold about 20% more albums; does that mean they made music for a 20% lower common denominator? (I suspect there are a few folks who will answer "yes".) Out of the top 25 on that best-selling etc. Hitching the popularity of music to some sort of inverse proportion, whereby more records sold equals dwindling quality is one of those equations that has too damn many exceptions to be very useful. But I think that if you state it this way -- "Just because something sells like hotcakes doesn't mean it's any good" -- then you're on more solid ground. And if you then explore the reasons why marketing and hype, and good ol' arbitrary taste, can catapult an OK product to mass popularity -- anything from Beanie Babies to Shania to the latest Keanu Reeves movie -- you can make some sense of it. I don't know how many times I've had the following discussion with my two girls, as they're watching MTV: Eloquent dad: Man, that sucks. Oldest daughter: Yeah, if it sucks so bad, why is it the top-selling record in the country? Dad: Well, honey, you have to understand the power of marketing. When they pour millions of dollars... Hey, where you going? -- Terry Smith
RE: Most albums sold, per RIAA
But I think that if you state it this way -- "Just because something sells like hotcakes doesn't mean it's any good" -- then you're on more solid ground. That Terry Smith, he's a sharp guy. Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
In a message dated 4/23/99 7:05:34 AM EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: "Just because something sells like hotcakes doesn't mean it's any good" I'll go one step further and say that because something sells like hotcakes there's a damn good chance it means it sucks big time. Guilty until proven innocent for me. When did this tide turn from the best selling the best (Elvis, Beatles, etc.) to the worst selling the best (too many to reference)? Neal Weiss
RE: Most albums sold, per RIAA
What was it the man said? When a million people say a stupid thing, it remains a stupid thing. Of course it was a marketing guy who came up with the title 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. Odd thing was, the album was worth getting in that particular instance. Richard -Original Message- From: Terry A. Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, April 23, 1999 2:02 PM To: passenger side Subject: Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA Jon: As far as the lowest common denominator argument goes, I'm not sure what to make of it. The Beatles have sold about 20% more albums; does that mean they made music for a 20% lower common denominator? (I suspect there are a few folks who will answer "yes".) Out of the top 25 on that best-selling etc. Hitching the popularity of music to some sort of inverse proportion, whereby more records sold equals dwindling quality is one of those equations that has too damn many exceptions to be very useful. But I think that if you state it this way -- "Just because something sells like hotcakes doesn't mean it's any good" -- then you're on more solid ground. And if you then explore the reasons why marketing and hype, and good ol' arbitrary taste, can catapult an OK product to mass popularity -- anything from Beanie Babies to Shania to the latest Keanu Reeves movie -- you can make some sense of it. I don't know how many times I've had the following discussion with my two girls, as they're watching MTV: Eloquent dad: Man, that sucks. Oldest daughter: Yeah, if it sucks so bad, why is it the top-selling record in the country? Dad: Well, honey, you have to understand the power of marketing. When they pour millions of dollars... Hey, where you going? -- Terry Smith
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
In a message dated 4/22/99 4:15:08 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: RIAA's searchable gold/platinum database seems to be dead for the moment, but here's a list of the best-selling artists, with millions of units certified (a couple of pleasant surprises in there, notably George Strait and Alan Jackson): interest post, jon. only five african americans on the list. hmm. bill f-w
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
In a message dated 4/22/1999 5:15:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: BROOKS, GARTH 89 PRESLEY, ELVIS 50.1 OK...think about this for a minute! Brooks has sold nearly twice as much as Elvis in 1/4 the time. Now that's a marketing machine! K.
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Apples and oranges, folks. Elvis sold singles in a singles world with far less than 5 billion in it. Go figure, again. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 4/22/1999 5:15:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: BROOKS, GARTH 89 PRESLEY, ELVIS 50.1 OK...think about this for a minute! Brooks has sold nearly twice as much as Elvis in 1/4 the time. Now that's a marketing machine! K.
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Garth also made deals with certain chains (very large ones - Target,if I remember correctly) to double weight reports to Soundscan on sales of his double albums sold, which artificially boosts his total sales numbers. np queens of the stoneage -- From: jon byrd [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "passenger side" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA Date: Thu, Apr 22, 1999, 4:54 PM Apples and oranges, folks. Elvis sold singles in a singles world with far less than 5 billion in it. Go figure, again. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 4/22/1999 5:15:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: BROOKS, GARTH 89 PRESLEY, ELVIS 50.1 OK...think about this for a minute! Brooks has sold nearly twice as much as Elvis in 1/4 the time. Now that's a marketing machine! K.
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
...Well, when George Benson's Breezin' came out we were asked to buy shitloads of it that we could return later under a "new credit system," I'm sure there are a lot of "deals" in all these figures. Again, part of the marketing posturing that takes place everywhere, not that its right, it just happens. BTW - I don't know what Elvis' budget would be in today's dollars nor the size of the target market. In a message dated 4/22/1999 6:06:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Garth also made deals with certain chains (very large ones - Target,if I remember correctly) to double weight reports to Soundscan on sales of his double albums sold, which artificially boosts his total sales numbers. np queens of the stoneage -- From: jon byrd [EMAIL PROTECTED] Apples and oranges, folks. Elvis sold singles in a singles world with far less than 5 billion in it. Go figure, again. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 4/22/1999 5:15:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: BROOKS, GARTH 89 PRESLEY, ELVIS 50.1 OK...think about this for a minute! Brooks has sold nearly twice as much as Elvis in 1/4 the time. Now that's a marketing machine!
RE: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Garth also made deals with certain chains (very large ones - Target,if I remember correctly) to double weight reports to Soundscan on sales of his double albums sold, which artificially boosts his total sales numbers. I don't think that's right. There was some controversy when the boxed set came out because each of the CDs was being counted as a unit, but that's true for all the RIAA-certified sales (it's specifically mention in the gold/platinum criteria grid). So a double album counts as two units whether it's Double Live or one of those Beatles Anthology sets. And while it's true that Elvis started out in a singles-oriented market, Elvis albums were coming out almost from the beginning. But even after accounting for Elvis's handicap in that regard, Brooks' sales record is still astonishing, given that he didn't make his first album until 1989, and his name is surrounded by the names of folks who have been selling for 2 or 3 times as long; the only one who comes even close to matching him is Mariah Carey, whose first album came out in 1990, and she's only sold half as many units. Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Jon Weisberger wrote: Brooks' sales record is still astonishing, given that he didn't make his first album until 1989, and his name is surrounded by the names of folks who have been selling for 2 or 3 times as long; the only one who comes even close to matching him is Mariah Carey, whose first album came out in 1990, and she's only sold half as many units. Stop it, Jon. You're just depressing me. g Stevie
Re: Most albums sold, per RIAA
But even after accounting for Elvis's handicap in that regard, Brooks' sales record is still astonishing, given that he didn't make his first album until 1989, and his name is surrounded by the names of folks who have been selling for 2 or 3 times as long But even after accounting for Elvis's handicap in that regard, Brooks' sales record is still astonishing, given that he sucks. NW
RE: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Jon, Do you think that we could say with some confidence that this prove's Garth Brooks makes music according to the lowest common denominator? BTW - does anyone know how well Garth boy does internationally? Garth also made deals with certain chains (very large ones - Target,if I remember correctly) to double weight reports to Soundscan on sales of his double albums sold, which artificially boosts his total sales numbers. I don't think that's right. There was some controversy when the boxed set came out because each of the CDs was being counted as a unit, but that's true for all the RIAA-certified sales (it's specifically mention in the gold/platinum criteria grid). So a double album counts as two units whether it's Double Live or one of those Beatles Anthology sets. And while it's true that Elvis started out in a singles-oriented market, Elvis albums were coming out almost from the beginning. But even after accounting for Elvis's handicap in that regard, Brooks' sales record is still astonishing, given that he didn't make his first album until 1989, and his name is surrounded by the names of folks who have been selling for 2 or 3 times as long; the only one who comes even close to matching him is Mariah Carey, whose first album came out in 1990, and she's only sold half as many units. Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
RE: Most albums sold, per RIAA
Do you think that we could say with some confidence that this
prove's Garth
Brooks makes music according to the lowest common denominator?
BTW - does anyone know how well Garth boy does internationally?
I believe the RIAA counts international sales in its certifications, but I
could be wrong. He's certainly done well touring internationally.
As far as the lowest common denominator argument goes, I'm not sure what to
make of it. The Beatles have sold about 20% more albums; does that mean
they made music for a 20% lower common denominator? (I suspect there are a
few folks who will answer "yes".) Out of the top 25 on that best-selling
list, I'd rather listen to most of Brooks' stuff than all but a handful - in
fact, I'd rather listen to most of his stuff than all but a handful of the
entire list. Someone at one of our local HNC stations has been on a
Garth+NGR kick lately, so I've been reminded - and I'll take "Calling Baton
Rouge" and "Do What You Gotta Do" over an awful lot of other stuff.
Speaking of Brooks and 'grass, here's something Kathy Chiavola posted over
on bgrass-l about a year and a half ago:
Randy Howard had just finished playing fiddle on the Carl Jackson song
that
Garth recorded. Randy spontaneously kicked off Carter Stanley's "The Fields
Have Turned Brown" and Carl joined in on guitar. All of a sudden Garth
began
singing the tune and knew all of it. He then decided to record it on the
spot. Whether or not it will be released is anyone's guess.
I'd like to hear that; I'll bet it kicks ass. The Carl Jackson tune
mentioned ("Fit For A King," on Sevens) sure does.
Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
