This is what happens...
... when you artificially inflate your sales numbers by "bundling" it with ticket purchases. Sure, The Circle went to #1, and we're all very proud of our guys. However, indications show that it has taken one of the BIGGEST drops, falling (so far) to #17.
I'm pretty sure the Jovi machine stops reading at "we were number one our first week out", but really, they've been preaching relevancy and longevity their whole careers. Even with the rock-bottom prices the last couple of weeks, they still haven't been able to maintain their numbers.
Does it make it any less of a great album? Not in my opinion.
Does it mean that their marketing campaign was a failure? Nope, because they did reach #1.
Does it mean that they're losing fans? No, I don't think so. I mean, the shows did sell out in seconds, just like always.
I don't know for sure, but I think this is an indication of the era of digital-sharing. Right or wrong, I think people are choosing to use their money on shows and swag rather than holding the actual CD in their hands.
What are your opinions?
~ Hath
And thanks to Tony K over at The Screen Door for shooting me the URL above.
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8 comments:
All the money is in touring as far as a band like Bon Jovi is concerned and fair enough too. But I'd be interested to find out how many people wouldn't automatically rush out to buy a Bon Jovi album actually bought The Circle because that would be a better indication of how successful the promotion was.
Like you Hath, I think they just wanted to be able to say (if only for a week) that it hit number 1 it's first week out. That's some mighty fine spin right there, and maybe it's enough to even win them some new fans (whom otherwise wouldn't have bothered to listen) during this month's PR blitz. So...as a relatively new fan...was this what happened when LH was released?
xox
The Fiction Mistress
I think all illegal downloading is to blame. People put up the songs from the new album on YouTube and people can download them straight away. I watched to see when someone would put the songs out, and the album was out less than a week and somebody had put the songs up. I do it with random songs - I admit it - but with The Circle I bought it the day it came out, and the same with all the other albums.
Every band I think faces this, with the exception of a few who still can break down the age of digital downloads. Bands make something ridiculous like 5% of their money through CD sales these days, the rest...touring and merch.
That's why in all honesty I am no where surprised in BJ's prices for the tour. Everyone is doing it, its the only way to survive.
I think its one of their best album, and is right up there with u2's new album of this year. I think more than anything the value in all this PR was to get them out there, so people would spend $4 for the album, hoping it would turn into $150+ for the tour. That's how I see it, and that's just good business. LO
@ HayIRS. The album actually leaked prior to release and the entire album found it's way onto Youtube at one point in video montage form. I think some fans, annoyed at the ticket prices, also boycotted buying the album and downloaded it for free instead. Not sure how many followed through with that but there was definitely a lot of chatter about it.
As for it dropping so quickly, I think it's a combination of factors. For a start, it's a sad indictment of music today. People are alot more fickle these days which, IMO, can be nothing but harmful for the industry. Why work at something and hone the craft if you can be the latest fad and make masses of cash in a short period of time?
Obviously I'm not implying this is what Bon Jovi have done. You can't just dismiss 25 years of success - but the Idols of the world are cash cows. Think about it. Free blanket publicity on primetime TV (7-8pm on a Saturday night over 12, 13, 14 + weeks), hype it up, get a number 1 and if they disappear you trot out the next series.
I don't think 'effort' from record companies is required these days. It's been replaced by hype. I miss the craft.
That turned into a rant. I need to stop ranting about this! Lol!!
Also, like other people have said, an act of Jovi's size and reputation is going to be about touring .... $100 tickets (as an example) to both 'die-hard' fans and casual listeners in a crowd of 20-, 30-, 40,000 people over, say, 50 dates which translates into many sales of $30 t-shirts, $10 posters and $20 programmes .... it adds up.
People mention illegal downloading, etc. But here's the reality. Dave Matthews cd earlier this year sold 400,000 in its opening week. Why? Because DMB plays to their core fans first and then the casual fans second.
To be as big as Bon Jovi, you make sacrifices, you play to the casual fans who may or may not buy your record.
I can also say that many long time fans I know have *not* bought the new record. They aren't planning on it either, because they feel they have been taken advantage of.
The truth is that while Bon Jovi was chasing the casual fans, they forgot about the die-hard and loyal fans. As a culmination of poor promotion (IMO, limiting yourself to a 4th place network is never a good idea), high ticket prices and some people who have had enough, we may see an album that fails to move 500,000 via soundscan. Only time will tell, but with a series of other blockbuster releases coming this week, the album could be out of the Top 20 forseeably next week.
I wouldn't be surprised Anthony. It's dropped to #25 in the UK in 3 weeks .... the second week it dropped from #2 to (I think) #12.
The sad thing is it's a pretty good album imo ....
Not so sure if it's the leaks, pissed off fans, or just smoke and mirrors, but I pre-orderd the cd and got it two days after it came out. My Friend downloaded it from I-tunes instead of buying the cd.
Not so sure it's the NBC thing that hurt them, I think it's the economy.
I think it is more...Flash and then drop. One single doesn't help album sales. look how may they released from the other cds and how they stayed high in the charts longer. Hate to say it but they aren't what they were in the past. Losing your Die hards base isn't the way to go.Just look at the drop in the fan club, the die hards are petering out, moving on so to say. the newbies don't have the staying power to sick out no cd for 5 years, do that now and they will flit away. We were the ones who stood our grown we were the tommy's and the gina's...but we just grew up. Before I had parents to pay the bills, now i have a house and bills and taxes and one pay check just doesn't streach to extra's and where I used to buy two cds I can only do one now and that's at the sale price not full price.
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