Pribek

From Journey’s website…

“Don’t Stop Believin’, the classic Journey power ballad, has just become the first catalog track in history to achieve online digital sales of more than 2 million units, according to SoundScan.

First made available through the iTunes Store on April 28, 2003, the truly timeless “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history and the sole catalog track to have crossed the 2 million (double platinum) threshold.

Digital Double Platinum!! Woah!!!

Pretty good, eh?

We can have the discussion about the validity or lack thereof of the power ballad but, I know people love ‘em and this is just further proof. What I want to know is….

Is there a power ballad that you will admit you like?

Coldplay is knocking ‘em dead at the box office. From Billboard.

Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” (Capitol) locks the top spot with 721,000 sold, and bows atop the U.S. chart while holding No. 1 for a second week in its native U.K.

Wowness! 721 Grrrrrr…and the week before, Lil’ Wayne busted a Million. You don’t see that all the time, do ya?

The handoff from Cash Money/Universal Motown’s Lil Wayne to Coldplay also represents just the second time in Nielsen SoundScan history that two albums start with sums greater than 700,000 in back-to-back weeks. The last time it happened was May 2000, when Britney Spears’ “Oops! … I Did It Again,” followed by Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” each broke the million milestone in successive frames, the former with 1.8 million, and Spears’ with 1.3 million.

And the Coldplay lovefest continues…..from Variety.

Coldplay is the biggest pop-rock band in the world today — and XM Radio knows it. Beginning July 15, the satellite radio company will devote a month-long channel to the band’s music. Fans can tune in and hear songs from all of Coldplay’s studio albums as well as rarities, import-only tracks, interviews, and exclusive concert broadcasts from their forthcoming Viva La Vida North American tour. If you’re a fan of big, swooning, mid-tempo rock music this station should provide you with a more-than-adequate fix.

Who doesn’t like big, swooning, mid-tempo rock music?

Swooning. I picture Eno on the studio talk back mic. “I’m afraid it’s just not cutting it fellas’. It’s just not swooning enough. Swoon, I tell ya’, SWOON DAMMIT!”

Anyway, all this good news and happy talk, the music biz must be O.K. after all, right?

Wrong.

Coldplay’s label, E.M.I., has decided to start giving pink slips simultaneously.

The Daily Swarm is leading with this cheerful headline; “EMI bloodbath begins…major layoffs start at Blue Note, Caroline…”

You can say what you want about Guy Hands, that he is a corporate wonk, doesn’t have a clue about how to run a record company but, you can’t question his timing.

Nice one, Guy!

Pollstar has released it’s data on the 20 top-grossing concert tours in North America for 2007. Here’s how it sussed out.

1. The Police $131.9 million
2. Kenny Chesney $71.1 million
3. Justin Timberlake $70.6 million
4. Celine Dion $65.3 million
5. Van Halen $56.7 million
6. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill $52.3 million
7. Rod Stewart $49 million
8. Genesis $47.6 million
9. Josh Groban $43 million
10. Rascal Flatts $41.5 million
11. Dave Matthews Band $41.1 million
12. Billy Joel $39.1 million
13. Roger Waters $38.3 million
14. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band $38.2 million
15. Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus $36 million
16. Elton John $35.7 million
17. Jimmy Buffett $35.6 million
18. Barry Manilow $34.8 million
19. Toby Keith $34.3 million)
20. Mana $33.9 million

To my knowledge, no information was collected from either The Bearded Clam in Kimberling City, Missouri or The Double E Steakhouse up in Highlandville. That aside, we will have to assume that the figures are somewhat accurate.

As with all data, we can look at it from different angles.

We could say; “Wow, old people really kick ass in the music business”. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing at all against geezers making a good living playing music. I’m a geezer myself. But, looking at this list, the only performer that could be considered as a genuine product of the iPod generation is Miley Cyrus. And, as a child T.V. star, she’s a ringer. Once again, don’t get me wrong here, I have no beef with little Miley. At least she’s not pregnant, you know. All I’m saying is that there is generally a good stretch of highway from point A (tweener phenom), to point B (genuine, concert performance career).

I’m afraid that this data can be perceived as much more foreboding to the music business. You can’t come to any solid conclusions but you can make some assumptions that all seem to point in this direction; The concert business is heading down the same rabbit hole as the recording industry.

Reuters said this about Pollstar’s numbers.

The top 20 tours generated $996 million, down 15.6 percent from the year before, according to preliminary data issued on Friday by Pollstar, which covers the concert business. The previous low was $951.1 million in 2004, when Prince and Madonna topped the box office, it said.

15.6 percent is a whopping one year decline. And, this comes at a time when the music industry is shifting the paradigm to try and make the most of the performance revenue streams.

Why, is this happening?
Well, here is another bit from the Reuter’s piece.

He (Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni) suggested that some major artists may have been a little conservative with their ticket prices, noting that the Dave Matthews Band (No. 11, $41.1 million) charged an average ticket price of $49. Bruce Springsteen, hitting the road with the E Street Band for the first time in three years, came in at No. 14 with $38.2 million. But his average ticket was just $92. Both acts are noted for their fan-friendly policies.

Dion’s average ticket price was the most expensive in the top 20, at $141. Genesis, with drummer/singer Phil Collins back in the fold, charged an average of $130 per ticket, which put the British art-rock band at No. 8 with $47.6 million. The Police charged an average $114 and Van Halen an average $111. Chesney was a relative bargain at almost $63.

This clown, Gary Bongiovanni, thinks that they aren’t charging enough for tickets. To be fair, the editor of Pollstar is a very peripheral job as far as the music biz goes but, one has to wonder how many insiders actually do think this way. Good for Dave Matthews, by the way.

No, raising ticket prices is not the solution Pollstar guy. Any moron can look at the above list and figure out that; Young people aren’t going to shows.

Young people… aren’t going to see Elton John, or Rod Stewart, or Roger friggin’ Waters. And, in some insane, alternate reality, if my 17-year-old stepson wanted to take a girl to go see Phil Collins, he damn sure would not lay out the cost of a PlayStation3 to do it.

Young people are smarter than that. They wouldn’t spend that kind of dough to see an act that they were interested in.

Compare the above list to SoundScan’s top 10 digital songs for 2007.

Top 10 digital songs:

1. Daniel Powter/Bad Day: 2.02 million
2. Nelly Furtado/Promiscuous: 1.71 milion
3. Justin Timberlake/SexyBack: 1.66 million
4. Gnarls Barkley/Crazy: 1.63 million
5. James Blunt/You’re Beautiful: 1.62 million
6. Fray/Over My Head: 1.57 million
7. Fray/How to Save a Life: 1.56 million
8. Sean Paul/Temperature: 1.53 million
9. Chamillionaire/Ridin’: 1.42 million
10. Shakira/Hips Don’t Lie: 1.41 million.

That’s what young people are listening to on their iPods. Only one artist in common with the concert list. You go J.T.!

Somehow, the music industry has to figure out how to make concerts interesting to young people. I don’t know how but, price gouging isn’t the answer. The music biz seems to be banking on the concert sector for sustainability.

Here’s the thing about that sustainability; You may be able to convince a Baby Boomer with an I.R.A. and lot’s of disposable cash to get out and go see Billy Joel or Jimmy Buffett. But, that isn’t going to last. It’s going to be far more difficult to play this marketing trick on the, dope addled, booze soaked set that follows them in the parade. Hell, they had to wait on Eddie Van Halen to recover from hip surgery and go through rehab before he could shake his money maker and, he was the one touring. How are you going to continue to pry those fans off of the couch to risk D.U.I. in an attempt to rekindle a bit of misspent youth?

I’m afraid that the bottom line is that all of gloom and doom coming from the music industry is not hype. If anything, it’s a sugar coated fantasy. The musicians will do what they do, “it’s in ‘em and it’s got to come out”. But, the people who built the music industry, the salesman, better start figuring how to sell concerts to kids or, they are going to find out the true nature of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pop in that 8 Track and crank it, boys!

“Let the Midnight Special, shine it’s ever loving light on me”.