Will November's big releases help?

[Crushcrushchris]

I just wanted to see if anybody thought that November's big releases would help get sales back to pre-Napster days.

The market as everybody knows is nowhere near as profitable as it had been in years past. However, this year sales have been up in comparison to last year.

However, as I said, I wanted to know if you think that this will lead the music industry back to where it was before with music consumers.

Releases in November will include these artists:
Eminem
Destiny's Child
Chingy
LeAnn Rimes
Duran Duran
Black Eyed Peas
Toby Keith
Shania Twain
Fat Joe
Snoop Dogg
Bon Jovi
Britney Spears
U2

[Deleted]

Mariah Carey's album is also coming out in November.

[DuckHead]

It will certainly help sales with that many big-name artists coming out with albums. It should be a big fourth quarter for the music industry.

[WhySoSerious?]

It's not going to get back to where it was before, but this year will be more profitable than last.

Every November sees an onslaught of big releases. This year is no different.

[Miguelín]

The said:

Mariah Carey's album is also coming out in November.

And would this ehlp?

[Deleted]

Miguel said:

And would this ehlp?

Mariah's albums usually open with about 300,000+ sales and sell over a 1 million in their first month. How the hell is Duran Duran going to help? They're a washed up 80's boy band.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

'Charmbracelet' has passed 1 million? I'd be rather surprised if it did. Unless Mariah can have a good first single... that does at least mid-good, I don't think we can expect anything major with sales.

[j]

Imaginary said:

I just wanted to see if anybody thought that November's big releases would help get sales back to pre-Napster days.

As TCorey said, every November sees an onslaught of huge releases. So even though right now year-to-date sales are ahead of 2003's by 7%, come November, you have to include all of Nov 2003's big albums in the comparison, and the 7% figure would probably not rise by very much, if any at all.

[Love Plastic Love]

All of Mariah's last albums passed 1 million in one month??

[Deleted]

Poetry said:

All of Mariah's last albums passed 1 million in one month??

Yes.

"Charmbracelet" was at 1.2 million the last time it was checked and it sold about 90% of that in December 2002 alone. It's opening week was somewhere around 300k. I find it very interesting that that's a flop when Mariah pulls those numbers in. Any other week, when a major rapper with a #1 smash does it, that's a hit. But when the washed up pop diva does it, it's a flop.

[Edf85]

Just like TLC3D! Certified gold and platinum (on the same day) ONLY a month after its release

[msanoja]

The said:

I find it very interesting that that's a flop when Mariah pulls those numbers in.

Especially when Charmbracelet basically doubled Glitter's sales.

[bluenote]

The said:

Yes.

"Charmbracelet" was at 1.2 million the last time it was checked and it sold about 90% of that in December 2002 alone.  It's opening week was somewhere around 300k.  I find it very interesting that that's a flop when Mariah pulls those numbers in.  Any other week, when a major rapper with a #1 smash does it, that's a hit.  But when the washed up pop diva does it, it's a flop.

well when you are one of the highest selling females of all time...i dont think its all that special. She should be able to sell that off her fan base alone....and thats who is probably buying it. I dont hear too many non Mariah fans running out to buy her albums anymore because of a hot song or something.

[allow that]

BlueNote said:

well when you are one of the highest selling females of all time...i dont think its all that special. She should be able to sell that off her fan base alone....and thats who is probably buying it. I dont hear too many non Mariah fans running out to buy her albums anymore because of a hot song or something.

The bottom line in the numbers here. We're not talking about the specific artist's careers here, so it's irrelevant how much Mariah's previous albums sold in comparison. Point is, she still sells respectably... and she'll likely sell more than at LEAST 1/3 of the artists up on the original list. So, if a band, rapper, or other solo female vocalist sells 1.2 million and its considered a "hit," Mariah's "flop" that also sells 1.2 million still helps the industry just as much.

[j]

The whole relative vs. absolute argument...

On an absolute level, 1.2m isn't a flop.

On a relative level, comparing to other artists right now, it isn't a flop either.

On a relative level, comparing to Mariah's previous efforts, you *could* call it a flop. Although, you could justify it by the fact that she gets zero airplay.

Lastly, if you consider the fact that only her fans are buying her previous few albums and that she hasn't gained any new fans since the late 90s, you could call her a flop now. I mean, have you ever heard anyone say "Meh... I didn't like any of Mariah 90s albums but that Glitter CD sure is awesome." And I don't think you can find anyone who will tell you that he owns only 1 Mariah album and that's Charmbracelet. No, the people who bought Charmbracelet have also bought her 90s albums. I have no proof of this, of course, but it's what I suspect.

[Deleted]

But all artist's sales go downhill eventually. Mariah isn't going to be selling the 10 million she once was. Usher and OutKast are struggling to make it up there. Just because she's not selling the same amount as her top albums does not make it a flop. Mariah's album sold almost as much as Beyonce's worldwide. Beyonce was considered one of the biggest successes of 2003 and Mariah was considered one of the biggest flops. It's ridiculous.

[JayBoozer]

Mariah had her biggest debut ever with Charmbracelet, there's no doubting that she could surpass Charmbracelet's sales, especially if she had a hit single.

[bluenote]

Jersey said:

The bottom line in the numbers here. We're not talking  about the specific artist's careers here, so it's irrelevant how much Mariah's previous albums sold in comparison. Point is, she still sells respectably... and she'll likely sell more than at LEAST 1/3 of the artists up on the original list. So, if a band, rapper, or other solo female vocalist sells 1.2 million and its considered a "hit," Mariah's "flop" that also sells 1.2 million still helps the industry just as much.

I understand that 100% All i'm sayin is Mariah has the fan base to sell that much compared to some other new or unknow act. i think Mariahs has at least a million fans to go out and buy her album within a month. I'm not callin it a flop or failure. I'm simply commenting on her fan base.

[Deleted]

EvanEscence0 said:

Mariah had her biggest debut ever with Charmbracelet, there's no doubting that she could surpass Charmbracelet's sales, especially if she had a hit single.

"Charmbracelet" was her second biggest opening week. Her biggest was "Rainbow".

[allow that]

BlueNote said:

I understand that 100% All i'm sayin is Mariah has the fan base to sell that much compared to some other new or unknow act.  i think Mariahs has at least a million fans to go out and buy her album within a month. I'm not callin it a flop or failure.  I'm simply commenting on her fan base. 

I agree with the fanbase thing and if this were a topic solely about Mariah, then I wouldn't even need to continue commenting on this.

BUT since this IS about albums sold, it makes absolutely no difference if the people snatching up the albums are hardcore fans buying 10 copies each, casual listeners buying the CD after hearing it on the radio, or a religious cult. Albums sold are albums sold... and in this case we're talking about albums sold this coming Novemer/December as a whole... not how many someone sold over their career or so far this year. So, bottom line is regarless of who's buying it, Mariah's release will tack on some more album sales into the industry's 4th quarter grand total.

[Love Plastic Love]

Its still shocking to me that she sold over a million in one month and then basically nothing the rest of the time. I mean do albums often sell over a million in one month and then only end up selling 1.2 million

[Deleted]

Poetry said:

Its still shocking to me that she sold over a million in one month and then basically nothing the rest of the time. I mean do albums often sell over a million in one month and then only end up selling 1.2 million

Well what was supporting the album past that point? Nothing. The two singles after "Through The Rain" bombed. The album was done as soon as it came out.

[bluenote]

Jersey said:

I agree with the fanbase thing and if this were a topic solely about Mariah, then I wouldn't even need to continue commenting on this.

BUT since this IS about albums sold, it makes absolutely no difference if the people snatching up the albums are hardcore fans buying 10 copies each, casual listeners buying the CD after hearing it on the radio, or a religious cult. Albums sold are albums sold... and in this case we're talking about albums sold this coming Novemer/December as a whole... not how many someone sold over their career or so far this year. So, bottom line is regarless of who's buying it, Mariah's release will tack on some more album sales into the industry's 4th quarter grand total.

point well taken

[ryarboro]

Well, keep in mind, only about 50-60 or so albums sell over 1 million copies in a year (based on the past few years), so an album like Mariah's definitely helps the industry.

However, I would be curious to see how Mariah would sell if she did not have an album released in a non-4th quarter nowadays. If I am not mistaken, Charmbracelet came out in the 4th quarter in '02 which helped her lead sales and then the album plummeted pretty fast when "Boy (I Need You) flopped as a second single. However, it was great marketing to see her get out of the gate with a big # late in the year and I believe, hit her mark of 3-4 million worldwide albums sold that the label was looking for. 1.2 million albums sold is nothing to sneeze at btw, that is more than Monica, Brandy and not too far behind Ashanti's last album.

I am not a big fan of Mariah, however I am pulling for her. The music industry needs the talent to hang around, I just hope her next album is blessed with great material to take advantage of her voice.