It’s no secret that record sales are in the toilet these days, and I don’t want to turn this post into another bleak assessment of the music industry. No, I’m here to give a glimmer of hope to all those who have been dropped from a label, laid-off or are just struggling in general. We can save the music industry; there is hope. That hope, my friends, comes from a little band called the Eagles.
In November of 1999, the Eagles Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 became the best selling album in the United States after selling 26 million copies. As of January of 2006, that number jumped to 29 million–or approximately 10% of the US population (I actually prefer thinking that 90% of Americans are actually smart enough to NOT own this album, but anyway…). For those who want to crunch the numbers, that breaks down to three million albums in six years. That’s 500,000 each year or a little under 10,000 each week.
That’s not exactly a small feat. Crazy Town’s The Gift of Game was released that same week in 1999, had tons of promotional money behind it and that annoying “Butterfly” song was shoved down our throats. Album sales for The Gift of Game sit at about 1.5 million, half of what the Eagles sold in that same time period. To give further perspective, an album that sells 10 thousand copies in a week general finds its way onto Billboard’s Top 100 these days. The Fratellis hit #80 after selling 9,600 units one week in June.
As time goes on, the Eagles will probably seem like a good investment–not even as a long-term investment, but on a week-to-week basis. After all, 10 thousand units is certainly worth some attention! So why innovate when one can duplicate? How can the music industry recreate The Eagles’ success each week?
First off, identify who is actually buying the music. For the Eagles, the age demographic is probably older considering (1) it’s a recording from the 70′s and (2) they are actually buying the record as opposed to downloading. However, after 30 years how is it possible that people who want this album still don’t own it? I just don’t buy it (figuratively, that is).
However, this album has been around for 30 years. I can’t really name anything in my apartment that is even close to that old. Some people probably bought the album on 8-track back in the day–then cassette a few years later–followed by a CD of the recording after that. One time a cat puked on one of my CDs, and I had to buy another copy. Maybe the Eagles’ Greatest Hits has just reached such penetration that the weekly sales are these same 20 million or so replacing the record.
If this is the case, the way to save the industry is clear: Destroy all Eagles records.
Think about it. Not only will this result in a huge boost in album sales, but the Eagles will be working overtime to rerecord their classic work, providing money for a studio, producer, engineer, etc. Furthermore, how could the Eagles not tour in support of this effort? This will further boost ticket sales and venue revenue. It’s a solid plan I tell you! Come on, you know this solution is way more awesome and creative than “switching to a digital model” like some bands think the industry should do (yes, I actually had the guts to link to the Hanson interview!):
TOPICS: poingly