Songs of Innocence downloaded 26 million times, 81 million 'experienced' songs

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CosmoKramer said:
In the past, I would go out and buy the single or the album and usually regret it afterword.
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exactly. and the CD was upwards of $18, which is a lot when it's 1992 and you're in middle school. it could be argued that the CDs you got you treasured, which sometimes paid off in spades -- a good example for me was Out of Time, which i bought, obviously, for Losing My Religion, and then "worked" a bit at the other songs and that album inarguably enriched my life. but then i think about all the money wasted on shitty albums by shitty bands that had one good song.

there were also the days of the Columbia House record "clubs" where you'd get, like, 8 free cassettes/CDs when you joined and then they kept sending you albums you didn't ask for and charging you for them and it was on you to send it back.

weirdly sounds familiar.
 
the problem with being an elitist is the sex is just too boring sometimes. I kind of like it when i actually had to work at getting laid, having it thrown at me all of the time takes some of the adventure out of it.
 
Taylor Swift just sold 1.3 million copies of her new album in the states,in just one week? who said the record industry was dead??
 
rennowba said:
Taylor Swift just sold 1.3 million copies of her new album in the states,in just one week? who said the record industry was dead??
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This isn't the norm though. She is the biggest female artist that caters directly to insecure teenage girls, which is historically the largest music market.

If you're not in your twenties or early thirties, and don't release safe, catchy radio friendly songs, you don't have much of a shot of reaching that market. Unless you randomly one day released your music for free onto everyone's iTunes.
 
Moser said:
This isn't the norm though. She is the biggest female artist that caters directly to insecure teenage girls, which is historically the largest music market.
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There are a few reasons:

I think the fact that she didn't alienate her fan base ala Brittany Spears or Miley Cirus(Justin Bieber is following the self destructive route) by changing her persona to be something that her core fans didn't "sign up for" has also helped.

She also appeals to a VERY large record buying audience, which is younger people (teens and kids like you mentioned)

Lastly and perhaps most importantly....she is talented....VERY talented. She writes relatable songs with nice melodies. And you know what....her song (and video) Shake it Off is pretty darn catchy and I like it!!!

I wouldn't say I a Taylor Swift fan but I like her and I'm happy for her success....she's one of the "good ones"(if she is dry humping a wrecking ball next week, I might change my mind)




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CosmoKramer said:
Lastly and perhaps most importantly....she is talented....VERY talented. She writes relatable songs with nice melodies.
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yeah, people really do forget this. her first album had some absolutely lovely melodies and unusually perceptive lyrics for a teenager that focus on emotional complexity and coming of age.

it could be that she's earned her success by writing good songs and performing them well, and it's not just because the world is meaningless people are stupid.

i mean, it is and they are, but that's not Taylor Swift's fault.
 
CosmoKramer said:
There are a few reasons:

I think the fact that she didn't alienate her fan base ala Brittany Spears or Miley Cirus(Justin Bieber is following the self destructive route) by changing her persona to be something that her core fans didn't "sign up for" has also helped.

She also appeals to a VERY large record buying audience, which is younger people (teens and kids like you mentioned)

Lastly and perhaps most importantly....she is talented....VERY talented. She writes relatable songs with nice melodies. And you know what....her song (and video) Shake it Off is pretty darn catchy and I like it!!!

I wouldn't say I a Taylor Swift fan but I like her and I'm happy for her success....she's one of the "good ones"(if she is dry humping a wrecking ball next week, I might change my mind)




Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
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I strongly agree with all your points.

Her success shouldn't be construed as an indicator of the industry's health, as some of the press is trying to convey. It's dying, and it shows. Platinum records are a rarity these days.
 
Moser said:
I strongly agree with all your points.

Her success shouldn't be construed as an indicator of the industry's health, as some of the press is trying to convey. It's dying, and it shows. Platinum records are a rarity these days.
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Her success by no means reflects the "health" of the industry.

I agree with all of the above posts. She's very talented, writes and plays and sings well. Works with great producers, and even better she seems to be a pretty nice, grounded, decent person that isn't just about showing here T&A, which she could if she wanted to.

Anyway, also remember that she had a VERY early pre-order date for her album. I believe this 1.3 million is the culmination of almost 3 MONTHS of pre-order sales. Pre-orders started on August 18th.

That means she sold about 118,000 a week over the past 3 months.

She also did a HUGE amount of promotion. The Voice, every late night show, GMA, CBS this morning, VMA's, the list goes on and on. She also benefits because she can focus pretty much entirely on the US.

Either way, I'm happy for her and she deserves the success.
 
Moser said:
I strongly agree with all your points.

Her success shouldn't be construed as an indicator of the industry's health, as some of the press is trying to convey. It's dying, and it shows. Platinum records are a rarity these days.
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Yep. Her success is the exception that confirms the dire state of the music industry. I believe she sold more copies of her new album than the rest of the top 50 combined.
 
rennowba said:
Isnt her market mainly young girls?
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I think, like Adele, Swift is going to end up covering a lot of demographics.

She comes from a country base, which has always boasted high physical sales even as the record industry collapses because . . . I don't know? Anybody want to take a stab at that?

There was a piece on NPR this morning about how she has incentivized buying the physical release through stuff that a young audience would value - demos recorded on her phone, a Polaroid set included with the CD, a smart social media campaign that encourages purchases. Also, apparently you can't stream her record on spotify right now, so that is driving up sales. Anyway, it's not a long term solution and it certainly doesn't fix the industry. It's the first million seller of 2014. That's crazy.
 
ahittle said:
I think, like Adele, Swift is going to end up covering a lot of demographics.

She comes from a country base, which has always boasted high physical sales even as the record industry collapses because . . . I don't know? Anybody want to take a stab at that?

There was a piece on NPR this morning about how she has incentivized buying the physical release through stuff that a young audience would value - demos recorded on her phone, a Polaroid set included with the CD, a smart social media campaign that encourages purchases. Also, apparently you can't stream her record on spotify right now, so that is driving up sales. Anyway, it's not a long term solution and it certainly doesn't fix the industry. It's the first million seller of 2014. That's crazy.
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Also, I think it was a joke.
 
rennowba said:
Isnt her market mainly young girls?
Click to expand...

anigif_enhanced-buzz-13961-1347468824-7.gif
 
Number 9 on the worldwide chart this week

59,000

Pretty sure that's 380,000 in total now. Should do half a million but it isnt going to get much more then that
 
rennowba said:
Number 9 on the worldwide chart this week

59,000

Pretty sure that's 380,000 in total now. Should do half a million but it isnt going to get much more then that
Click to expand...


Holiday season is coming, 500k is a lock, 1 million might be a stretch


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U2girl said:
33 millions in the first week. Without a Spotify ban on their music, or being a young and hot artist.
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I mean... Really?

First, yea, there was a Spotify ban. It was apple exclusive for a month. iTunes, iTunes radio and Beats music. That's it.

Second... they pushed it to every iTunes account without consent. The numbers are impressive, yes, but need to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt as we really have no idea what percentage of those who downloaded and/or listened via iTunes radio, beats, or just plain shuffling their library actually did so in purpose.
 
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