Rock Keeps Reaching Pole Position in 2003

Just what the name says.
mikenycLI
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Rock Keeps Reaching Pole Position in 2003

Postby mikenycLI » Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:45 am

I'm interested in the quotes about "value-added"...I like that phrase they use...material to CD's, especially the cut about the Eagles and Best Buy.

With this logic, you could put out a dog of a music cd, throw in a totally meaningless EPK DVD, embargo it from every other music store outlet, and it will sell. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, I don't know about that, but whatever fantasy you have and floats your boat....

What about the Music, huh ???? Guess it's secondary here !

Courtesy of Billboard online...

Rock Keeps Reaching Pole Position in 2003

Sun June 22, 2003 03:14 PM ET

By Anthony Colombo

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The second quarter of 2003 has been an especially fertile time for rock music on the Billboard 200 album chart. During the 11 chart weeks between April 12 and June 21, six different rock titles have held the top spot for seven of those weeks.

That run included Linkin Park Meteora with 810,000 units -- the third-highest sales week of 2003, so far -- as well as debuts by Staind, Godsmack, Marilyn Manson, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica. In contrast, during the 14-month period between February 2002 and April 2003, only four rock titles reached the pole position.

Mike Rittberg, VP of rock formats at Warner Bros., says the rock release state is clearly stronger than it was in 2002. "I think the rise in sales on rock titles has been because of some great rock product,"

Rittberg says, "A lot of artists have records coming out now. Good equal strong sales."

During 2002, rock acts topped the Billboard 200 for just six weeks, compared to the seven weeks so far this year. And the 2002 tally includes the last four weeks of an eight-week chart-topping run for Creed's Weathered, which began in late 2001.

In the 12 years since Billboard began using Nielsen SoundScan data, rock has experienced two long droughts in chart-topping activity. During the first, a 27-month period from April 1997 through July 1999, only six rock acts logged a total of eight weeks at No. 1. The second drought began when Creed dropped out of No. 1 in early 2002 and lasted through Linkin Park's arrival atop the chart in April.

At least part of the genre's recent revival results from established acts releasing strong new albums. All of this year's rock chart-toppers previously reached the top five on the Billboard 200. And, while Linkin Park and Godsmack had never topped the chart before this year, each has a pair of platinum records under their belts.

The genre's improvement isn't just limited to the No. 1 spot. Of the nine albums that entered the big chart's top three rungs between this year's May 24 and June 7 issues, all but two were rock titles.

In 2002, 23 rock titles debuted in the top five-accounting for 29% of the year's top five entries. Many of those were albums from old hands, such as Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, the Rolling Stones, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In 2003, 10 rock acts debuted in the top five-or 36% of the year's top five entries. Two of the 10 titles debuted higher than their previous peak positions. AFI spent one week on The Billboard 200 at No. 174 in October 2000 with its independent release The Art of Drowning. The act's major-label follow up, Sing the-Sorrow, on Nitro/DreamWorks/ Interscope, entered at No. 5 in the March 29 issue.

Likewise, Flip/Geffen/Interscope band Cold peaked at No. 98 in June 2001 with 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage, while Year of the Spider entered at No. 3 in the May 31 issue.

Value-added offerings have also spurred rock sales. Rittberg thinks such attractions helped Linkin Park's Meteora move close to 2 million units, according to SoundScan. "We had the CD full of enhanced features and content," he says. "It's important that fans get a chance to be closer to their favorite bands."

Enhanced product has played a major role in CD sales at Best Buy, according to head buyer Gary Arnold. "The consumer truly embraces the marriage of audio and video. Therefore, when like the Eagles releases its new song accompanied by a video, the consumer finds this appealing and responds accordingly," he says.

Metallica's St. Anger came with a live performance DVD plus digital access to unreleased live performances. Cold's Year of the Spider included a DVD with the video for the single "Stupid Girl," plus live footage and a making-of-the-CD feature. The enhanced CD of this year's self-titled Deftones release included exclusive footage.

While Web sites are important, radio remains crucial.

Linkin Park, for example, had its "Somewhere I Belong" at No. 1 on both Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks the week that Meteora entered atop The Billboard 200.

"Having maximum exposure on the single was key," says Rittberg.

Reuters/Billboard

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jht ... ID=2968361