Why would a record label buy it's own albums?

[Danie84]

The real question is why don't they do it anymore

...guess those greedy b*stards can't afford to anymore

 

[hustlemania]

THIS, again?

its absolutely amazing how stupid some of these people are..

 

[Capitol]

its absolutely amazing how stupid some of these people are..

You shouldn't shoot down questions. I just want knowledge

 

[JustCKing]

They're not stupid. If an artist is finished as a major player why waste the time/expense when they'll flop the next week/album. Buy an extra 100k of Kendrick Lamar's album and he now looks like the next big thing commercially for hip-hop.

Hypothetically speaking, if a label cops 100K of a Kendrick Lamar album what sense does it make if he's only selling 142K anyway? 142K is about the same as 2Chainz who is one of the biggest rappers out right now.

Why would you cop extra copies of an album by an artist who is already doing decent numbers? That's unnecessary.

When labels use practices of buying back their own albums, it probably has more to do w/ deceiving the artist than it does public perception. It would make more sense for a label to buy back albums and charge the artist to make it more difficult for that artist to recoup. It also makes sense if they want the artist to think they "blew up" when in actuality, they are charging that artist for those copies.

 

[JustCKing]

Another thing to consider is that there's possibly more music fans who are totally oblivious to first week sales than those in the know. Therefore, who sold what last week is not going to attract that much attention unless they do break or set a record.

Bottom line, who sold what isn't going to earn fans or a purchase. If a label wants to make an artist look popular, they could:

-buy positive reviews
-politic for an artist to be on the cover of major magazines
-get the artist performances, interviews etc. with the major networks and television shows
-offer different versions, special pricing of an album etc.

^^^ These are all activities that are fundamental in marketing (placement, people, place, pricing, product etc.)

 

[BlackMajik]

*Cough* Meek Mill *Cough*



Tommy Boy's Tom Silverman Explains How Labels Buy Back Their Own Product

After helping launch the careers of artists like Naughty By Nature, Digital Underground and De La Soul at Tommy Boy Records, Tom Silverman now wants to introduce a business model that will split revenue and costs with artists 50-50. But, he says the current business model, which includes a lot of alleged shady accounting, and payola needs to be scrapped. In an interview with Wired.com, Silverman also explained how and why labels buy their own product in bulk.

“If they buy 50,000 songs, we’re talking $50,000 less 70 percent, so it would cost about $15,000,” Silverman explained. “For $15,000 in a week, they can buy 50,000 more song downloads, which could drive the record up three or four positions on the chart. And they hype of it all would make people believe it, and then the next week it would be real, which is what always used to happen.”

This is hardly the first time labels have been accused of buying their own artists album to boost sales, with the most recent being 50 leveling similar accusations against Def Jam.

“They could have only one scan and have it count four times,” 50 told UK magazine Uncut, after losing a domestic sales competition to Kanye West in 2007. “West's entire career hasn't sold half what I sold on my first album.”

No one has actually proven labels buy their own product to boost sales, and technically the process is not illegal. Additionally, The Wall St. Journal reports the figures may be inaccurate even if some labels aren’t buying their own artist’s material.

“Record labels don't always request certification, and sales might not be tracked for more than a short period of time after an album is released,” states Carl Bialik of the Journal. “On the other hand, the certified numbers might overstate sales if stores order more albums than they are able to sell.”

http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.11717/t...xplains-how-labels-buy-back-their-own-product

 

[JustCKing]

They don't necessarily have to buy it's own records to make an artist appear popular or more popular. That doesn't even make sense to begin with. You don't have to sell million units to get a platinum plaque. They just have to have that amount shipped. Labels can over-ship an album and have it go platinum. There's a lot of labels that are guilty of that and you can check the sound scans vs. the RIAA certification for proof.

 

[BlackMajik]

They don't necessarily have to buy it's own records to make an artist appear popular or more popular. That doesn't even make sense to begin with. You don't have to sell million units to get a platinum plaque. They just have to have that amount shipped. Labels can over-ship an album and have it go platinum. There's a lot of labels that are guilty of that and you can check the sound scans vs. the RIAA certification for proof.

Go head and list those albums/labels then

 

[the cac mamba]

I mean its a little suspicious when you see these huge drop offs from 1st week to 2nd week in sales. Someone like Adele selling consistently week to week but in Hip Hop theres like a 75 percent drop off?

yeah

is it that crazy that the people who were waiting on it bought it that week? idk most people can make time in a week

 

[Big Blue]

Any proof of this? What is the logic behind it? Motive? Endgame?

To generate buzz. If news gets out that so and so went number 1, then people will be curious why, and start listening.

 

[Monster]

"West's entire career hasn't sold half what I sold on my first album"

still true

 

[Harry B]

The real question is how they can do this and no one exposing anything real except rumors started by professional gossipers like 50 cent? Everything is exposed sooner or later, specially if it's some BS like this..

I mean just to buy 100k back in the 90s would cost $2 million, so were they spending $2M just to move an artist from 170 to 270?
Of course they would recoup like half of it after taxes and other fees but still a million bucks? To spend a million bucks to promote an artist who can't move units? . I thought the money went to the people who actually could move units.

They don't necessarily have to buy it's own records to make an artist appear popular or more popular. That doesn't even make sense to begin with. You don't have to sell million units to get a platinum plaque. They just have to have that amount shipped. Labels can over-ship an album and have it go platinum. There's a lot of labels that are guilty of that and you can check the sound scans vs. the RIAA certification for proof.

You can't just ship a million records, record stores have to order a million records. Stores are not trying to store shyt they can't sell.

 

[Food Mane]

small brains will say it makes no sense
but it makes perfect sense

Think of this
I'm in IT
DELL buys business all the time, where they are in negative margins to win business
This is called buying business with the purpose of marketing and market share even if the market share is an illusion people will buy it

This happens and not only in the music industry

To say why would they use their money to buy their own albums is like saying why would they use their own money for marketing... advertising and TV spots

 

[Harry B]

"West's entire career hasn't sold half what I sold on my first album"

still true

CD 3+
LR 3+
G 3+
808s 1.7
MBDTF 1.5
Yeezus 1

GRODT 8
Massacre 5
Curtis 1.3
BISD 0.5
AA 0

So about
13.2 vs 14.8
And we know that's Kanye's will keep on increasing while 50's stopped 6 years ago.

That's irrelevant though, a lot of people had big first albums.. Nelly, Mc Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Juvenile, Kris Kross, Macklemore and on.. That's a good company.
Kanye's company of having a long successful career is Nas, Jay-z, Dr. Dre, LL Cool j and on, levels my friend levels as the good brother Meek Mill says.

 

[Monster]

CD 3+
LR 3+
G 3+
808s 1.7
MBDTF 1.5
Yeezus 1

GRODT 8
Massacre 5
Curtis 1.3
BISD 0.5
AA 0

So about
13.2 vs 14.8
And we know that's Kanye's will keep on increasing while 50's stopped 6 years ago.

That's irrelevant though, a lot of people had big first albums.. Nelly, Mc Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Juvenile, Kris Kross, Macklemore and on.. That's a good company.
Kanye's company of having a long successful career is Nas, Jay-z, Dr. Dre, LL Cool j and on, levels my friend levels as the good brother Meek Mill says.

wtf r u talking about? GRODT sold 14+mil alone, you just made up random numbers smh