FRIED MASON
Superstar
For the doubters
Last edited by a moderator:
Why would a record label buy it's own albums?
- Thread starter Capitol
- Start date
DaveyDave
Superstar
thats the video i was thinking of when i tried to explain it
ManBearPig
half man half bearpig
ummm.. for more media attention moron
Like folks have said, to be popular, you basically already gotta be popular. If artist X sells 200k first week, 75k might buy next week. But if you "sell" 450k first week, you probably intrigued another 75k more buy in the second week. Plus the features artist X will get in their 6 months of hotness/spotlight after the album drop.
And what HUGE artist has really flopped?
Someone selling a lot of albums in one week isn't going to intrigue 75K to buy an album they can download for free. Their purchase is still dependent on them:
1) being intrigued enough to even check that artist's music
2) them liking what they heard enough to purchase
Even if 75K was intrigued enough, that's not nearly enough to make up for the amount of copies that the label supposedly purchased.
As far as huge artists flopping, look at 50 Cent and Nelly. 50 was a big name (though declining) and couldn't even reach Gold with a semi-successful single in "Baby By Me". Nelly was a consistent seller up until '08 and barely went gold with a single featuring Fergie.
For the record, labels do buy albums but not to the degree that some posters are saying. For example, when artists go on shows like 106 and give away "free" copies of their album is an example of them purchasing albums. It's basically for promo runs and not to inflate their sells, which still wouldn't be significant enough to earn a certification.
DaveyDave
Superstar
like i said, they're not actually going around BUYING 500,000 albums. they "buy" 100,000 and then re scan them a number of times at different shops. not to mention all the "free" promo albums they give away at various places.
the way people slavishly follow album sales on here & talk about how that makes an album better i'm surprised it doesn't work more often. but it's mainly just another indication of how the record industry is embarrasingly behind on what's happening in the world when it comes to downloads & all that
100K is still a lot of copies to buy. Even still, the artist is going to be charged for the re-scanned copies. I understand a label competing for #1 chart positions when there's a small difference to make up based on sales predictions. To inflate an album to the point where there's a significant difference between what the album sold and selling 500K or 1 million copies is outlandish though.
With people having access to music like they do now, it'd be difficult to sell an album based off sales hype.
word... its like buying worldstar downloads...
DaveyDave
Superstar
the ARTIST gets charged for the albums "sold" but the label doesn't, it makes them more money because it means it takes longer for the artost to recoupe before they have to start paying them royalties
Black_Jesus
Superstar
So wayne spent his own money on his own album so he can say he went plat in a week?
How does that make sense?
You answered your own question
50 ain't go Gold with BISD? Damn I ain't know that. 50 is the type of dude though who would be too arrogant to buy his own albums. On some "f*** that, I'm goin a mill first week" type of deal lol.
And Nelly fizzled out because that '08 album was the first since '04. Four years is too long to be chillin in the back, especially when his fanbase was mainly women at that point. By the time he came back with Brass Knuckles his fans moved on to the new heartthrob-type dude.
You right though the downloading has an effect.
I've wondered in the last couple of years why most rappers usually move like 100-200 thousand copies and then drop down to like 50 thousand or less the next week. I believe that rappers buy labels to an extent.
bangedher_wholesquad
carlos danger
I don't get the point of CD sales nowadays anyway.
Imagine how much less fixed costs would do to the bottomline?
Wonder if you label bosses thought of that cuz that's the direction that looks inevitable.
@ your golden boy.
Imagine how much less fixed costs would do to the bottomline?
Wonder if you label bosses thought of that cuz that's the direction that looks inevitable.
@ your golden boy.