Saturation point?
-
Here's a question. Has Paul's latest album, 'New' suffered because there has been too much McCartney related product released in recent years? In the six years since 'Memory Almost Full' we've had two further studio albums,'Electric Arguments' & 'Kisses On The Bottom', a live release in 'Good Evening New York City', dvd/blu ray issue of Rockshow and various other re-releases such as Band On The Run, Ram, McCartney and McCartney II. (I may have overlooked one or two others.) So have we reached saturation point with McCratney product? Having released MAF in 2007 had Paul simply disappeared for six years (meaning no live concerts, no tv appearances, no re-releases etc etc) and then returned to the spotlight with New, would the album have sold more copies? Would the album have appeared to have been more of an 'event' rather than just 'another' Paul McCartney album? When Kate Bush releases an album,or David Bowie, or Pink Floyd, those albums are 'events'.........with a new Paul McCartney album does anyone care apart form his fans?
-
Kestrel:
Here's a question. Has Paul's latest album, 'New' suffered because there has been too much McCartney related product released in recent years? In the six years since 'Memory Almost Full' we've had two further studio albums,'Electric Arguments' & 'Kisses On The Bottom', a live release in 'Good Evening New York City', dvd/blu ray issue of Rockshow and various other re-releases such as Band On The Run, Ram, McCartney and McCartney II. (I may have overlooked one or two others.) So have we reached saturation point with McCratney product? Having released MAF in 2007 had Paul simply disappeared for six years (meaning no live concerts, no tv appearances, no re-releases etc etc) and then returned to the spotlight with New, would the album have sold more copies? Would the album have appeared to have been more of an 'event' rather than just 'another' Paul McCartney album? When Kate Bush releases an album,or David Bowie, or Pink Floyd, those albums are 'events'.........with a new Paul McCartney album does anyone care apart form his fans?
I was thinking the same thing myself! He is prolific, always in the public consciousness, so much so that it could work against him... in the eyes of the general public and the casual fan. There is always an album of some description. Even if some of them aren't everyone's cup of tea (and Kisses on the Bottom is the only McCartney album I don't have... just couldn't "buy into" that one... along with the classical ones. And I'm not an Electric Arguments kinda guy) Many tours (to everywhere but Australia... but the last time he came here in '93 it was huge) That Rockshow re-release, however, was excellent. Been waiting for that for decades, since video recorders became obsolete. So, I love the re-releases of his product. But, yeah, in some ways a sabbatical is the best thing to drive sales through the roof. But... as they say in the classics.... "You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't."
-
All that went through my mind too ~ just like NEW has re-energised paulmccartney.com ~ myself included, despite me being out of action for all sorts of reasons
Even if Paul and his entourage thought it best to be 'outta-sight-outta-mind' for a period of time ~ Paul has so much enthusiasm for his music ~ receives tons of respect from his legion of fans and being 'out there' is how he lives and breathes ~ don't think he'd want to. -
Tough one this,the album has failed in the UK now maybe MPL and Paul are happy with this outcome (i doubt that very much) so where does he go from here carry on releasing albums or carry on touring or maybe take a year off and give us time to miss him?. I love seeing him live but maybe a break is called for for a year or so a total blackout as i say give us that time to miss him more than we do and maybe that could get sales going again or maybe Paul has accepted the days of big selling albums are gone and will continue as he's doing now,i suspect this is what'll happen. Theres no real answer to it is there
-
hengirl:
Tough one this,the album has failed in the UK now maybe MPL and Paul are happy with this outcome (i doubt that very much) so where does he go from here carry on releasing albums or carry on touring or maybe take a year off and give us time to miss him?. I love seeing him live but maybe a break is called for for a year or so a total blackout as i say give us that time to miss him more than we do and maybe that could get sales going again or maybe Paul has accepted the days of big selling albums are gone and will continue as he's doing now,i suspect this is what'll happen. Theres no real answer to it is there
Yikes you're probably right, but not sure if I'll cope
: -
Morse_Moose:
Even if Paul and his entourage thought it best to be 'outta-sight-outta-mind' for a period of time ~ Paul has so much enthusiasm for his music ~ receives tons of respect from his legion of fans and being 'out there' is how he lives and breathes ~ don't think he'd want to.
That's the vicious circle really. Paul releases all these albums and plays all these shows because thats what he enjoys doing. But by doing what he enjoys doing,his latest recordings are proving to be less popular,although he seems to maintain his popularity as a live performer. I guess Paul's attitude is that he'd rather do what he enjoys doing and risk being less popular rather than being more popular but be prevented from doing what he wants to do...... if that makes sense?
-
Kestrel:
Morse_Moose:
Even if Paul and his entourage thought it best to be 'outta-sight-outta-mind' for a period of time ~ Paul has so much enthusiasm for his music ~ receives tons of respect from his legion of fans and being 'out there' is how he lives and breathes ~ don't think he'd want to.
That's the vicious circle really. Paul releases all these albums and plays all these shows because thats what he enjoys doing. But by doing what he enjoys doing,his latest recordings are proving to be less popular,although he seems to maintain his popularity as a live performer. I guess Paul's attitude is that he'd rather do what he enjoys doing and risk being less popular rather than being more popular but be prevented from doing what he wants to do...... if that makes sense?
Total sense
That's what I love about Paul ~ he doesn't really give a toss.....but deep down.... -
Deep down all artists have ego's,they want to be loved (dont we all) it must hurt when a perfectly decent album tanks,i think what worries me more is if it puts him off releasing more new material
,which ok i do doubt but well maybe its down to chalk this one down to bad planning and hope for the best with the next album. As for Paul live,even on a bad day there is no one better is there? -
Kestrel:
Morse_Moose:
Even if Paul and his entourage thought it best to be 'outta-sight-outta-mind' for a period of time ~ Paul has so much enthusiasm for his music ~ receives tons of respect from his legion of fans and being 'out there' is how he lives and breathes ~ don't think he'd want to.
That's the vicious circle really. Paul releases all these albums and plays all these shows because thats what he enjoys doing. But by doing what he enjoys doing,his latest recordings are proving to be less popular,although he seems to maintain his popularity as a live performer. I guess Paul's attitude is that he'd rather do what he enjoys doing and risk being less popular rather than being more popular but be prevented from doing what he wants to do...... if that makes sense?
I totally agree. McCartney has all the money in the world so he can do whatever he wants and that is a wonderful freedom as a artist. I am sure he would have loved "New" to be a huge seller but his world is not going to end. I think if he started playing concerts to half filled areanas than he would be more concerned.
-
Guys and Ladies, Why all the doom and gloom? NEW has not been out a full month and many of the posts are saying that NEW has been a colossal failure relative to "Sales". A Music Catalog like Macca's will continue to sell for years and years to come. Whereas many artists' CD's will just disappear after a few months (headed for discount bins), Paul's CD's and their respective downloads will sell far into the future. I was a little surprised that Paul did not come back to the States (after his Britain promotions) to further promote NEW and appear on some big US TV Shows. The US after all is his biggest market. I'm sure it would have added to sales. But Paul must have his reasons for not doing it. Maybe he just felt he needed some rest before the Japan tour or he needed to spend time with his young daughter. We forget (including me) that he is 71 and has been on a grueling schedule. It shows that Paul isn't worried about staying on the top of the charts. He knows that his CD's and songs will always sell. And NEW entered the charts in the Top 5 in many countries around the world so it was hardly a failure. I believe that NEW will have a resurgence in sales in 2014 especially if he tours extensively in America. His name will be bigger than ever with all the publicity of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles coming to America. His shows will be instant sellouts. If he plays 4 to 8 tracks from NEW at his live shows, it will create sales of NEW on its own. There are also other Marketing strategies they can employ (i.e. radio specials on Sirius, Pandora, I-Heart radio etc.). This album will continue to sell because of its quality. It will not, in all probability, hit best seller lists but NEW will be, in my opinion, a steady seller for years to come. And, as I said, I think NEW will have plenty of added Sales spike in 2014 if Paul chooses to tour. From all indications, I think he will. I continue to play NEW and the album just continues to amaze me. At first, I had no doubt about the first 7 tracks (up to the title track). In fact, I can't think of a Paul Solo album where the first 7 tracks are stronger. But now the 2nd half of NEW is really growing with me. Because of NEW'S quality and Paul's genius, kids in the future will discover it on their own when most of the "hot" artists of today will be yesterday's news. Cheer up, NEW is not "dead" by any means.
-
Kestrel:
Morse_Moose:
Even if Paul and his entourage thought it best to be 'outta-sight-outta-mind' for a period of time ~ Paul has so much enthusiasm for his music ~ receives tons of respect from his legion of fans and being 'out there' is how he lives and breathes ~ don't think he'd want to.
That's the vicious circle really. Paul releases all these albums and plays all these shows because thats what he enjoys doing. But by doing what he enjoys doing,his latest recordings are proving to be less popular,although he seems to maintain his popularity as a live perf__ormer. I guess Paul's attitude is that he'd rather do what he enjoys doing and risk being less popular rather than being more popular but be prevented from doing what he wants to do...... if that makes sense?
Yes, his popularity as a live performer...of Beatles material. What if he performed more solo songs? Or just did the NEW album?
-
You left out his ballet music album when listing his products in recent years, Kestrel. B.J. is right, "New" isn't through selling yet and will always continue to sell
-
Didn't Paul say himself in an interview that he was going to review things after the next spate of gigs. Did he mean Japan? Does he mean touring, recording.. As Kestrel said its a viscous circle, he is so prolific even now (We forget to mention Ocean's Kingdom, how long must have that been in the pipeline, plus all the collaborations etc). I just don't think its Paul's way to disappear for years on end just so an album might sell well. The touring gives him the luxury of being able to work on albums now for the creative outlet. But it must hurt, such a great album out of the chart in a matter of weeks.
-
Part of the marketing problem is that McCartney has chosen to essentially continually tour since 2009, but not TOUR, ie do a major tour to promote a product. So, for the public, he is just OUT THERE touring for no real reason except to play Beatle songs. And it is confusing. Just take the recent tour. The tour was given a new name, OUT THERE. But it was essentially to promote the re-issue of WINGS OVER AMERICA. But he added a bunch of Beatle songs, but did not open with Venus and Mars/Rockshow/Jet, like OVER AMERICA, but Eight Days A Week. And played no NEW songs. Is that confusing enough??? And I am a fan who follows what the man does! Think about casual fans or just "boomers" out there buying product. I suspect McCartney is not making a bunch of business mistakes. Rather, he is doing what he pleases. And he has a right to do that.
-
He should just think how great "New" is creatively, and be inspired to get cracking on all his unfinished songs he said he's stockpiled
Finish them and write more 
Keep his eyes on the prize of creating more new music Not just the classical, though but concentrating on the pop, rock, country rock, folk rock, piano ballads, Fireman EA type, etc. -
Kestrel:
Here's a question. Has Paul's latest album, 'New' suffered because there has been too much McCartney related product released in recent years? In the six years since 'Memory Almost Full' we've had two further studio albums,'Electric Arguments' & 'Kisses On The Bottom', a live release in 'Good Evening New York City', dvd/blu ray issue of Rockshow and various other re-releases such as Band On The Run, Ram, McCartney and McCartney II. (I may have overlooked one or two others.) So have we reached saturation point with McCratney product? Having released MAF in 2007 had Paul simply disappeared for six years (meaning no live concerts, no tv appearances, no re-releases etc etc) and then returned to the spotlight with New, would the album have sold more copies? Would the album have appeared to have been more of an 'event' rather than just 'another' Paul McCartney album? When Kate Bush releases an album,or David Bowie, or Pink Floyd, those albums are 'events'.........with a new Paul McCartney album does anyone care apart form his fans?
I don't think so. If anything because he's in the media he's still a popular artist. New was a pretty big event in the US with the free concerts in Hollywood and Times Square. Bowie was a hit for about 3 weeks and has totally disappeared again. I think New will be around for quite a while, and I don't think all the past releases will make him suffer for it. New is great on its own!
Besides, Capitol released 9 albums in 2 1/2 years by The Beatles and it didn't hurt them any! 
-
I didn't really keep many tabs on how the new album was selling but I can understand why there could be a bit of weaker sales when there is actually more product for the fans to buy. Everyone has different buying habits, but with this current CD available and the formats and pressings to buy, what about The Beatles at the BBC V2? It's clear that Paul has done a solid amount of press for his album New release date for at least 2 months but now after releasing a second single, some of that PR has to go into The Beatles CD(Paul did that radio pr for Chris Evans this week for BBC V2 for example) for this month.
-
I think we have to accept that the prospect of a new Paul McCartney album doesn't actually mean a great deal to the vast majority of people out there. Even people who will enthusiastically say that they love The Beatles will turn their nose up (ignorantly) about Paul's solo material. Combine that with the rapid decline in people buying physical CDs in favour of downloading (legal or otherwise) and also those who subscribe to online streaming services such as Spotify means that the sales also don't necessarily reflect the amount of people who have heard it. Only selling 100,000 CDs (for example, I haven't researched the true international figure) in 2013 isn't the same as selling 100,000 in 1993. It's not necessarily a poor figure, a failure or a flop. The critical response has been fantastic and I think this will sell well for years to come. The music business has changed immensely. Paul has embraced some of those changes and I don't think he will necessarily be downhearted about the physical sales of "New", especially given the world's largely enthusiastic response to it. I must admit that I have really enjoyed the good old fashioned promotional techniques that Paul has employed getting the album "out there". He's a true professional and has really shown other bands of today how it's done, even if he hasn't been shifting millions of units. When it comes down to it, even though this is Paul McCartney we're talking about, we have to accept that he is no longer a mainstream artist. We, as fans, happen to be one of the biggest underground movements in the world. I'm cool with that. Are you?
-
From Wikipedia: "The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 67,000 copies in the United States.[36] The single "New" debuted at number 9 and peaked at number 4 on the Japanese Singles Charts.[37] The album debuted at number 1 in Norway; number 2 in Denmark, France, and Japan; number 3 in Canada, the UK, and the US; number 4 in Italy; number 5 in Croatia; number 6 in Austria and Germany; and number 9 in the Swedish charts;[citation needed] this represents McCartney's highest solo career chart placement since 1989's Flowers in the Dirt album.[original research?] New debuted as the #3 highest selling album on its debut week Worldwide with 165.000 copies sold." Pretty good if you ask me!
-
I agree, Randy. The chart positions of the album don't lie!
