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OT: Atlantic Records Is Run By Morons
Sep. 6th, 2008 02:50 pmHave you heard that song "American Boy?" Catchy, isn't it? It's the first international breakout hit by hip-hop/pop diva Estelle, previously unknown to U.S. listeners so they had to add a bit with Kanye West to get it played. I loathe Kanye West but I do like the song.
So I go to trusty iTunes and the only version of the song available is from some cover album called Pop Hits. It's not even the original, just a so-so cover! Not only can you not buy the original song, you can't even buy the album. WTH? I go over to Amazon.com's MP3 downloads and while you can buy the album for downloading, you cannot buy the single.
Since I'm old and therefore not in the loop about these things, I did a little search to see what was up. As it turns out, the record label that released Estelle's album, Atlantic Records, wanted to push the album to Gold status (500,000 copies sold) . Downloads apparently don't count, which in this day and age, they should! Since Atlantic had sales success by pulling Kid Rock's latest single off of iTunes, it figured pulling "American Boy" from iTunes, Amazon, etc. will drive people to buy the CD instead.
Not only is AR run by greedy bastards, they are also STUPID greedy bastards. According to Wikipedia (not always accurate, I know), the song dropped in popularity on the charts since it was pulled from iTunes and the label might have nuked a fledgling career. Because really, aren't we past the days of buying a whole CD just because you liked one song? The whole album might be wonderful or it may not be. It's hard to tell because this is somebody I'm completely unfamiliar with. Kid Rock already has a huge following. Estelle isn't that well-known outside of the UK. It's easier to get people to take a chance with a new artist if they can try out songs they do like.
All Atlantic Records has done is drive people who want "American Boy" on their iPods to download it illegally for free or to just blow it off and forget about it. Hopefully other record companies won't think of this as a great business model.
So I go to trusty iTunes and the only version of the song available is from some cover album called Pop Hits. It's not even the original, just a so-so cover! Not only can you not buy the original song, you can't even buy the album. WTH? I go over to Amazon.com's MP3 downloads and while you can buy the album for downloading, you cannot buy the single.
Since I'm old and therefore not in the loop about these things, I did a little search to see what was up. As it turns out, the record label that released Estelle's album, Atlantic Records, wanted to push the album to Gold status (500,000 copies sold) . Downloads apparently don't count, which in this day and age, they should! Since Atlantic had sales success by pulling Kid Rock's latest single off of iTunes, it figured pulling "American Boy" from iTunes, Amazon, etc. will drive people to buy the CD instead.
Not only is AR run by greedy bastards, they are also STUPID greedy bastards. According to Wikipedia (not always accurate, I know), the song dropped in popularity on the charts since it was pulled from iTunes and the label might have nuked a fledgling career. Because really, aren't we past the days of buying a whole CD just because you liked one song? The whole album might be wonderful or it may not be. It's hard to tell because this is somebody I'm completely unfamiliar with. Kid Rock already has a huge following. Estelle isn't that well-known outside of the UK. It's easier to get people to take a chance with a new artist if they can try out songs they do like.
All Atlantic Records has done is drive people who want "American Boy" on their iPods to download it illegally for free or to just blow it off and forget about it. Hopefully other record companies won't think of this as a great business model.
