Monday, February 24, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Madonna Confirms New Album Plans
Madonna has confirmed that plans for her next album are already in the works and that her collaborators are top secret.
Thank goodness! If I have to hear any more about fitness gyms, clothing, fragrance, skin care or Art For Freedom I'm going to go INSANE!
Link To Video
Flashback: "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" Article, Billboard Magazine (Issue Date: January 25, 1997)
Here's an article from Billboard magazine which talks about the dance remix and subsequent single release of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". I found it interesting for a couple of reasons:
1. The article confirms that Warner Bros. were this close to not releasing a physical single in the USA for this song. Well, this wouldn't have been the first time they made that mistake ("Into The Groove", anyone?) Although we finally did get a maxi, it should be pointed out that the USA didn't get a 2-Track CD or Cassette Single (cassettes were still very popular in 1997). Extra sales of these 2 formats could have pushed "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" into the Top 5 of the Hot 100 back then (the song peaked at #8).
2. The article pretty much confirms that Warner Bros. sometimes sucked at getting high chart positions for Madonna because they were more interested in album sales."...We're interested in selling albums, not singles. Warner traditionally doesn't play singles games. We're not interested in putting out a single and losing money just to get a chart position."
I found that statement quite shocking. While it has been generally known among fans and chart watchers that Warner Bros. were sometimes really bad at timing Madonna's airplay and sales to result in a higher Hot 100 position (sometimes they waited too long to release physical singles, most notably with singles like "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "Rescue Me","Ray of Light", "Nothing Really Matters"...), who knew that they basically almost didn't really care? At this point I'm amazed that we even got physical releases throughout Madonna's career with WB. I have to compare this to the likes of Mariah Carey, who's team always seemed to have been on point with a game plan for her chart positions. They knew what they were doing, that's why Mariah has so many #1 hits. I've always thought that if Warner Bros. put had put in the same effort in the chart strategy of Madonna's singles throughout her career, not only would she have overall higher placings here and there (she has so many #2 hits, can you image how many of them could have been #1 if Warner had been more aggressive?), but I also really do believe that Madonna could still have been the female artist with the most #1 hits right now. The quality of Madonna's songs pushed them as far as they could go but a little nudge here and there with strategy would have helped as well. Just something to think about.
1. The article confirms that Warner Bros. were this close to not releasing a physical single in the USA for this song. Well, this wouldn't have been the first time they made that mistake ("Into The Groove", anyone?) Although we finally did get a maxi, it should be pointed out that the USA didn't get a 2-Track CD or Cassette Single (cassettes were still very popular in 1997). Extra sales of these 2 formats could have pushed "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" into the Top 5 of the Hot 100 back then (the song peaked at #8).
2. The article pretty much confirms that Warner Bros. sometimes sucked at getting high chart positions for Madonna because they were more interested in album sales."...We're interested in selling albums, not singles. Warner traditionally doesn't play singles games. We're not interested in putting out a single and losing money just to get a chart position."
I found that statement quite shocking. While it has been generally known among fans and chart watchers that Warner Bros. were sometimes really bad at timing Madonna's airplay and sales to result in a higher Hot 100 position (sometimes they waited too long to release physical singles, most notably with singles like "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "Rescue Me","Ray of Light", "Nothing Really Matters"...), who knew that they basically almost didn't really care? At this point I'm amazed that we even got physical releases throughout Madonna's career with WB. I have to compare this to the likes of Mariah Carey, who's team always seemed to have been on point with a game plan for her chart positions. They knew what they were doing, that's why Mariah has so many #1 hits. I've always thought that if Warner Bros. put had put in the same effort in the chart strategy of Madonna's singles throughout her career, not only would she have overall higher placings here and there (she has so many #2 hits, can you image how many of them could have been #1 if Warner had been more aggressive?), but I also really do believe that Madonna could still have been the female artist with the most #1 hits right now. The quality of Madonna's songs pushed them as far as they could go but a little nudge here and there with strategy would have helped as well. Just something to think about.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Chart News: Week of 2/15/14
A surprise re-entry for a classic on the Billboard charts!
The Immaculate Collection
BILLBOARD 200: #153 (Re-Entry)
TOP CATALOG ALBUMS: #34 (Re-Entry)
Thanks Maurice G.
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