Album Sales... real talk!!!

I didn't write this but the info is real talk!!! read on..

Welcome back to another installment of www.chronicvacation.com and I am your host, Dave House OUTLAW. My original plan was to debut the Soundscan sales this week on Chronic Vacation, but I have to go against my own grain. I fathered the whole "Broadcasting Soundscan over Websites" so I shouldn't have to. Plus, why broadcast the sales of CD's when over half of America subscribes to Ipods. Anyway though fellow Comrades, let me break down the "Album Sales to you like this: Major retailers make commitments to the sales and marketing department of each major record label on how many "orders" of cd's they will stock in their stores in major markets. The sales department must meet a certain quota or criteria to have the record placed and they can only do that by making sure the certain artist has buzz. The only way to PHYSICALLY see that buzz on Paper is through the BDS and Chart positioning, hence why Radio is so important.

So why should I still broadcast Album Sales when you can't be caught dead walking around with a discman or a cd player. The average Joe or Jamaal are making their own playlists of what they want to hear. This is why it seems like artists are more successful with their singles then they are with their album. People say that they are dropping an album basically because it still sounds good on TV or on radio. But why drop an "album" in these times in Hip Hop when your only as good as the song you last dropped and however long that song lasts? (Welcome to the Death of the Old School @ Noon). Soundscan only tracks how many cd's were sold the previous week yet the number of CD Players and Stereos are declining. Walking around with a discman is equivalent to having a beeper. Using your shirt to wipe the scratches off a CD is equivalent to hiding the fade of your beat up Two Way Pager from someone you just beemed your contact to.

Which now brings me to your next question, "well Lil Wayne sold 1 million CD's in a week. "Yes Lil Wayne did "sell" one million in a week because retailers had a hot ticket with Lil Wayne. Weezy F. Baby has remained consistent through the music scene in between gaps of his album via mixtapes and features/collaborations. Even in collaboration, Wayne has sometimes outshined the actual person who had him on the song as a guest. All do respect to Wayne for his grind on that. Now, with all the footwork that Universal DID NOT have to put in due to Lil Wayne on his grind, Lil Wayne was paid back dearly with the Sales department having sleepless nights getting the major retailers to commit to more boxes of The Carter 3. I wouldn't be surprised if retailers only paid for only 50 of the cd's that come in a box of 500. Thats 450 cds that retailers keep the profit on.

So there you have it folks, thats the whole point of Soundscan. What the Major labels are doing is capitalizing off the fact that the Hip Hop fans are the only ones who turn into corporate ceo's on Wednesday analyzing who is going to sell records, knowing that no one will buy a album that does not "appear to be selling". Its the drug dealer with the new Jordan effect is what I call it. Until the drug dealer (usually the most respected dude from the block) gets the new Jordans and wears them to school, all the kids are going to run home and beg their mom for the sneakers.

So log onto your Hip Hop Websites and talk about album sales like your last name is Cohen or Liles. Critique how this rapper ain't selling. Puzzle yourself on why your favorite album isn't selling. Then snap yourself back to reality and realize that you have no business talking album sale talk if you don't understand how the numbers are broke down.

Posted by WHOOOOSHOUSE?????!!!!