TobyMac Is First Christian Act To Debut At No. 1 Overall in 15 Years

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TobyMac’s latest album debuted at No. 1 on SoundScan’s all-genre chart yesterday (9/5) with sales of 69k units. With this accomplishment, he becomes the third Christian artist ever in the top spot, and the first Christian act since 1997 at the overall album pinnacle. Eye On It sold 35k digital downloads, which accounted for half of the debut week sales.

EMI CMG artist TobyMac, a former member of hitmaking CCM act DC Talk, has twice placed other albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

NARM President Jim Donio commented, “This week, TobyMac joined LeAnn Rimes and Bob Carlisle as the only three Christian artists in history to top the Billboard charts. TobyMac’s Eye on It became the first Christian album to hit No. 1 since 1997, but note there have been three recent No. 2 debuts from Casting Crowns, Red, and David Crowder Band in 2011 and 2012, showing the genre’s growing strength. In addition, according to Nielsen’s data, 27% of TobyMac’s sales were driven by Christian retailers and book stores, illustrating these outlets’ impact for this genre.”

The 1997 hit albums included Rimes’ You Light Up My Life–Inspirational Songs and Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace).

Weekly Register: If Track Prices Rise Will Consumers Support Them?

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Taylor Swift’s recent record-setting debut week sales for her new single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has spurred discussion that tracks will  become as important or more important than albums. Billboard’s Glenn Peoples compares Swift’s singles accomplishment in TEA form against Zac Brown’s album debut (July 29; 48k units) saying, “The album isn’t dead even in my exaggerated example, but it could be a few years away from parity with top 40 track sales. Single tracks also get massive awareness online in the form of on-demand audio and video streaming.”

How likely is this parity scenario and what are some of the dynamics that will affect it? First and foremost, let’s note that overall track sales are only up a modest 6% YTD for 2012 (including Taylor’s feat). In 2010 they barely budged, gaining only 1% and in 2011 they registered a more healthy 8.5% gain according to Nielsen SoundScan. So growth has hardly been overwhelming and although we have seen that it is possible for an artist to stimulate a massive track buy-in, the very fact that Swift set records indicates it is still a very special happening not to be confused with the title, “common occurrence.”

The next area to watch is pricing. As citizens of the SoundScan era we tend to talk about units, but pricing is the underlying measure that determines profits. Album pricing seems to be falling, especially downloads due to special sales and digital store-to store competition. This effect has caused Billboard to put a $3.49 pricing floor on units counted on the album chart sold during the first four weeks of release. However, tracks have actually enjoyed a price increase, with the introduction and stabilization of the $1.29 price level, making TEA album profits more competitive with regular albums. Will labels experiment soon with $1.39 and/or $1.49 levels? I believe we will see that trial balloon fly before long. Unlike the bricks and mortar days when labels completely controlled distribution and therefore pricing, the online world has introduced a new dynamic—free. Some consumers have moved to buying tracks because of the relatively low price and ease of purchase. If prices increase will they still feel that way? Or are they likely to move to an altogether new model—access?

Access or subscription as it is sometimes called brings forth a compelling value proposition—listen to what you want, when you want and wherever you want. This model has already made strong inroads onto desktop computers and mobile smartphones. The auto dashboard is next and that march has already started. We are talking about services such as Spotify, Rhapsody and rdio. Even Pandora, which features personalized programming and although not technically an on-demand variant, still offers access and a large degree of playlist control to the listener. Many of these services are free, or extremely low cost. Ultimately, and especially if faced with rising prices, fans may ask themselves, “Why do I need to carry around these files and copy them from device to device when all the music is available without worrying about that?”

Numbers Trending Lower
A quick week-to-week comparison shows album sales continuing to erode. As regular Weekly Register readers know, that usually has to do with release schedules. In fact, there were no country debuts that could muster even 9k in sales. Josh Turner delivered a live physical only album to Cracker Barrel (No. 9; 8k) and Thomas Rhett debuted at No. 24 with sales of 3.3k. Carrie Underwood rose to the top of the chart, benefitting from an iTunes $6.99 sale price with sales of almost 28k. We often talk about the 300k benchmark for Current Country Top 75 chart and this week the chart was well below that measure, registering a tepid 264k total.

Taylor Swift maintains a firm grip on the top of country tracks list with sales of almost 253k units this week. Her amazing three-week RTD (release to date) total is 1.183 million. Also floating on—well, a “Pontoon” boat—is Little Big Town celebrating the single’s voyage to platinum status in 14 weeks. This week the vocal quartet added another 78k units to its tally. Also in the million-plus club is Hunter Hayes who is becoming a regular on the Top 5 tracks list. “Wanted” added another 65k this week. Randy Rogers Band breaks Top 20 on tracks with week 1 for “One More Sad Song.”

Keep your eyes on the upcoming releases HERE. Stay tuned every Wed. for Weekly Register and thanks for reading!

PS: Congrats to EMI/Capitol Nashville with 80% of the CMA Album Of The Year Nominations!

CRS 2013 to Present Innovative Fan Research Study

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The Country music fan research studies are always a highlight of Country Radio Seminar, but the 2013 version promises to take things in an entirely new direction from the statistical analysis and focus groups of years past.

Titled “A Day In The Life Of A Country Fan,” the project conducted by Edison Research will offer a video-based Ethnographic Research study of Country music fans as they go about their daily routines under the lens. Subjects will presented in high definition video in a variety of environments including work, home, and in their vehicles.

“We are very excited to have Edison Research bring us to a new level this year by actually taking us into the home, car, office and other natural environments of the Country fan,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne. “This will allow us to see how they listen to radio, discover new music, use new media and more in their daily life. Joel Raab and his research committee have put together one of the most powerful and useful experiences at CRS 2013 for our attendees to take back to their businesses for profit. You simply cannot afford to miss this!”

Participants in the project include both male and female Country fans, aged 18-54 from Country lifestyle and non-Country lifestyle markets with varying degrees of technological knowledge. Edison Research is partnering with Prosperity Productions to conduct the study.

The results of the study will be presented by Edison Research’s Larry Rosin and Prosperity Productions’ Lori Hamilton during CRS 2013 on Wednesday, Feb. 27. CRS 2013 runs Feb. 27 – March 1 in downtown Nashville. Register here.

“Pontoon” Hits Platinum, LBT Preps Album Release

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Little Big Town has earned a RIAA Platinum certification for “Pontoon,” the smash single from their upcoming album Tornado, in stores September 11. The track, which was written by Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird and Barry Dean, is the group’s fastest selling-single to date and has spent four weeks as a No.1 country digital download.

To coincide with the release of Tornado, LBT will make coast-to-coast television appearances, including ABC’s Good Morning America (9/10) and a performance during the premiere week of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (9/13). The band will also perform on the upcoming ABC Television Special CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock (9/17) and will also be featured on CMT’s Unplugged Series, which will premiere on CMT.com September 11 and on CMT September 18.

The group has also been selected to perform at the T.J. Martell Foundation’s 37th Annual Honors Gala on Tuesday, October 23 at the legendary Ciprianis on 42nd St in New York. LBT will join fellow performer Grace Potter and presenters to help pay tribute to honorees Russell Simmons, Del Bryant, Edward Walson and Randy Jackson. The special evening includes a star-studded red carpet, musical performances by some of today’s greatest performers and attendance by celebrity friends and families. The night also includes a fantastic cocktail reception, dinner, awards presentation and world-class silent auction to raise funds for cancer and AIDS research.

Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” Certified Gold

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L–R: Scott Hendricks (Sr. VP, A&R WMN / album producer), Chris Stacey (Sr. VP, Promotion WMN), Jordan Pettit (National Director, W.A.R Promotion), Chris Palmer (VP, W.A.R Promotion), John Esposito (President & CEO WMN), Peter Strickland (Sr. VP, Brand Management & Sales WMN)

Jana Kramer’s single “Why Ya Wanna,” recently earned Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) which marks an exciting career first for the young artist. Kramer was presented with a plaque marking this special accomplishment at Warner Music Nashville’s Pickin’ On The Patio party Aug. 23.

Kramer has sold over 700,000 single tracks, including over half a million of “Why Ya Wanna.” Her self-titled debut album premiered at No. 5 on the Top Country Albums Chart.

Weekly Register: A Lynch Mob

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Once in a while someone challenges the status quo.

They ask “Why?” about something so much a part of the established routine that after reading their question, you realize you never even considered it a choice, it just seemed automatic and above reproach.

So when veteran journalist Ed Christman questioned the practice of scheduling top selling album releases for the fourth quarter in a recent Billboard column, it stopped me in my “tracks.” (Tis The Season?, Ed Christman, Billboard, Aug. 25, 2012.)

Conventional wisdom firmly dictates that a fourth quarter release is an efficient strategy for taking advantage of the holiday sales season. But Christman asks, “As the music industry goes digital…will albums continue to be an important gift item?” The article notes that according to Nielsen Soundscan, the last seven weeks of 2000 saw 181 million albums get scanned. In 2011 the number of scans for that period fell to 69 million units.

Of course, album sales have also been falling year-round, not just during the holidays. So how does one explain the holiday losses? Partially it is due to increased competition from video games, DVDs and other impulse gift items. Gift cards are also possibly contributing to the decrease, since they are often redeemed after the holiday and don’t show up in the holiday sales numbers. And the ongoing, year-round slide in album sales hints that consumers are becoming more interested in buying hit singles than entire albums for many artists. Lastly, there are subscription models like Spotify and Rhapsody that are also helping to shrink download tallies.

“I’m not saying the industry should stop concentrating on the fourth quarter, because my brick-and-mortar merchant friends would get annoyed at me,” says Christman. “Still there’s a good case to be made that, instead of saving everything for the last three months, more thought should be given to spreading big releases throughout the entire year.”

It’s a point worth considering. And in fact country’s sparse superstar release schedule this holiday season may be a reflection that Music City marketers are doing just that.

Swift Track Stays No. 1
Country YTD album sales continue to slowly relinquish the lead established earlier this year as scans ease back a few more points from last week’s 2.2% to 1.8%. The all-genre balance remains fixed at -3.7%.

Country track sales are up 12% YTD (all-genre tracks +6%) thanks to help from Ms. Swift’s “We Are Never Ever…” which was downloaded almost 307k times this week for a two-week total of 930k. Swift’s single rides atop both Country and all-genre chart lists for a second week, forging the current definition of “mainstream.” And assuredly, Swift’s upcoming Oct. 22 album will be a major factor in measuring country album sales for 2012.

With Swift’s album promotion tour about to begin, one can only marvel at how smoothly this talented 22-year-old has weathered her rite of passage from teen to adult. Especially considering the ever-present pop-culture media lens that is constantly focused upon her. (PS: We don’t give romance advice in this column, but perhaps a quick viewing of The Kennedys, the controversial and Emmy-nominated series from Producer Joel Surnow might provide some historical background about the new Cape Cod neighbors.)

Topping Country’s Current album chart this week is Broken Bow newbie Dustin Lynch with impressive week one scans of over 23k. Rounding out the Top 5 are Zac Brown Band (No. 2; 18k), Lionel Richie (No. 3; 15k), Carrie Underwood (No. 4; 15k) and Luke Bryan (No. 5; 14.5k).

Also chart-new this week was Dierks Bentley’s digital EP (No. 12; 8k) and Show Dog’s J.T. Hodges (No. 23; 4k).

Did you know that country artists have sold about 110 million tracks YTD? (Total track sales YTD are 894 million). See all the upcoming country album releases HERE.

The Gary Group Adds Connie Baer

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Connie Baer

Music industry veteran Connie Baer has re-joined The Gary Group as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and will be based in Nashville, marking the marketing agency’s first permanent Music City presence. In her new role, Baer will be responsible for creating and executing campaigns for its clients, as well as building new relationships in the Middle Tennessee area.

“We continue to be very committed to supporting our Nashville clients,” says Rick Rogers, President, The Gary Group. “Given today’s marketing challenges and emerging creative and digital technologies, we are stepping up our efforts to help our clients capitalize on opportunities with urgency. We are thrilled to have Connie back with us. She is one of the industry’s leading creative thinkers. With Connie’s tremendous experience in music marketing, promotion and distribution as well as so many other facets of the entertainment industry, along with her personal experience and knowledge of Nashville, we will provide our clients an undeniable marketing edge going forward.”

Baer served as VP Promotion/Marketing at The Gary Group’s Los Angeles offices for over a decade and worked on campaigns for numerous brands including record labels, artists, casinos, HBO, AT&T, Folgers and more. She moved to Nashville to assume the VP Marketing post at Sony Music, and also spent time with Giant Records, Imprint Entertainment, Watkins College of Art, and peermusic.

Congratulate her at [email protected] or 615-210-7908.

Apple Awarded $1B in Infringement Lawsuit

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A federal jury in San Jose, California has sided with Apple in its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, and awarded the tech company over $1 billion in damages.

Following the three week trial, the verdict was delivered Friday (Aug. 24) and found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s utility and design for some (but not all) products, including willful infringement on five or six patents. The jury also ruled against Samsung’s counter-claim that Apple had infringed on its patents. However, Samsung was cleared of charges of violating antitrust law and the damages are considerably less than the $2.5 billion originally sought by Apple.

The design patents and what they should cover have been a hotly debated topic since the trial began. The victory for Apple might be precedent-setting for companies with distinctive design cues. Despite the verdict, Samsung hasn’t conceded defeat, though many changes will be eminent.

“Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer,” said a statement from Samsung. “It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies. Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products. This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple’s claims. Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer.”

Some experts predict the win for Apple could signal a showdown between Apple and Google, whose Android operating system is now the leading smartphone platform worldwide. More immediately, Apple is attempting to have a ban placed on several Samsung products found to infringe, including the Galaxy S II and the Verizon Droid Charge. Samsung is trying to overturn a previous sales ban against its Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was found in this case not to infringe on Apple’s design.

Weekly Register: On Digital Chart Domination

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The good news spread like wildfire last night as Nielsen SoundScan released official word that Taylor Swift’s latest single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” sold 623,000 units. Swift’s debut week sales are the biggest digital sales week ever for a female and only slightly behind Flo Rida’s “Right Round” which scanned 636k in 2009.

Swift’s pop culture influence continues to reign supreme as her musical and media savvy propel her star to new heights. This self-created momentum has become the thread weaving her impressive tapestry of success. Commenting on the new single, writer Ann Powers has an insightful NPR.com article in which she asks the question, “Taylor Swift, Princess Of Punk?”

“Swift’s song spins sugar from spit,” says Powers. “Its sneeringly derisive tone is rooted in its stomping four-on-the-floor beat and builds through Swift’s clipped guitar strums and a vocal marked by Valley Girl-style vocal asides and a whistle-while-you-trash-him melodic hook. In other words, it’s pop-punk, like a Blink-182 song. Or an Avril Lavigne song — which it could have been, had its co-writer Max Martin been working with another of the ingenues he’s aided (say, Lavigne herself).”

Powers cites Swift co-writer Martin as being a perfect fit. “Sassy women are Martin’s metier. He’s helped shape the sound of most of today’s top non-R&B ingenues, one that blends punk’s gob-flinging sarcasm with the melodicism of ABBA and that danceable yet rockish beat. Besides Clarkson and Swift, Martin, often working with another producer, has applied his formula to collaborations with Spears, Lavigne, Katy Perry and Pink.” (Note: Shellback was the third co-writer on Swift’s song.)

It’s a great read, especially in light of the fact that although Swift remains country music’s chief ambassador, her fame has spread to, and been embraced by, all musical formats—a fact easily proven by her amazing sales results.

However, with fame comes pressure. Sales observers and the world will no doubt be watching intently during Swift’s Oct. 22 debut week to see how its sales compare to the incredible one million plus benchmark set by her last set. Sure to play a role will be digital retailers such as Amazon who have been known to severely discount mega-hit albums during debut week—sometimes as low as 99¢. To stem some of the extreme discounts, the charts no longer count debut week sales when prices fall below $3.49. Smoothing out these kinds of issues will be just one of many bullet points on the Big Machine sales team’s To Do list.

Charting The Sales
Country album sales this week were anything but energetic as the Top 75 current country total barely edged above the low-water 300k mark. Zac Brown continued in the top spot with week 6 sales of almost 25k and RTD of 456k. Colt Ford remains in the Top 5 for a third week sliding back to No. 4 with sales of 16k and RTD of 48k. Ford’s showing is no doubt pleasing the Average Joe’s team.

In the tracks department Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” was downloaded almost 87k times placing her in the No. 2 spot on the country tracks chart behind Ms. Swift. Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” got 84k clicks placing it in the No. 3 position. And Hunter Hayes at No. 4 added 65k more sales to his impressive RTD of 1.02 million for “Wanted.”

As the calendar ticks closer to Q4 we’ll get more aggressive with predictions for country’s year end sales totals. Up or down? Currently we have Jason Aldean (Oct. 16), Swift (Oct. 22) and Toby Keith (Nov. 13) warming up in the album sales release bullpen, but no doubt a few more superstar titles will join the fray… Stay tuned.

Weblinks: Swift Set For Record Breaking Debut

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• Sales predictions for Taylor Swift’s new single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” have been raised to 600k-plus. According to Billboard, when Nielsen SoundScan stats are released tomorrow (8/22), here are some digital sales records she is looking to beat:

—Most downloads in a single week, and most debut week downloads: Flo Rida, “Right Round,” 636k
—Most downloads by a female in a single week, and second most overall downloads: Ke$ha, “TiK ToK,” 610k
—Best female debut week: Lady Gaga, “Born This Way,” 448k

• Grimey’s co-owner Doyle Davis confirmed to the Nashville Scene that the record store is expanding with the opening of a second location on Eighth Ave. Grimey’s Too will feature a coffee bar, bookstore, and more records.

• Construction of a new premium seating offering is underway at the Bridgestone Arena, reports the Nashville Post. The 501 Club will offer 80- 90 seats available for annual purchase for $15,000- $17,000 each. Previously, suite holders had to lease the entire suite for the year. Other improvements at the arena include a $6 million HVAC upgrade of chilling and dehumidifying systems, because these conditions are closely regulated for hockey games.