Eminem Recovers Rare First Week Numbers

For as long as I can remember, record sales have always been a very big deal. So much buzz went with seeing how many albums an artist could sell in their first week of sales, everyone wanted a platinum plaque (a million records sold). What wasn't so apparent back then is that the livelihood of the artists and the labels that promote them rested on these sales.

Enter now a time where selling 300k out the first week is commendable. Dreams of going GOLD are a stretch for new artists and shockingly even a task for veteran artists. Man have things changed.

In case you haven't heard already, Mr. Mathers sold shy of 750k albums in his first week sales for his newest album Recovery. Applause is certainly due given the dismal nature of the record industry. Even with the most stellar buzz, Drake couldn't go gold his first week out.True first week sales are not the end all be all, but usually the first week sets the tone for overall album sales. If you bomb the first week, chances are the remainder of the time will result in poor sales as well.

This brings things into perspective that despite all the love an artist may receive (with Drake being the most popular of the new school artists), consumers simply cannot be depended on to BUY music anymore. Oh they will "support" your movement but actually buying into it? Fuggidaboudit

What is it about Eminem? Is it the fact that he has a real life survivor story? Or maybe its the fact that he's one of the most revered lyricist in Hip-Hop bar none? Many may speculate but in my honest opinion, I think it goes back to a pre-blog era of music that such genuine support was fostered.

Before blogs ruled the world, new music was a treat bestowed upon us consumers. Thus those of us who were lucky enough to be of age and to be aware of this now extinct luxury, we tend to be loyal and support the heavyweights who were doing it major back then. It's a sort of comfort that we have that says yesterday is not that far gone away. We do what we can to keep those reminders present in the new age. Unfortunately it seems that this only happens for the big timers of the past.

Jay-Z was thriving before the new era fully took off (and by new era I mean the new marketing model that many artists come under i.e. viral marketing through YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and so on and so forth), so was Eminem and other staple artists like Kanye West. They are all that is left of the event album phase where when these artists drop albums, and major stir is created and pushes consumers to actually support these artists with not only their ears but their money as well. I truly believe that this is because they represent a nostalgia of sorts that they continue to receive huge volumes of support. They made their mark and people remember that.

Many of the newcomers are forced to prove that they are worthy of our attention. No longer do they leverage to the consumer. We have options. We decide if you are going to blow up. There is new music being released every few hours so we don't HAVE to listen to your music. We have developed musical ADD and thus we cannot dedicate our time and money to just anyone. We have to know that what we're going to get is something worth splurging for. With the aforementioned artists (and there are several other examples that fall under this notion, just using them as primary examples), the consumer has the assurance to know they will deliver. So anyone else who hasn't already solidified this trust, good luck.

A friend asked me what is it about Eminem that drives people to the stores over Drake? Well there you have it.

The Thoughtful 1 has spoken