"Yeah, that's basically it, the entire manual on How To Fairly Conduct The Music Business. Except that nowadays there aren't that many records to sell. There's still plenty of great music, but I can't see a record company like Rough Trade ever existing again, unless all personal computers suddenly stop working. That's a little cynical, though... couldn't a band still sell 30,000 copies of a record on this level? That's what the "TV O.D. b/w Warm Leatherette" single by The Normal sold. For all I know, maybe Pitchfork-approved bands can still sell 30,000... how many copies has the Best Coast album sold? I guess what I'm really asking is couldn't a GOOD band still sell 30,000 copies of a record on this level?"
i read that dirty projectors only sold 84k of that last album. not that i'd say they are good or anything. i'm guessing if it was 96 they would be on dgc and sell 300k. at this point if a good record sells 3k i'm happy.
OK, 84K for the Dirty Projectors is actually a lot more than I would've guessed. So there is still a chance. Not that I'd say they are good either... I've never heard 'em, but that says there's still a chance for a Rough Trade style record company to exist. I guess Domino and Matador and Merge are companies that can still sell in the 30s and 60s and sometimes maybe even 100s of Ks... but other than that 3K would seem to be the new 30K for roughly the same quality of music (i.e. the best post-punk, post-rock, post-anything sounds of today)
Thanks so much for the great Rough Trade video. What great footage! Your mention of Simon Reynolds caught my eye. I just finished reading his Totally Wired - a bookend to Rip it Up'. You'd probably like this one a lot too. They stand alone, but together they are rather the definitive take on those times. I've posted a review here:
3 comments:
"Yeah, that's basically it, the entire manual on How To Fairly Conduct The Music Business. Except that nowadays there aren't that many records to sell. There's still plenty of great music, but I can't see a record company like Rough Trade ever existing again, unless all personal computers suddenly stop working. That's a little cynical, though... couldn't a band still sell 30,000 copies of a record on this level? That's what the "TV O.D. b/w Warm Leatherette" single by The Normal sold. For all I know, maybe Pitchfork-approved bands can still sell 30,000... how many copies has the Best Coast album sold? I guess what I'm really asking is couldn't a GOOD band still sell 30,000 copies of a record on this level?"
i read that dirty projectors only sold 84k of that last album. not that i'd say they are good or anything. i'm guessing if it was 96 they would be on dgc and sell 300k. at this point if a good record sells 3k i'm happy.
OK, 84K for the Dirty Projectors is actually a lot more than I would've guessed. So there is still a chance. Not that I'd say they are good either... I've never heard 'em, but that says there's still a chance for a Rough Trade style record company to exist. I guess Domino and Matador and Merge are companies that can still sell in the 30s and 60s and sometimes maybe even 100s of Ks... but other than that 3K would seem to be the new 30K for roughly the same quality of music (i.e. the best post-punk, post-rock, post-anything sounds of today)
Thanks so much for the great Rough Trade video. What great footage! Your mention of Simon Reynolds caught my eye. I just finished reading his Totally Wired - a bookend to Rip it Up'. You'd probably like this one a lot too. They stand alone, but together they are rather the definitive take on those times. I've posted a review here:
http://www.joenolan.com/blog/?p=473
Enjoy - and keep up the good work!
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