This is exactly the opposite result that Spotify wanted. Because after skipping Spotify entirely on their latest release, Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay has now scored a one-week, digital album sales record in the UK. That is, digital sales north of 83,000, part of an impressive, chart-topping tally of 208,343
units in the UK alone.
Digital accounted for nearly 40 percent of that total, a trend first picked up after three days of sales. And, that offers a strong lead-in to the US-based tally, expected from Soundscan in the next day or so.
The Coldplay total beats a relatively fresh digital album record from Take That, and the rapid succession isn't an accident. Indeed, digital albums are still showing strong growth on a percentage basis, and Coldplay seems motivated to maximize returns from the gain.
All of which begs the more important question: what does this all mean for Spotify, Rhapsody, Rdio, and ilk? The question is whether Coldplay-level bands start rethinking their sales approaches entirely, spurred by this success. As one publisher remarked to us this morning, "getting played is nice, getting paid is better."
Comments Closed
soundofus.com Monday, October 31, 2011
Typical wrong example !!
For a few bands not needing any streaming service to be best-sellers, how many thousand of other all around the world are very happy to have the possibility to be easily discovered, heard and to have their songs used in the playlists of users of the streaming services and by this way to have more chance to attract people to come see them live !!
Great music is not only the fact of best sellers !! If it was that way that would be very sad !!
Then personally, I'm not going to cry if Coldplay is not on Spotify, first, because it's long time ago they haven't made a good album and 2nd because, in my opinion, they are thinking the wrong way !!
Steven Monday, October 31, 2011
Check out this opinion on the matter: http://routenote.com/blog/2011/10/30/wake-up-spotify-is-about-promotion-not-the-bottom-line-revenues/
Zin Gar Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Conscious Tuesday, November 01, 2011
You don't get 'easily' discovered on streaming service.
Fanboi Wednesday, November 02, 2011
The point is that you are given a fantastic set of tools to help you in getting discovered. Now while there are other services that provide something similar, no other service has the potential to attract this many users and let people integrate into playlists shaer playlists etc.etc. Spotify is of course user driven by top forty acts, but because of that they provide a very useful tool for lesser known acts.
Music D Monday, October 31, 2011
@kimschultzzz Monday, October 31, 2011
kim schultz
Food for thought?
Just asking Tuesday, November 01, 2011
IF streaming blows as you so eloquently put it, then what would you suggest to a completely unknown band who want to start showing off their songs on facebook, getting them on peoples playlists etc? Any old school band who had the help of Major label marketing to gain size and momentum is useless as an example in this context.
And to top it off Tuesday, November 01, 2011
They got all this free PR out of snubbing Spotify. Maybe if they had snubbed iTunes they would have sold a bunch of records?
MusicLoverCanada Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Artists have not devalued music, "fans" have by downloading music from free peer sharing sites. Also, the industry didn't do itself any favours by trying to battle the problem with fines rather than by providing consumers with good options for download services so they could continue to consume music legally. Essentially, they perpetuated the problem.
Coldplay is Coldplay and they will always sell records. I doubt they would have been impacted one iota if they had made their product available on Spotify or other streaming services. I use streaming services pretty much exclusively and I will not be purchasing the album but I would have given it a listen if it were available. Wonder how many others are in the same boat or how many will be driven to the illegal download because they already pay for a music service?
Isn't the issue here less about what Spotify pays and more about how the labels share streaming revenues with artists? Just my 2 cents ...
Dan Wednesday, November 02, 2011
The issue is definitely not about what Labels share with artists. I find it quite strange that you correctly point out that fans devalued the music through illegal piracy but then say that you exclusively use streaming services and would not buy a new album. Sounds like you are helping to devalue music as well. Anyway, back to labels...
Labels often get a bad rap from the general public, but the general public is pretty unaware of just what labels do. No, the deals haven't always been great, but the reason labels often get the money for album sales is that the labels are the ones that paid for the album. Labels act as investors in a band, fronting the money to make the album, which can be $50-100,000, as well as get the band on the road, book shows for them, advertise/promote, and allow them the chance to make money by playing gigs. That's a lot of money invested up front by the label, which is all a risk in hopes that the album will sell, which is why they get the money off of albums. If you want to take down labels or don't care if they get their money, you are essentially saying you want to take down the people who invest in artists, which means you take down the artists as well.
As for what the labels get paid from Spotify or other streaming services, it is still just pennies. Streaming services are the epitome of a general public that has decided music should be free. This attitude is what will kill the industry, not any sort of "old school" thinking or the music industry being behind the times. Any industry, whether health care, construction, or art, is going to fail when those who consume the products are not willing to pay for them.
@tgone Monday, October 31, 2011
Anthony Polis
It worked for Coldplay but will it work for others?
HansH Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Who says that they wouldn't have sold that much or even more with a "streaming release"?
This looks like a big jump to a conclusion to me.
la belled Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Shhhhhh! Can't you see what we're trying to do here??? Get on board willya?!!!
newm Tuesday, November 01, 2011
The problem people seem to be missing is even if bypassing streaming services is only a play for the bigger established acts, if these acts pull their content from Spotify etc. then subscriber numbers would be massively hit.
It will be the mainstream music fans making up the majority of subscribers that Spotify hopes to attract. Without the big name acts available on their service they simply will not be able to attract the number of subscribers that they now need due to the level of investment in the service. A niche music discovery service is hardly what Spotify has in mind.
Kevin King Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Wow, devaluing music! Really!? The fact that people are "stealing" and trading music means they are giving it attention, that is a great value. I can say that Coldplay has been a part of my "social tribe" conversation for over ten years, this past week NONE of us has spoken of the new music, not once. Reason being, we are too busy listening to new music to even pay attention to the new Coldplay. Which proves my point, there are thousands of US's and Coldplays our there and they are a stream away. Which would you rather listen to, the one that is greedy and wants 12 dollars for a box of air, or the one that is doing it for the sheer love of the ART and happy to even have fans, at all!!
Dan Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Kevin, it is people like you who will kill music altogether. Sure, the artists make music becuase it is what they love, but they are NOT being greedy by charging you. What do you do for a living? Do you get paid? Do you consider yourself greedy for taking a paycheck? Or are you just happy to have people who value what you do?
Artists, especially when starting out, need and rely on album sales to get them on the road, to pay for gas and vehicle rentals, to pay for gear, and more importantly, to make up for the tens of thousands of dollars they spent on making that album. Albums are very expensive and cost $10-20,000 on the
LOW end. That doesn't include any promotion, gear, years or lessons, etc. Half the artists you listen to probably still have crappy part-time jobs to make ends meet because people like you don't want to pay for the art. Music is certainly not free to make, and thus it can't be free for you to listen to.
Versus Wednesday, November 02, 2011
"Which would you rather listen to, the one that is greedy and wants 12 dollars for a box of air, or the one that is doing it for the sheer love of the ART and happy to even have fans, at all!!"
What a false dichotomy. Attempting to make a living is now "greedy"? Sorry, we do not live in the communist utopia. A musician still has to pay for food, shelter, and other costs of life. An income is a necessity, not a sign of being "greedy".
As for the choice of artists, I would rather listen to the one who creates better music. I will happily pay for the privilege of listening to it.
- Versus
Pete Tuesday, November 01, 2011
The one metric you can't see - did more people download the album on pirate sites by them removing it from streaming sites?
Rod S. Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Exactly...
it's the bugs in their systemz Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Ah, so Spotify wants to help the artists make money? How sweet of them. Saving us from the piracy sites. Then, please tell me, why doesn't the company pay the proper royalties? Did they forgot their checkbook at home? Or, maybe, hey, they "found a bug"?
@BenjiKRogers Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Benji Rogers
why buy what you can stream?
mack the knife Wednesday, November 02, 2011
so you can hear it fully and enjoy it
@earbits Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Earbits Radio
OUCH.
@BigChampagne Tuesday, November 01, 2011
BigChampagne.com
Windowing is coming to online music and Spotify is facing some Redbox/Netflix challenges.
Visitor Wednesday, November 02, 2011
...however- they've just been knocked off the iTunes UK #1 spot by Florence + The Machine, who is at both 1 and 4 in the album charts.
Oh, and the album is on Spotify. Suck it.
Visitor Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Just realized: you can't check which artists are available on Spotify, whithout being a customer. A simple search engine wouldn't hurt their database that much? OK, put a captcha for the bots, I would understand that. But I think it would be nice to know which albums are available on the platform, before signing up.
Signing up is free so not a lo Wednesday, November 02, 2011
You should try it.
Visitor Thursday, November 03, 2011
I am not in the habit of signing up to websites just to see what's behind the curtain.
Hmm Friday, November 04, 2011
Your loss i guess. personally i knew from all the press more or less what it was about. no need for extreme detail. You could always email them and ask for a list of their x million tracks if it is very important to you.
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