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Post by denny on Nov 21, 2019 4:20:35 GMT
I just read on the other thread that the new album is out of the chart already in the US. This of course is a disappointment. Why does it always seem that Jeff is on the back burner when it comes to promotion of product? I realize he does not carry himself like a "star", and that he probably doesn't enjoy the grind of interviews and appearances. It's just frustrating when a worthwhile project comes and goes without causing a ripple. The Zoom fiasco seems very similar to what is going on now with FOON. There is very little awareness of the new album except for us, the hard core fans. Since no one buys music anymore and/or new music by "classic" artists has no outlet to be played on what's the point of being with a major label? Couldn't Jeff do as well (couldn't do worse?!) with the smaller label that put out Long Wave, the live album, the remakes... Is it just an ego thing for Jeff to be with Columbia even though its pretty obvious they aren't worried about FOON?
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PD
New Member
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Post by PD on Nov 21, 2019 10:29:16 GMT
I think that what you see from the record company reflects on their confidence of the album they've heard. Compared to "Alone in the Universe," I found the artwork to be lacking, the overall promotion to be limited in scope, and also mainly to the UK. This also reflects the fact Jeff was on the back of a tour, versus the album being used to promote a tour a la AITU.
I think Columbia can see that the UK has a bigger appetite for JLELO, and the marketing efforts reflected that. Much more press here, and the album hit number 1 here as it was tactically launched when no other big albums were coming out. There was even been a Spotify and ELO collaboration which shows that the label are aware of the streaming audience.
In saying that, the promotion of this album just felt less ambitious. I wouldn't call it a "Zoom" level effort by any means. But I agree there was a tangible difference from the AITU promotion.
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Post by BIuebird on Nov 21, 2019 15:24:48 GMT
I don't understand why the record company would think FOON wouldn't do well here. If the past 2 US tours have told us anything, it's that people here still love Jeff and want to hear his music. If that were not the case, I doubt he would have had so many sold out shows. Of course the record won't do well here if there is next to no promotion, that's a self fulfilling prophecy. The average person in the US probably has no idea that Jeff even has a new album out. We know because we are big fans and we follow everything that he does. However, unless the record company does some more promoting here, and actually makes the record available in stores, most people will be completely oblivious to its existence. This makes me sad, because I am afraid that Jeff will get discouraged again (a la Zoom). I think FOON is a great record, and I'm sure that plenty of other listeners would love it if they had the chance to hear it. Jeff deserves the opportunity to have a wider audience for the new record here in the states.
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Post by Chippa on Nov 21, 2019 20:48:10 GMT
The thing is, FOON did well on iTunes and Amazon, peaking in the top five on both charts. If you ask me, that's pretty damn good for a seventy-one year old guy who isn't exactly a household name.
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Post by Chippa on Nov 21, 2019 21:27:44 GMT
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Post by eloneen on Nov 21, 2019 21:35:37 GMT
BIuebird One difference between the tour and the album is that the fans at the shows knew that they were going to hear lots of songs that they knew already; so even though a concert ticket is far more expensive than an album, it was less of a gamble, and probably an experience tied to lots of memories. Just sayin'...
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Post by nobodyschild on Nov 22, 2019 1:49:30 GMT
I hope he wouldn’t get discouraged like what happened with Zoom. 2001 was just a bad time for any rock album in my opinion—everyone was just at the wrong stages in their lives. The 70s and 80s were still relatively fresh, and those who were the age to go to rock concerts during those years (like my parents) were busy starting careers and raising little kids. People older than them, closer to Jeff’s age, weren’t retired yet and didn’t have a ton of time on their hands to go to a concert. And rock was not old enough of a novelty to be “cool” or appealing to young people. So no matter how much of a good album Zoom was (and I may be a bit biased here because I think it’s wonderful) a tour or promotion of it was going to flop. Anyways I went down a rabbit hole there, what I was going to say is that I don’t think the lack of staying in the charts in the US will discourage Jeff, from the track by track review he gave of the album it seems he is really satisfied with the album himself, and especially after coming off of two US tours with sold out arenas and seeing people of all ages singing all the words, that must be a better confidence booster than where an album places in the charts.
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