Like Them or Not: Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Adele Helped Save the Music Industry

[JamesG]

How Women Saved the Music Industry in 2011
12/23/2011
by Shirley Halperin


You could say the music business had a banner year. Really. For the first time since 2004, overall album sales were up, to the tune of 4 percent.

Of that, digital album purchases increased by nearly 20 percent and track sales by 9 percent, and while CD sales were down 5 percent, it was a far less toxic number than the double-digit declines of the past decade.






Who's to credit? Adele, for one.

In 2011, the British singer sold 5 million copies of her Grammy-nominated sophomore effort, 21 -- 33 percent of them digital -- which seems to indicate the album format isn't doomed.

"Adele's achievement across so many genres and platforms dispels the death-knell notion," says Jim Donio, president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, which tracks the market.





He calls the current climate a "healthy rebound" but stops short of using the word "turnaround".

"Google, Spotify, Facebook, those all underscore the digital surge -- the immediate gratification of paying to download a track. Yet people still embrace albums. Look at Taylor Swift with Speak Now or Katy Perry with Teenage Dream."





Indeed, Swift moved 3.8 million copies of her third album, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Perry has seen five singles from her second full-length top the charts, tying Michael Jackson for the record and totaling 15 million downloads.

And Rihanna released two hit albums to bookend the year, racking up sales of 1.9 million.



"These girls have become brands on a global scale," says Donio. "They're all dominant in their own way and bring with them an interesting cross-section of fans."











In pop, 2011 was the year of the female singer: Adele, Lady Gaga, Perry, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, even Britney Spears pulled off radio hits -- still the surest way to boost sales, along with TV exposure.

Combined, these seven sisters sold 52.5 million downloads. They also toured their vocal cords raw, spent millions on videos and performed at every awards show imaginable.





Word-of-mouth had an impact, too, but not the old-fashioned kind.

Buzz spread via social media and music-sharing services, while a move toward fair pricing, aided by Groupon's discounted concert tickets, also contributed to profits.

The jury's still out on Amazon's 99-cent two-day sale of Lady Gaga's Born This Way, however. While it spurred sales of a million copies in week one, it took seven months to double that number. It's unclear how the P&L shook out, and Billboard has disqualified such fire sales from its charts.





Women made their strong identities known across multiple mediums, including movies (The Help, Bridesmaids) and TV ("New Girl", "Whitney"), but in the music world, fantasy was key.

A decade after 9/11, escapism seems alive and well as Gaga, Perry and Minaj developed costumed alter egos as superheroes and femme fatales.



"These women are successful because the music is great, but people also gravitate to the persona," says Donio.

Adele, on the other hand, aims for the opposite end of the realism spectrum. She's the relatable "girl who's just like you," he opines. "21 is a work of art." Bottom line: Music truly offered something for everybody.











Their male counterparts were a tough-talking crew including Lil Wayne (his Tha Carter IV moved 964,000 units its first week and another million within four months), Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, Wiz Khalifa and DJ Khaled -- rappers from New Orleans, Toronto, Brooklyn and Chicago regaling a new generation of suburbanites with tales of their hopes and dreams (namely, money and real estate).

On the flip side, Chris Brown saw career redemption with F.A.M.E. and graduated from R&B teen to hard-core hip-hop artist. His ode to cars, girls and cash, "Look at Me Now," was the No. 3 song of the year, according to Billboard, proving that hip-hop braggadocio remains popular and profitable.

But in this economic climate, 2011's music stars will want to invest wisely. In the words of Drake, whose Take Care moved a million units since November and is poised to be among 2012's biggest hits: "Get it while you're here, 'cause all that hype don't feel the same next year."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...c-sales-276204

[Zoneboy]

[JamesG]

^ Look, if you don't like them that's one thing, but you can't deny their worldwide success and impact.

[Brad Russ]

Or not. They make me wish Hanson and the Spice Girls were still around.

I did get Bieber fever recently though. Everytime I see him, or hear him, I get deathly ill, and can't stop throwing up.

[Brad Russ]

In fairness, I will say Rihanna's song "Umbrella" was pretty good. Definitely no "Hey Jude," but not bad by today standards. Mandy Moore's slowed down version was much better though imo.

[Steve M.]

Dick Rowe, the man who turned down the Beatles at Decca fifty years ago, said that electric guitar groups were on the way out. He wasn't wrong, he was just ahead of his time!

Dawes sucks.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by Brad Russ

Or not. They make me wish Hanson and the Spice Girls were still around.

The Spice Girls I can tolerate, but Hanson???

Actually Hanson is still around, they had a new album summer of 2010.

[Brad Russ]

Originally Posted by JamesG

The Spice Girls I can tolerate, but Hanson???

Actually Hanson is still around, they had a new album summer of 2010.

Oh wow, I had no idea they were still around. Definitely talented musicians, just not my cup of tea.

My Facebook status last week: Someone call 911, something is wrong with me, I'm in a Spice Girls mood. The title scared the crap out of my friends because of some past frantic messages I wrote, so I changed it. lol Spice Girls weren't so bad, I agree. 2 Become 1 is a beautiful song!

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by JamesG

Actually Hanson is still around, they had a new album summer of 2010.

Except that the Jonas Brothers, not Hanson, have become the Bee Gees of the twenty-first century, no?

Anyway, again, note that none of the women responsible for the upturn in the music buinsess are rockers. Not a Janis Joplin or Grace Slick among them. It's hard to take rock and roll as a serious cultural force anymore.

[MrCleveland]

Now, I like Adele. I feel she could sing very well, like "Rolling in the deep" and "Someone Like You".

Also...it seems Adele has her roots in 60's and 70's Soul Music!

[retrofan05]

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

Now, I like Adele. I feel she could sing very well, like "Rolling in the deep" and "Someone Like You".

Also...it seems Adele has her roots in 60's and 70's Soul Music!

Have you heard "Rumor Has It?" Very much 60's inspired Honestly, when I first heard it, I thought it was a 60's song!! LOL

[Cactus Jack]

Spice Girls and Hanson? Really? Now these 3 arent my fav singers out there now,but much better than Spice Girls and Hanson! How can you not like Adele? Sure im not OMG OBSESSED with her,but she is the better of the 3,singing wise , have you ever actually heard Rolling in the Deep?

[catlover79]

I have to admit that I really like Rihanna's "We Found Love". It's very catchy with a terrific dance beat. But mentioning the Bee Gees and the Jonas Brothers in the same sentence...no. The Bee Gees lasted over 4 decades in show business and not only wrote and produced their own material but for others in the industry as well (Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, etc.). I don't see the Jonas Brothers having that kind of career longevity. Then again, I've been wrong before, so we'll see.

[1990 UM fan]

Adele I can see saving the music biz, but the others, not so much. I loved Rihanna until she became wildly provocative and took a more sexual direction in her music and now that's what she and her music is all about now. Lady Gaga was good for me in the beginning but now I think she tries too hard to get the shock factor across. Adele doesn't need to be naked or sexy or have an altered voice to get by with music fans, that's why I love her and I wish her the best in her career.

[Brad Russ]

Originally Posted by Cactus Jack

Spice Girls and Hanson? Really? Now these 3 arent my fav singers out there now,but much better than Spice Girls and Hanson! How can you not like Adele? Sure im not OMG OBSESSED with her,but she is the better of the 3,singing wise , have you ever actually heard Rolling in the Deep?

The Hanson girls are actually really talented. Their music is garbage to me, but they have great vocal abilities, and they play instruments. I believe they also write much of their own stuff. Okay, so that's not too impressive, but the other stuff I mentioned is. Mmm Bop, Mmm Bop, lol I may not like Hanson, but I respect them. As far as Lady Caca and Rihanna go, not so much. Admittedly, I don't know anything about Adele. I'll listen to some of her stuff tonight and let you know what I think. I'll give her a fair shot.