Ship Shape Sales--Charting The Waters III

[ACcountryFan]

RADIO AND RECORDS: AC singles
1. ON MY WAY HERE: #28

This is the single's sixth week on the chart, and it's dropped down from #26 to #28 and it's also lost it's airplay bullet. So my prediction is it will more than likely be off the AC Top-30 next Thursday...another blown opportunity for RCA to get Clay on the radio and have a healthy, instead of a bleak, chart run.

I did a longer post on the previous page for those who didn't catch it. It's the last post on the previous page about radio/chart numbers. I didn't want the one who asked the question to not see the reply because it's been awhile since anyone's been here.

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 7-21-08

1. ON MY WAY HERE: #522

Vocal Pop category: #83

Adult Contemporary category: #88

I found this link on the News Thread and felt it should be posted here as well...

CLAY's HIT SINGLES

"Invisible" charted on five separate music charts...for those not familiar with reading music charts, this isn't to indicate that Clay had a hit 5 times with the song...it's only a break-down of which radio chart the single was a hit on so don't count "Invisible" five times and "This is the Night" twice when adding up his hit singles. 14 songs to date have been released as singles, including the last one, "On My Way Here", his 14th.

[ACcountryFan]

Surprisingly, "On My Way Here" remains on the AC Top-30 for a seventh week, spending a second week at #28, though

In country news...

George Strait's single, "Troubadour", moved up one spot from #17 to #16. Brad Paisley is leap-frogging...he jumped from to #14 from #19 with his single. Sitting at #20 on the country chart is Jessica Simpson. The #1 single this week in country music is Alan Jackson's "Good Time".

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 7-25-08
1. ON MY WAY HERE: #992

[playingclay]

I'm glad that he is still showing in the top 30.  Recently I have been in Walmart.  His CD is no longer in the hit section and under recent releases.  It is in the old section under his name.  At Zellers (which is sortof like a Walmart here in Canada) it was listed as a hit at #14 in May (even before it was released and put on the shelf as that).  In June it was give the same spot.  In July it is in the old section.  I think that retailers were expecting his CD to do better and a heck of a lot of CDs have been now been returned.  So it is no longer highly visible to the browsing buyer.

In response to your earlier posts AC, I don't think that programmers are reacting negatively to his UNICEF trip necessarily.  If he hadn't gone, I think that the result would be the same.  Unfortunately, though, it is taking some of his possible promotion time.  He should be on tour.  It seems that release of the CD was "fit in" to his schedule.

Considering it has been a long time since a CD of all new tunes, it was done quickly.  He did it during the day while performing on Spamalot.  Jayme wa his executive producer.  I think once it was realized that she was indeed pregnant, they had to get on with the CD if she was going to produce it.  He finished Spamalot and bam it was released and the appearances began and publicity work of the CD before going to Somalia.  It was "fit in".

Now what?  Well the baby will soon be born.  If he is Daddy Clay, well I guess he will be busy.  If not, maybe Uncle Clay will be supporting his friend.  None of my business.

What does concern me is that maybe he didn't release the CD at the best time when he didn't have such time constraints and could go on tour and do even more promotional work.  Maybe he won't be making any appearances until he starts with his Christmas tour which he seems to enjoy doing. I dont' think that will help CD sales or his single. I hope the relatively poor CD sales don't cause his label to drop him.  If his profile is not too high, UNICEF might not want him either.  But then maybe it is not a priority anymore since I think he can have a career in the industry as long as he wants to.

[fhmmany2]

One question I would like for Team Clay to answer - why aren't Clay's CDs sold at his concerts? I don't remember going to any other concert where the artist's CDs were not sold. I assume Spamalot would not have allowed it, but I bet a lot of CDs could have been sold after every Spamalot performance. It is as though he has no one in charge of marketing! 

[HavinaClayAffair]

Agreed Frankie.

Bucky Covington was selling them like crazy after an appearance as a country headliner at a small park festival atmosphere in Dayton. We all met him, he signed, took photos..spoke to us..it was awesome!

Any LARGE entertainer also has sold latest CDs at concerts from Rascall Flatts to Kenny Chesny, Sugarland, Toby Keith.

Heck- even after little shows at a comedy club, the entertainer tries to sell his CD, tshirt, whatever afterward.


More Cds of any release of Clays may have been sold at a concerts to NJU listeners.

another opporunity lost.

Maybe they (TC) aren't paid well...

Lora

[ACcountryFan]

"It seems that release of the CD was "fit in" to his schedule"... "I don't think that programmers are reacting negatively to his UNICEF trip necessarily"...

That is what i was trying to say...but i never said it directly. There was basically no promotion for the CD until a few days BEFORE it hit stores and then afterward there were no interviews or promotion of any kind...the Clay is a father story took over everything. You're probably right that had Clay not even gone on this UNICEF trip it wouldn't have mattered on the radio because as i indirectly pointed out, the damage has been done...years of putting charity work and civic work ahead of his music career. How many times had he blogged to tell people of the latest UNICEF trip or what the latest money amount was in some charity function he attended? Whenever he did blog about music it was him promoting the CD's of other people suggesting people give a listen to singers he likes when he himself is a singer and could've used his blog to promote his songs. He ignored A THOUSAND DIFFERENT WAYS and i believe that he truly loves the pop music of the 1980's but i'll always feel that because the CD got so many harsh reviews for it being a covers album that he hid from it instead of trying to promote it. He had out "Without You" then "A Thousand Days". Then, nothing. End of CD promotion and the fans sensing that Clay was upset took it upon themselves to play mother and lash out at Clive Davis and make him be the problem. The problem wasn't the CD and it wasn't Clive...the problem was lack of promotion...

Any LARGE entertainer also has sold latest CDs at concerts from Rascall Flatts to Kenny Chesny, Sugarland, Toby Keith

I don't go to many concerts of "new country" but the concerts i've been to of George Jones they also have a merchandise table set up along with a concession stand...it's just something i'm used to. When i went to Clay's concerts they did offer those tour books...and i think LEARNING TO SING was being sold there?? I can't remember much but the prices were high on several items. I don't remember seeing any CD's being sold and i will make a wild guess and say the reason for that has to do with contracts? Perhaps Clay isn't allowed to sell those CD's at concerts because they're not adding to his official sales totals tracked by SoundScan?

It is as though he has no one in charge of marketing!

I feel that may be close to the truth...there's a marketing team I bet but they're no good or do not have the ability to market Clay the right way. His lack of publicity ties in with marketing...you can't market an artist if he or she insists on controlling their every movement. There should be a give and take approach...Clay give up some of his privacy and allow a marketing team to do their job. The way it's always been, Clay's said yes or no about everything when it came to publicity...if he doesn't want to do an interview anymore, he leaves in the middle of one instead of seeing them through and being professional. I suspect his run-in's of late with the media caused reporters to shun him...not knowing what to expect if they ask a tough question. I'll bet some editor of a magazine or newspaper takes the attitude "did ya see what Clay said to so and so when they asked this..." or "did ya see Clay pushing camera men out of his way...i don't want any of our reporters injured by seeking an interview from him". I have no way of proving those sorts of things but i'll imagine someone out there in charge of magazines and newspapers and even TV talk shows are cautious when having him on...not knowing if he'll behave or storm off the set.

[ACcountryFan]

AMAZON RANKING: 8-23-08
1. ON MY WAY HERE: #750

[ACcountryFan]

Clear Channel will flip WOKY-AM/Milwaukee bright and early Thursday morning (Sept. 18) at 6 a.m. from top hits of the '60s and '70s to classic country. "The Wolf" will specialize in country hits from Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and, well, you get the idea. It's also promising some great stuff from the '80s like Ronnie Milsap, Anne Murray and the Oaks.

In a statement, CC/Milwaukee OM Kerry Wolfe said, "There is so much great country music that's been recorded through the years, and now we'll be able to showcase it all."

PD Gregory Jon will do wakeups on the Wolf, Mark Richards will handle middays, while Mitch Morgan will do afternoons. The Wolf will be a nice complement to the longtime mega-successful WMIL/Milwaukee.

R&R

I think it's nice that the radio station up there is changing format's. Classic country music has always had an audience, one that continues to grow each year...when you have an entire segment of the country audience not hearing the type of country music they want to hear on the radio because of "modern/new country" then it means instant ratings success for classic/traditional sounding country radio stations where "desired target audiences" are meaningless. One of the complaints charged at modern country radio is that the format caters to a pre-selected age group instead of encompassing or at least trying to please the country audience as a whole. Here's some history about it...

It has long been a practice in country radio, going back to the late 1980's and early 1990's, to cater to younger people and ignore the sounds in country music that older listeners prefer...making new country radio's ratings and target audience reflect what advertisers were wanting to sell their products to. It created alienation and resentment among traditional country artists and fans alike because if one wanted to hear what is now called "classic country", one would have to luck out and find it on an NPR station that may program it for a couple of hours a week or resort to listening to their own personal collection of music in their home or car...no radio station was programming traditional/classic country music in any wide abundance.

Along comes satellite radio, for example, offering consumers and listeners a large variety of music. Classic country stations start popping up on the AM dial...long been a home of talk-radio and oldies rock. Then as the late 1990's progressed, FM stations started programming classic country...now, in this latest scenario, an oldies format in rock is being changed to an oldies country station. It's a good sign...another good sign is that RFD-TV is a gigantic success...I only wish my cable provider carried the network but they don't. That network is being promoted as "The New TNN". For those unaware, TNN was The Nashville Network, a cable channel, that existed in a country music format from 1983 until 1999. The channel went berserk in 2000, dropping the country music format in favor of television re-runs in the mold of TV Land. Then it changed it's name to The National Network...later, it was bought out and re-named Spike TV. TNN liked to promote the legends of country music and some of the newcomers...but TNN always had room for the legendary country singers and they aired some really country, rural programming...and the RFD channel is in that same pattern. Time will tell if it comes available in my area.

[fhmmany2]

AC - are you still here?  Have the figures on the New CD been released? I think they should have come out yesterday (maybe today). I will go check the ANN - maybe the figures will be there.

[Pepe]

FRANKIE, how can they even track the numbers since none of the stores are even carrying it.  What is going on, is RCA punishing Clay by doing this?  I have never seen anything like it before.

[clayMaine-iac]

Sales update for the Playlist CD:

Clay Aiken, Playlist: The Very Best (3,000, chart entry, 3,000 total)

USATODAYBLOG

[fhmmany2]

Thanks for the link, Deanna - that is even worse than I feared, but at least now I know.