Posted on 06/29/2006 2:46:29 AM PDT by Caipirabob
I've simply copied over some interesting comments that occured at the included link. I thought it was some very well thought out commentary.
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Some things on this thread I want to remark on.
The Dixie Chicks only got a “new” label when they settled their lawsuit with Sony in the sense that they were given their own label name. Open Wide Records is their own label name.
As part of their settlement with Sony (which has since tranferred their promotion to Columbia) they agreed to 20% royalty of album sales but before they receive any royalties from the album, they first have to pay for all the promotional costs of their album. So all of this advertising your seeing to sell the CD definitely comes at a cost to them. Not to Sony/Columbia – it comes out of the Dixie Chicks own pockets.
At one point I read calculations that pointed to “Home” beginning to pay royalties to the Dixie Chicks at roughly 6 million in sales. On this new album, I haven’t seen figures of promotional costs but my guess is, despite the “free advertising” of the mainstream media, they have high costs associated with promoting and producing this album.
This album is promoted as being written by the DC but there are at least 13 other professional writers who worked with them closely to pull it together. Plus Rick Rubin and while I don’ t know what he’s paid, I don’t imagine it’s “economical”.
Which brings us to the DC’s tour. Over half of the US concerts have been cancelled or postponed (most without new dates) due to poor ticket sales.
(Excerpt) Read more at exposetheleft.com ...
While it is true that the DC are adding dates internationally, there are many fewer dates being added than those cancelled in the U.S. In addition to the cancelled/postponed dates in the U.S., the DC’s have released additional dates at venues that have sold one show but which they hoped to add more shows.
Which brings us to cost. The DC are paying to advertise their album on tv in England and perhaps in other places. While this does keep them in public view, it’s a costly way to sell a $10 or even a $19 album.
The Dixie Chicks have a large entourage for this tour. The U.S. plans included concert dates in cities 4 to 6 travel hours apart and each of them in their own tour bus with their respective nannies and children. Plus, of course, whatever transportation for the 10 other musicians they are using in concert now plus the assortment of equipment, roadies, security personnel and management personnel major concerts operate with.
Part 3
Overseas their tour buses obviously aren’t going to be utilized so alternate transportation between concerts for a great number of people will now be part of the cost.
Consider there are 3 DC’s, 3 nannies, 7 small children, 10 additional musicians…plus the usual people and equipment for the heavy lifting portion of the tour. We’re talking about a small crowd to support this tour.
IMHO, I don’t think they’ve made smart marketing decisions at all. Not from a profit and loss position.
Their album sales – might as well do a quick comparison here.
They are certified 12 million for Wide Open Spaces
They are certified 10 million for Fly
They are certified 6 million for Home
Their last certification date for Home was the month the boycott started in 2003.
Their last concert album sold less than a million.
The estimates from most people who have talked about the numbers is that the Chicks will sell about 2 million CD’s. Many because of the “cause” or because they believe the DC’s need their support.
Part 4
Which bring us to Adult contemporary radio (pop). They’ve always been crossover artists which account for their high sales. Landslide was on the A/C charts when the boycott started and it fell off those charts as quickly as Travelin Soldier fell off the country charts. Higher in areas around military bases and quicker in the south than in traditionally liberal areas.
At this point, they haven’t regained A/C airplay to any significant degree at all. They are being promoted by Viacom which includes CMT and VH1 (and MTV but I don’t think they are being promoted there).
Canada is a promising market for them but it has consistently been due to CMT Canada promoting them all along. The controvery likely helped them in Canada all along.
IMHO, their marketing strategy has not been shown to be profitable and I don’t see signs that the DC’s want to switch to smaller venues and smaller profits.
Their concert promoter offered them a $500K guarantee for each U.S. show and a 90/10 split of the box office.
Instead of taking that guarantee, they chose to take a 95/5 box office split. Which is the reason the U.S. concerts are being cancelled for poor ticket sales. They could have played each of those venues for the guarantee of $500K.
Their concert promoter is high-fiving themselves according to the trades because the DC’s lost themselves up to $20 million by choosing the 95/5 split.
When your promoter is happy they are getting less of the box, your tour is in trouble.
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I thought this was a very well thought out anlysis of the DC chick phenomenon and their current situation, for anyone following their flame-tour.
OK, I agree, the chicks won't be serving fries at McD's anytime soon, but their tour does appear to be the trainwreck it's being portrayed as in the media.
The chicks want the cool coffee house crowd - problem is that that bunch would never accept any group with "Dixie" in their name. And the country people don't want the United States trashed. Who's left? The chicks are stupid...
Good analysis but I'm ready to stop hearing about them. They said something stupid once, stupid from a business perspective and stupid from the perspective of being an American.
They have since made more statements even worse than the initial one.
I wouldn't give them the time of day nor will I stop to give them a dollar when they are homeless and destitute.
I suspected a rat in soup when I first heard the history of name. They were first called "Dixie Chicken", but then changed it to "Dixie Chicks" because not enough people "got" the reference to the Little Feat/Lowell George song. I think they currently should be called "Ditzy Bolesheviks"
And to think that had she just had someone write her a nice apology and been a little humble about it all, things would have gotten somewhat back to normal. Instead they all "get their back up" and just keep being provocative. They are beyond the point of return now.
I am really going to enjoy watching a "where are they now" episode of them in 15 years.
Wonder what Imus got for humping the thing for three days?
I think you'll eventually seen this group disbanding and becoming more solo...
Looks like the Ditsy Twits next tour may be through bankruptcy court....
Glad to see they haven't sold out their integrity. Bwahahahahahaha!
I look forward to the day (not far off) when the Ditzie [humorous substitute omitted] break up in a fingerpointing fury of recriminations and attempt to start solo careers or simply call it a career.
And good riddance in advance.
three words: Jerry Lee Lewis
Entertainment Accounting 101:
You can make a fortune bad mouthing your country.
You can make a fortune bad mouthing God.
You can make a fortune bad mouthing the people who protect and preserve us.
You can make a fortune bad mouthing our commander and Chief and our troops.
You can make a fortune while sleeping with little boys.
You can make a fortune while taking steroids, shooting dope or murdering your wife.
You will lose everything if you dis Buddy Holly.
***Open Wide Records is their own label name***
When they chose that name were they referencing their legs or their mouths.
Their open wide mouths have just about placed them in a position where they will have to open their legs to make a living. Not a good living when it comes to Natalie, but there must be someone out there desperate enough.
Their picture showed up on the screen (computer projector) and the class just laughed at them. The class? Adult college students - perhaps the DC market if they had one.
Take a close look at Natalie and see if you agree with me that her family tree only has one branch. To me she has that Deliverance look, even if professionally made up.
Well, in all fairness, they DID change the name well before Natalie ever joined the band, back when they played "both kinds of music:" Country AND Western!
Mark
Dang. Now that you've gone and mentioned Little Feat, I've got that "Fat Man In The Bathtub" song going through my head.
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