S. Samuel
R&B singer Ciara has addressed the speculation that album sales dictate an artist's survival within the music industry and what other factors should be considered for longevity.
According to Ciara, having the ability to tour and brand yourself is more imporant than what an album sells.
“Even though my last album didn’t do as well as my previous ones, I was still able to go out and make money and tour,” Ciara said in an interview. “Every day is not always the perfect day. Artists that I have loved and admired, who have had a long career, have not had every record or song or video that was always the right choice. Selling records are becoming smaller fraction of branding and building a long-lasting career. You can sell a lot of records, but can you tour? You can sell records, but where does it go beyond that? That’s a part of building a brand for yourself. If you can walk away from your career and are successful touring, you’ll always be straight. Artists like Madonna have been doing it for years. She may put out one single, do a tour and gross over $200 million.” (Associated Press)
Ciara’s new Basic Instinct album is projected to sell up to 50,000 copies in its first-week on store shelves.
American Idol alumnus Crystal Bowersox‘s 19/Jive/JLG debut is on target for 45-50k, with Atlantic’s Tank aiming for 40-45k and Jive/JLG’s Ciara between 35-40k. (HITS Daily Double)
The singer’s debut album sold millions of records upon its release seven years ago.
In 2004 Ciara released her debut album Goodies which spawned the number one hits “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step”, selling over five million copies worldwide and certified triple platinum in the United States. The album earned her four nominations at the 2004 Grammy Awards. (Wikipedia)
Recently, rapper Redman said album sales did not indicate an artist’s relevancy.
“You gotta understand, we’re doing a movement,” Red said in an interview. “It’s not just about record sales. F*ck how many motherf*ckers got the biggest sales and all that. That don’t mean sh*t. Motherf*ckers be having high a** sales but not respected in the street, not respected for the culture. It’s not about sales no more, it’s about a movement. Who’s gonna follow that movement? Red and [Method Man] are the smoking movement. Any time we drop an album, y’all should be at the f*cking store, whether you like it or not and buy the f*cking album. December 7th, Reggie.” (Best of Both Offices)
Ciara’s last album, Fantasy Ride, debuted at No. 3 with 81,000 sold copies in May 2009.
