I heard from Kesha that will perform in Australia in Oct 2018.
What do MSers think of the news that Neil Finn is joining Fleetwood Mac?
It sounds pretty amazingā¦ It will be interesting to see if he has much influence on their soundā¦ I imagine he will just do bsck up vocals, some songwriting and guitar playing?
Replacing Lindsey Buckingham so yes. Seems a bit strange but Iām sure he could make it work.
1 Like
So, Godās Plan by Drake has been number 1 on the ARIA charts for 11 straight weeks.
This puts it up there with some of the greatest hits of all time, which it clearly is not. It is only two times platinum which means sales have been good but not brilliant. Streaming by the same people is what is keeping it up there.
What is clear, is that the Singles Charts are broken and ARIA needs to fix them.
https://www.ariacharts.com.au/news/2018/drake-holds-1-and-snares-week-s-highest-debut
At least the Album Charts are a bit more realistic with album sales making up the bulk. Kylie Minogueās Golden is her fifth number 1 album.
https://www.ariacharts.com.au/news/2018/golden-gives-kylie-fifth-1-album
1 Like
Is music sales relevent anymore? Iād have thought that streaming services has rendered sales moot
1 Like
I feel like we have had this discussion a few times before @JBar 
.
Maybe Godās Plan is a classic, itās been everywhere for some time.
Consumption of music is through streaming these days by an awful lot of people. You canāt ignore that.
I have to admit I donāt think Iāve heard the song?
Or at least. I donāt recognise it by title.
Really? Everywhere? Itās not even making the radio playlists that much. I really donāt see it as a classic. In fact, I think Drake is really, really over rated. I donāt get why he is so popular. I find his music boring and his performance monotone.
1 Like
Streaming services are shonky and are being manipulated by record companies. Whenever Iāve used mine, it finds all these suggested tracks which are not songs I would choose. If I didnāt flick them Iād be listening to a lot of stuff deemed to be popular but I hate. I think a lot of people donāt care and just listen, which artificially boosts streaming numbers. Itās a big con in the music industry.
the hook is known by every white girl around
she say ādo you love meā
I tell her āonly partly
I only love my bed and my momma,
Iām sorryā
1 Like
Racist. 
That doesnāt sound like āGodās Planā to me.
I just read the rest of the lyrics. Doesnāt make any sense to me.
Huge on YouTube and Spotify. The days of Radio leading any sort of music discovery are long gone. Adding to the fact, Australian doesnāt really have any urban stations but it fits right into that demographic. (And the Aussie market is just zzzzz, all very homogenous)
@JBar, the fact of the matter is the old way of discovering music and ranking music in charts is dead. I wouldnāt call it a āconā, itās just the way things are now. We canāt use old measuring techniques the same way in 2018 as we did in 2008 or even 1998.
2 Likes
The āconā is the way that record companies are influencing those streaming methods. Songs are being artificially boosted with their methods. Small artists are going to find it impossible to make it on the charts in the future and that sux.
Charts donāt matter!
If people arenāt making an active decision to switch off then they are probably enjoying it in some way, shape or form. Much like leaving the TV on after a show you were watching has finished, if it was that much of an annoyance youād turn it off.
Iāve found that Spotify does a pretty decent job for what is basically an algorithm
The way I use streaming services means the amount of ānewā (ie music i havenāt heard before) music I listen to is pretty limited, but I know quite a few people who listen a lot to the ānewā music playlists the likes of Spotify and Apple Music offer
and radio play isnt influenced by record companies?
I dont see how this differs from the past - high rotation on the radio has traditionally driven the charts
I get where youāre coming from but nah.
Small artists would go to Triple J Unearthed and get exposure there which drives them to be played on Triple J if they keep releasing good tunes. These artists get massive recognition and somewhat blow up when they play festivals (which most big ones - either national or local are backed by Triple J in some way) where a lot of people who donāt listen to Triple J or these artists go because the headliner is huuuuuge (i.e. Future or former unearthed artist turned big What So Not).
Then thereās the whole thing about collaborations and how that helps small artists get bigger off the back of the bigger artist (or theyāre both smallish and get huge like Dillon Francis and DJ Snake with āGet Lowā or NGHTMRE with STREET (and his VIP).
TL;DR: Unearthed > Triple J > Festivals > ??? > Profit
1 Like
I agree, and some artists that have been around for 20 or 30 years or such as Ratcat (who are still performing with Simon Day as the only original member) , Mr. Big (who are still making albums and touring with Extreme this June) and Extreme. Many will say they have had their time - but despite what people think, music programs and radio stations will push the bands they want to see succeed whilst other bands who possibly produce music as good as they did in their prime just linger.
Other artists with little or no following in Australia are The Winery Dogs and Dream Theater - despite the fact I believe they have strong talent.
The Winery Dogs feature Mr. Big Bass Guitarist Billy Sheehan, former Mr. Big And Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen and former Dream Theater drummer Matt Portnoy. A Youtube link to one of their songs is below
Dream Theater features John Myung, John Petrucci, James LaBrie ,Jordan Rudess and Mike Mangini. Past members include Mike Portnoy, Chris Collins, Kevin Moore, Charlie Dominici, Derek Sherinian and Steve Stone. Many names may not seem familiar to most but they have helped shape the band in its current form. A Youtube link to one of their songs is below
Iām not really talking about the artists who had their time and linger for decades. That always happened and still does, here and overseas.
Iām talking about the new and emerging artists trying to break through. We have Triple J discovering new artists and sure they have some success but itās not mainstream.
Looking back we constantly had successful Australian artists here and overseas for many decades. Who are the big Australian artists in 2018?
Dream Theater has been around for years, yes, but a following in Australia. I am just giving examples of artists that are producing but maybe not achieving exposure to their new material these days.
It is the people running the various operations, be it streaming services, radio stations, music shows/channels are the ones that are doing the hard sell on selected artists, some may be influenced by personal taste and accessibility, whilst other may be from record companies and music/tour promoters and entertainment reporters such as Richard Wilkins. It was mentioned that Godās Plan has been 1 for 11 weeks - that really sounds like early 1990s type sales for a number 11 after that long up there.
Here are some examples of songs that spent long around 11 weeks at Number 1 in the 1990s to use as a comparison
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, - Bryan Adams #1 for 11 weeks, (1991) end of year #1 2x platinum
I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston, #1 for 10 weeks (1993) end of year #2 4x platinum
Gangstas Paradise,- Coolio, #1 for 13 weeks (1995) end of year #1 3x platinum
Wannabe - Spice Girls, #1 for 11 weeks (1996) end of year #5 2x platinum
ā¦Baby One More Time ,- Britney Spears #1 for 9 weeks (1999) end of year #2 3x platinum
Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65, #1 for 9 weeks (1999) end of year #3 3x platinum
End of decade #1 (and 1997 end of year #1) Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind '97 - Elton John, 6 weeks at #1 and 14x platinum
Ultimately, maybe a little off track and possibly like comparing apples to oranges, in that back then we didnāt have streaming services, but it shows that the (ARIA) singles charts may no longer be relevant
1 Like