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On the Charts: Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ Continues Reign

In Uncategorized on November 12, 2014 at 1:19 pm

I’ve been enjoying that tiny, but significant, uptick in overall album sales the last two weeks. After Taylor Swift’s 1989 came out, they’ve been down just 13 percent, slightly better than the 14 percent that’s marked sales for most of this year. So, congratulations, record industry! (Even though track sales are still down 13 percent.)

ALL TAYLOR, ALL THE TIME: Did Taylor Swift’s abrupt yanking of 1989 from Spotify last week affect her long-term record sales? I keep asking that question, and nobody seems to know for sure. The album’s sales decreased in its second week by 69 percent, with 402,000 copies, after setting a 2014 single-week record of 1.287 million. That’s a big drop, but it really isn’t bad, considering stars from Coldplay to Eric Church have struggled to maintain their sales after a big first week. It’s also an improvement on Swift’s previous albums — 2012’s Red sold 1.21 million in its first week and 344,000 in its second, and 2010’s Speak Now sold 1.047 million, then 320,000, according to Billboard. For those albums, Swift used a “windowing” strategy, waiting to post them on Spotify until months after release. But the rest of her catalog was still available on Spotify, unlike now.

AND WHAT OF ALL THOSE OTHER ALBUMS?: Swift or no Swift, it’s a little weird that so few potential hit albums are coming out with just 16 more shopping days until Black Friday. I understand the argument that nobody wants to compete with 1989, but this isn’t the movie business — a big album traditionally draws people into stores, even an online store like iTunes, and these people wind up buying additional stuff. Nonetheless, Bette Midler’s It’s the Girls (Number Three, 40,000 sales) and Calvin Harris’ Motion (Number Five, 35,000) are the only debuts in the Top 10 this week. So much for breadth.

WHO GUESSED A “SAM SMITH” WOULD BE ONE OF 2014’S BIGGEST STARS?: Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour is making a case for Resilient Album of 2014, if not hottest album of the year (a designation clearly belonging to you-know-who). The crooner’s album returns to the Top 10, selling 27,000 copies (an increase of 2 percent) and landing at Number Eight. And his single “I’m Not the Only One” sold more than 84,000 copies, an increase of 20 percent that helped the singer jump from Number 11 to Number Seven.

via RollingStone.com: Music http://ift.tt/14eB5z2

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Kenny Chesney Taps Jake Owen, More Opening Acts for Big Revival Tour

In Uncategorized on November 12, 2014 at 11:49 am

When future country superstar Kenny Chesney first arrived in Nashville, he was pitching his songs to music publishers and playing for tips down on lower Broadway. As he has risen through the country-music ranks on tour, the east Tennessee native has continued to pay it forward by introducing fans to up-and-coming acts such as Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and Grace Potter. Next year’s the Big Revival Tour will carry on that tradition as Chesney announces young hitmakers Chase Rice and Cole Swindell as opening acts on the highly anticipated trek.

“I didn’t have nearly the success Cole and Chase are enjoying right now, but I know the difference getting your music in front of an audience makes,” says Chesney. “For both of these guys, who have a lot of energy and a real way of grabbing people, I think it’s the perfect way to get the audience fired up for the show.”

Also along on the tour will be Jake Owen, who has amassed a string of smash hits, including “The One That Got Away,” “Anywhere With You,” “Beachin'” and the two-million-selling “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.”

A former University of North Carolina linebacker, Rice first gained fame for co-writing Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.” His Ignite the Night album debuted atop the Billboard Country Albums chart and yielded the Top 5 smash, “Ready, Set, Roll” and his latest single, “Gonna Wanna Tonight.”

Georgia native Cole Swindell has two Number One singles to his credit: the platinum-selling “Chillin’ It” and a gold-certified smash, “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” both taken from his self-titled debut album. He’s also written songs for others, including Luke Bryan (“Roller Coaster”), Thomas Rhett (“Get Me Some of That” and “This Is How We Roll).”

“It’s not just about the big names,” Chesney says. “It’s about fresh faces people need to know. If I can turn people on, or remind them of an artist like Jake, I know they’re gonna get a show that rocks them, but also opens up some new music. To me, that’s the secret of a great show: what you know and what you find out. In just a few days, I’ll have some more news to share that is going to step up this tour to a whole other level….”

Chesney’s Big Revival Tour will also feature Eric Church on select dates, and will join forces with Jason Aldean’s tour for ten stadium shows in spring and summer. Brantley Gilbert is an added opener for those ten stops.

via RollingStone.com: Music http://ift.tt/1ucC254

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Watch Eric Church Pay Tribute to Springsteen on ‘Austin City Limits’

In Uncategorized on November 12, 2014 at 11:49 am

Taking a break from rotating stages, sky-bound drum risers and sold-out arenas, Eric Church took his Outsiders World Tour to Austin in mid-September, where he scaled back the production — but not the intensity — for his first performance on Austin City Limits. The hour-long concert hits PBS this Saturday, November 15th, at 9 p.m. ET. 

Anchored by the thrash and thud of a six-piece backing band, the Austin City Limits performance shines a light on a swaggering, sunglassed Chief, who doesn’t need the Jumbrotrons and rotating light displays of his arena shows to pack a punch. What he does need are hits, and Church has plenty of those, stuffing his 12-song set with Top 10 singles like “Creepin,'” “The Outsiders” and “Drink in My Hand.” To drive home his outsider status, he also includes a few tunes that didn’t make it onto the Billboard charts. One particular highlight: “These Boots,” a deep cut from 2006’s Sinners Like Me, during which Church convinces the entire studio audience to take off their boots and wave them in the air. That’s damn rock & roll.

The audience participates in a singalong version of “Springsteen,” too, joining Church during the anthemic “whoa whoa whoa” chant. Rather than use backing tracks to mimic the song’s keyboard-heavy studio arrangement, Church relies heavily on guitars — four of them, in fact — to add some ballsy boom to a song about memory, melody and the Boss. Watch the video, which makes its online premiere at Rolling Stone Country, above. 

“[This song] is about no matter how old you get, no matter where you are, when you hear a song, you’re right back where you were the first time you heard that song,” he tells the crowd midway through the tune. “Let me tell you this: no matter where I go in life from right here, I’m always gonna remember Austin City Limits tonight. For that, I thank you. Now, I wanna hear you!”

And with that, the crowd launches into another round of “whoa whoa whoa”s, happy to be outsiders once again. 

via RollingStone.com: Music http://ift.tt/1ucA18W

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