Marketing Brilliance

[WildTurkey]

Since there's nothing else to talk about...

Was this always how VH operated? During the halcyon days of 78-84, did Van Halen fans anxiously pine away every 365 days or so with the vague idea that the band must be about due to release an album? Was there ever any buildup in the press? Any announcements on the radio slightly more credible than "DJ X in Pocatello, ID heard from Alex's poodle yesterday that the new single "(Oh) Pretty Woman" is due for release on 2/2/82?" How did we dick-swinging, whiskey-swilling Rothtards know to congregate at the local Record X-Change at midnight on 4/29/81 to pick up a fresh copy of Fair Warning? It seems inconceivable to me that there were no Exalted Announcements, no Grand Proclamations - that you just woke up one day to discover that The Mighty Van Halen had been recording away while you slept, and turned on the radio to ask yourself the question: so this is love? Were shiftless masturbators like myself forced to do the 1979 equivalent of lurking in this forum every day, hoping for some good news - whatever that equivalent might have been?

I assume that this is not the way the record industry, as a whole, was operating back in those days (although, how the fuck would I know? I was two)... the first album releases I was really aware of were the Illusions and the Black Album, and god knows the mania that surrounded those albums. Of course, Van Halen hadn't released an album for over seven years at that point, so that's an irrelevant barometer.

I just want to know if it was always like this, back in the Golden Age...

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Back in the day a new album was expected annually or at least every two years minimum. If you were in the limelight, you were constantly touring and recording and touring some more. It was a complete lifestyle and also very much a grind. The competition was fierce so bands stayed on top of their games. News came from radio stations and magazines and spread like wildfire through word of mouth. The true fans got the best seats at face value because we were willing to sleep out at the box office for days if needed to score tickets. Sleeping out and waiting in line was a party in of itself. Everybody sharing their goods and plenty of music cranking from a boom box. Once the box office opened at 10am you came out with tickets in hand. First row or 5th row or in the nosebleeds, didn't matter, it was the same price. These were in fact the good old days! Some things with modern technology and change are wonderful and convenient, and some things have just lost their luster. Here's to everyone that digs music past and present and what it means to each of us in our crazy journey through this wonderful life

[binnie]

Well, the incentive to record music has diminshed as far as business goes for a number of reasons:

1) No-one really sells bucket-loads of records now, so breaking even is more difficult. Touring is where the money is at.

2) Back in the day, an album was 45 minutes tops. These days, its probably pushing 60 minutes or more. Consequently, it require less material to put out a record every 2 years.

In a band like Van Halen's case there is are two additional reasons for the delay:

1)There already have a legacy, and will undoubtedly be anxious about tainting it by putting out something sub-par. I can forsee that that would cause anxiety, and lead to the endless tinkering away at the product.

2) It's Van Halen.

[mh5150]

Well, the incentive to record music has diminshed as far as business goes for a number of reasons:

1) No-one really sells bucket-loads of records now, so breaking even is more difficult. Touring is where the money is at.

2) Back in the day, an album was 45 minutes tops. These days, its probably pushing 60 minutes or more. Consequently, it require less material to put out a record every 2 years.

In a band like Van Halen's case there is are two additional reasons for the delay:

1)There already have a legacy, and will undoubtedly be anxious about tainting it by putting out something sub-par. I can forsee that that would cause anxiety, and lead to the endless tinkering away at the product.

2) It's Van Halen.

The last 2 are spot on. EVH is a goofball who is worried about every little thing on this album. He is a very insecure person when it comes to what he puts out there. I can remember going to a concert every weekend in the early 80's at the height of it all. I recall seeing DLR and KIX at the Baltimore Arena when Kix a Baltimore Band played past 9 pm and DLR had his security turn off their amps and put up the house lights and had to drag Kix off stage .
Those were the days

[Hardrock69]

1) No-one really sells bucket-loads of records now, so breaking even is more difficult. Touring is where the money is at.

Touring is where the money is ONLY if you are selling enough merchandise and/or you are a top draw artist who makes enough to pay all expenses easily.

The first part is not exactly true though. With today's technology, the break-even part for an album is ridiculously low. I mean, in my case I have all my gear already.
So to record an album, my only investment is time. So financially speaking, I guess I could say I would break even on the cost of my equipment which I accumulated over the past 25 years.
But as for recouping the cost of actually recording the album, that cost is ZERO, so if I sold ONE album for 10 dollars, I would be in the black.

Since I don't deal with a label, I have no advances I have to pay back, no expenses I owe to them for anything. I record an album, I release it, do my own marketing and promotion. Hell I don't even have to play live on a local level.

So Break-even on an album is nothing. Unless you want to go into debt just making the thing.