Michael - The Great Album Debate

[ivy]

I wish people who act nice and polite on here would stop being rude, insulting and exhibiting such disgusting behaviour on other sites. Or if your going to do it, at least have the sense to change your username. You know who you are.

I know this is not aimed at me as I do not discuss this topic on other websites (since max-jax closed their thread)

therefore I'll place a remainder here, what happens at other sites is not a problem of MJJC or MJJC administration.

 

[Arklove]

Where was that cause I got all the MJTE games and I didn't get anything.

It was only given to doubters as a means to rub more salt in the wound I think I got it at Best Buy, maybe..

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

It was only given to doubters as a means to rub more salt in the wound I think I got it at Best Buy, maybe..

Lol I can just imagine that

Best Buy cashier: "Are you a doubter or believer ?"
Customer: "Doubter"
Best Buy cashier: "Here you go for being a doubter you qualify to receive the "Michael" album for free !"
Customer: YAY! Oh wait that's the answer for believers

 

[Jesta]

Wow, I literally slept three rejuvinative hours and it's still going... I feel bad for you getting that as a part of MJTE, Arky! I only got a T-shirt, microphone, songbook and APOM code with mine But at least none of those tracks are in the games. The only posthumous track on these games is Hollywood on the 3DS version... And assumably the VITA and iPad version. The ultra-realistic versions.

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

It was only given to doubters as a means to rub more salt in the wound I think I got it at Best Buy, maybe..

But anyways that's not fair I didn't get s*** I bought all my 3 copies.

Wait for the Wii I got the glove and for Xbox I got a DLC.

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

Wow, I literally slept three rejuvinative hours and it's still going... I feel bad for you getting that as a part of MJTE, Arky! I only got a T-shirt, microphone, songbook and APOM code with mine But at least none of those tracks are in the games. The only posthumous track on these games is Hollywood on the 3DS version... And assumably the VITA and iPad version. The ultra-realistic versions.

It's coming out for iPhone and iPod touch too soon.

Update: This is how I know http://gyazo.com/28bd477048e122bbdc500600806a96fc

 

[Jesta]

That reminds me, Arky: have you played any more of MJTE since first getting it? I dusted off the Wii version the other day and I had an hour-long MJ work out! I'll probably reconnect my Kinect to play that version as well just for the novelty of being on stage...

... Just need the PSP version to complete my collection... Until the VITA version comes out. Oh well I don't count digital downloads for my collection... Often.

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

That reminds me, Arky: have you played any more of MJTE since first getting it? I dusted off the Wii version the other day and I had an hour-long MJ work out! I'll probably reconnect my Kinect to play that version as well just for the novelty of being on stage...

... Just need the PSP version to complete my collection... Until the VITA version comes out. Oh well I don't count digital downloads for my collection... Often.

Did you hear about Moonwalker HD being announced at E3 2012 ?

 

[Willy]

Brad Buxer had nothing to do with the Cascio Monster and neither Cascio nor Porte are credited here. Which means it's more than likely a different song. So Michael just happened to have two songs called Monster? Hmmmm.

It's been established that there's a different song called "Monster" recorded around 98/99. The song is about some drug addict if I remember correctly and it's unlikely that it has anything to do with the "Monster" we know.

 

[Dorian]

It's been established that there's a different song called "Monster" recorded around 98/99. The song is about some drug addict if I remember correctly and it's unlikely that it has something to do with the "Monster" we know.

Yes, a drug addict that wants to commit suicide

 

[Korgnex]

It's been established that there's a different song called "Monster" recorded around 98/99. The song is about some drug addict if I remember correctly and it's unlikely that it has anything to do with the "Monster" we know.

Just a Spanish magazine was reporting this. That magazine also claimed that the new album back then (1999) would be called "Michael".
So basically, we don't have confirmation if this information about what the song shall be about is correct or made up.

 

[Arklove]

That reminds me, Arky: have you played any more of MJTE since first getting it? I dusted off the Wii version the other day and I had an hour-long MJ work out! I'll probably reconnect my Kinect to play that version as well just for the novelty of being on stage...... Just need the PSP version to complete my collection... Until the VITA version comes out. Oh well I don't count digital downloads for my collection... Often.

Nah, I haven't played it in months...i don't like playing on my own, and I don't play for a score or anything like that...I would use it for a party or something..

 

[love is magical]

WHY WON'T THE BAD TOUR WORK!?!? can they at LEAST give me the yokohama version of thriller without the stupid dripping effect on it?! MY GOD.

I heard some fans who had talked to some Sony people once said there isn’t a big enough market for concert DVD. BUT, it’s just rumor. You know, over the years, many so-called “insider info” turned out false. </SPAN>

Like you, at this point, I’m willing to settle with Yokohama with no effects that scream 80’s. It kills me to see that fading effect on Human Nature and yes, that dripping effect on Thriller is cringe-worthy. </SPAN>

They can just give me Yokohama, Bucharest and Munich. I just want high quality version, so they play properly on my TV. I spent hours reading my TV manual trying to figure out how it can play Dangerous Bucharest without stretching the screen. It’s frustrating. </SPAN>

you know, i really don't fault them for releasing greatest hits cds. As a fan, of course i don't want them. I'd rather have an unedited 3 hour video of michael drinking tea or tying his shoes or breathing . . . but the average person doesn't. the average person doesn't even know songs (masterpieces) like little susie--they want to hear billie jean and the way you make me feel. I don't think anything's wrong with that. the more greatest hits come out, the more people will listen and hopefully, fall in love with mj's music and seek out more of it. I'm FINE with greatest hits, as long as they sprinkle some stuff in for the diehard fans (of which there are many) every once in a while. The only thing i'm not fine with is dissrespect. like, you know, fraud.

I understand what you are talking about. But, Sony is starting to saturate the market with too many GH collections in a relative short period of time. Number Ones and TII sold extremely well. Nevertheless, we can’t expect people who owned Number Ones to buy another GH. I own many GH albums of other artists. If those artists I like, but not crazy about, release another GH with similar content, then I just won’t buy it. In the last seven years, Michael had five GH collections out (Number Ones, Essentials, TUC, KOP and TII.) Immortal is a fancier version of GH remixes. By now, Michael has more GH albums than his studio albums. </SPAN>

Well actually Michael Jackson is selling well, slow but well.

This Is It the movie made $261,183,588 in box offices that's over 1/4 of a billion dollars and became the biggest documentary/music film of all time.

This Is It the album has a platinum status of 23.

Vision DVD box set sold pretty well and has a platinum status of 8 while 5 of those are from the U.S alone.

"Michael" was the Global #1 album of 2010 and has a platinum status of 26.

Immortal World Tour was probably the best thing that the estate did since it brings in about $500,000.00 daily from ticket sales alone.

Immortal album is being promoted by Cirque Du Soleil which is going around North America selling out concerts/shows and some people cannot make it to the concerts or afford it so they can buy the album and at least listen to it.


My list was made to show that the $250,000,000.00 deal between Sony & the estate is doing well.

</SPAN>

I’m talking about the $250 million deal between Sony and the Estate. </SPAN>

TII, the movie, was not part of the deal. It’s a deal among Columbia (a Sony company), AEG and Sony. Columbia paid $60 million for the right.</SPAN>

TII the album was a hit. No doubt. Sony tried hard to replicate the performance of TII with no success thus far.</SPAN>

Michael Jackson’s Vision:</SPAN>
You know the threshold of platinum certification for DVD is 50,000 units in the U.S. based on SHIPMENT, right? 5 platinum certifications means 250,000 units shipped. Assuming the return is minimal and each DVD sells at $45, total sales is $11.25 million, not the $25 million per project Sony hopes to get. </SPAN>

Michael, the album:</SPAN>
See the below excerpt from Wiki:</SPAN>

Nielsen SoundScan</SPAN> figures are not used in RIAA certification; the RIAA system predates Nielsen SoundScan and includes sales outlets Nielsen misses. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, RIAA certification was the only audited and verifiable system for tracking music sales in the U.S.; it is still the only system capable of tracking 100% of sales (albeit as shipments less returns, not actual sales like Nielsen SoundScan). This system has allowed, at times, for record labels to promote an album as Gold or Platinum simply based on large shipments. For instance, the 2010 </SPAN>Michael Jackson</SPAN> compilation album Michael</SPAN> shipped Platinum with over 3 million shipments but was a sales bust, with two million returns expected in 2011.[SUP][2][/SUP] Similarly, all four solo albums by the members of </SPAN>Kiss</SPAN> simultaneously shipped Platinum that same year but did not reach the top 20 of the </SPAN>Billboard 200</SPAN> album chart.[SUP][3][/SUP] The following year, the RIAA began requiring 120 days from the release date before recordings were eligible for certification, although that requirement has been reduced over the years and currently stands at 30 days. </SPAN>Sony</SPAN> was roundly criticized in 1995 for hyping Michael Jackson's double album HIStory</SPAN> as five times Platinum, based on shipments of 2.5 million and using the RIAA's recently adopted practice of counting each disc toward certification, while SoundScan was reporting only 1.3 million copies sold.[SUP][4][/SUP] A similar discrepancy between shipments and sales was reported with The Lion King</SPAN> soundtrack.[SUP][5][/SUP]</SPAN></SPAN>

Don’t just go by platinum figures. Platinum certifications are reliable only when return is not substantial. In some ways, platinum certification is another gimmick employed by record label. Take a look to the discussion I had with Ivy a little earlier, Michael, the album, was not a money maker by any means. </SPAN>

Immortal World Tour is not a Sony/Estate project. It’s a collaboration between the Estate and Cirque du Soleil. It’s not part of the 10-project deal.</SPAN>

Immortal, the album:</SPAN>
So far, the sales has been lukewarm. This album is more like a souvenir item than a chart-topper. People who go to see the show will probably grab the album on their way in or out of the show. </SPAN>

You said people who can’t afford to buy tickets to the show may buy the album? Why? It’s not a DVD. There is no visual. Fans may probably buy the album to listen to the Immortal remixes. But, the general public would not be interested. If they want to hear MJ, there are five other greatest hit collections for them to choose from. </SPAN>

Now, do you see your list is not as accurate as you thought? The $250 million deal isn’t working out as promising as it seemed in the spring of 2010. Vision and Michael weren’t success. Immortal (the album) isn’t outstanding. Things as they stand now aren’t great. Sony could make more money if they put $250 million in a risk-free investment, like U.S. T-note. Sony misjudged the market. The market for Michael Jackson is immense. But, music fans aren’t headless. They aren’t blind to accept whatever with the name Michael Jackson on it. So far, Sony failed to energize this immense fanbase. </SPAN>

Just look at the Immortal album thread, it’s quiet. Even fans don’t find much to talk about.

Sorry to interrupt but that poster idea is smart because holiday season + big poster where every plane departing and landing can see it's a good idea.

Well I'm in NYC and I seen many taxi's with the "Michael" album cover on the top and in Times Square they set up many posters with the cover.

</SPAN>
If the poster idea was that smart, we would hear more people talking about it when it was out. Just ask around, see how many people knew such poster even existed? Was it a water-cooler conversation topic? </SPAN>

I’m also in NYC. I can see Times Square from my office window. When I learned about the Michael billboard, I walked to TS and took a look. Honestly, I almost missed it. It was on top of the Mama Mia billboard, but smaller. Not that attention grabbing, I have to say.</SPAN>

I’m also a fan. I want every project with Michael’s name on it to be a success. But, I recognize it when the project is lackluster. See who remember the HMH video, the Hollywood Tonight video or the Behind the Mask video. None of the above make any impact at all. </SPAN>

 

[Korgnex]

You guys have forgotten quite a few things:

Companies don't just make money with selling their copies to customers, they also make money with lots of other business deals.
Just one example: They are negotiating deals with TV stations (e.g. MTV and other channels which are paying much to get (exclusive) rights to screen "This Is It" for several years).

"Michael" and especially "Immortal" were extremely budget-friendly projects. Sony/The MJ Estate are quite content with the revenues of "Michael".

 

[Billyjeanplxiv]

I believe Michael could have sold at most 5 million copies.

 

[love is magical]

You guys have forgotten quite a few things:

Companies don't just make money with selling their copies to customers, they also make money with lots of other business deals.
Just one example: They are negotiating deals with TV stations (e.g. MTV and other channels which are paying much to get (exclusive) rights to screen "This Is It" for several years).

"Michael" and especially "Immortal" were extremely budget-friendly projects. Sony/The MJ Estate are quite content with the revenues of "Michael".

I'm interested to know what kind of business deal can "Michael" enter. The only time I hear anything from "Michael" on TV was when HMH was used as the theme song of a reality show called "secrect millionaire" or something like that on ABC.

Did the singles from Michael do well in electronic download? I highly doubt. Michael was not a "single" artist.

Again, you used TII, the moive, in your example. I have already pointed out that TII, the movie, is not part of the $250 million 10-project deal. I know how well TII, the movie, has performed. I know how well Number Ones has performed. But, these aren't part of the 10-project deal.

I know how "budget-friendly" Michael and Immortal are. I have already figured out Sony's approach is that of a "low cost" approach.

If the Estate and Sony are content with a "3 million copies shippment and 1 million return" performance, then okay. I guess the music industry is near death. A company is willing to pay $250 million to get a tiny return. How well an investment performed is subjective. To some, a 0.1% return is great, as it is still a positive return. Figures are objective, but perceptions aren't. Nothing wrong with that.

I believe Michael could have sold at most 5 million copies.

No, Michael could have never sold 5 million copies. The estimate is about 2.2 million copies. There is no sign that the album will have a long shelf life.

 

[Jesta]

Why WOULD the Estate and SONY be satisfied with a measly 2-3million copies sold when they know the potential for it could've been grander? If even just a slightly bigger effort was put in promotion for the album, like TV spots and newspaper ads, it could've easily sold to 5million. I remember discussing with my school councillor in November 2010 about the high hopes I had for it, and how I hoped that it could at least rival Invincible in sales. That was ambitious to say that least but about 7million COULD'VE been reached. I'm certain that without this controversy, the album would've been a resounding success, even with the changes made to Hollywood, Another Day, I Like The Way and Behind the Mask!

Our old friend burn2nite has returned!!!

 

[ivy]

It's hard to say how successful the album could have been because the industry in terrible shape.

every year there's one musician that reaches the 10 million sales mark (last year Lady Gaga, this year Adele), even the second person in listing only sells 5 million (last year Eminem, this year Gaga), with the 10th position album the sales are down to 2 million mark (this year Beyonce with 2.1 million), top 40 brings the sales down to 1 Million. In short as the top 40 albums sales numbers range between 10 million to 1 million , it's obvious that regardless of who the artist is the sales have really lowered (that's the trend for the last 5 years)

Michael selling 1.2 Million in 2010 and less than 1 million this year puts it as a top 40 album (it was 29 last year) so it's not terrible. I don't think we'll see 10 million sales for Michael or even 7 - 5 million as he's dead, he can't promote or parttake in videos, as the alive and heavily touring artists and highly popular artists (such as Rihanna) is only reaching 7-8 million sales numbers. This might be an industry reality and not necessarily a bad consequence of song selection.

and Jesta honestly I don't see any promotion for any of the artists in USA, promotion is the first cost element to go when the industry is in a bad shape.

 

[Jesta]

It's hard to say how successful the album could have been because the industry in terrible shape.

every year there's one musician that reaches the 10 million sales mark (last year Lady Gaga, this year Adele), even the second person in listing only sells 5 million (last year Eminem, this year Gaga), with the 10th album the sales are down to 2 million mark (this year Beyonce with 2.1 million), top 40 brings the sales down to 1 Million.

Michael selling 1.2 Million in 2010 and less than 1 million this year puts it as a top 40 album (it was 29 last year) so it's not terrible. I don't think we'll see 10 million sales for Michael or even 7 - 5 million as he's dead, he can't promote or parttake in videos, as the alive and heavily touring artists and highly popular artists (such as Rihanna) is only reaching 7-8 million sales numbers. This might be an industry reality.

and Jesta honestly I don't see any promotion for any of the artists, promotion is the first cost element to go when the industry is in a bad shape.

... As much as I hate to admit it, you're right about the promotion, Ivy. Gone are the days when a single artist dominated every media shop's window. I get that, but I can't help but feel that this album's potential was squandered. Even though the album has Cascio tracks, I still like it! I still listen to it time and again, I still like the other 7 songs. And yes, I know that posthumous releases are EXTREMELY hard to market. Given that I live in the UK, I saw a LOT of advertisements for Amy Winehouse's posthumous album "Lioness: Hidden Treasures". Every day I saw that advert at least once on TV. Imagine if "Michael" had that kind of coverage, as opposed to very, very few appearances (I think I only saw the ad on TV once). I just feel that it was squandered.
Again, the main advertisement for IMMORTAL is the Cirque show itself as they are both symbiotically linked. "Michael", however didn't have that. It felt that as soon as Breaking News dropped, they quickly brushed it under the rug, where I know that people would've wanted to hear the album. The workers at my local game shop LOVE MJ and they were kinda surprised at the news that there was a new album when I told them. The guy working at the new calendar shop where I just bought the Bad 25 calendar is an MJ fan and was shocked that Behind the Mask had been released (of course I told an MJ fan I'm in the video... Don't stare at me like that.) The point is, this album could've been discovered by so many more people. EVERYONE I know knows about Amy Winehouse's new album, why couldn't Michael just get that kind of coverage: minimalistic, but hard-hitting.

 

[Billyjeanplxiv]

Exactly, i saw people talking about Amy's Album, but Michael Jackson? No. People are still shocked to hear he has albums coming out. They need promotion.

 

[ivy]

There was no promotion for Amy's album in USA - or that I've seen. So it might be limited to UK?

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

I'm interested to know what kind of business deal can "Michael" enter. The only time I hear anything from "Michael" on TV was when HMH was used as the theme song of a reality show called "secrect millionaire" or something like that on ABC.

Did the singles from Michael do well in electronic download? I highly doubt. Michael was not a "single" artist.

Again, you used TII, the moive, in your example. I have already pointed out that TII, the movie, is not part of the $250 million 10-project deal. I know how well TII, the movie, has performed. I know how well Number Ones has performed. But, these aren't part of the 10-project deal.

I know how "budget-friendly" Michael and Immortal are. I have already figured out Sony's approach is that of a "low cost" approach.

If the Estate and Sony are content with a "3 million copies shippment and 1 million return" performance, then okay. I guess the music industry is near death. A company is willing to pay $250 million to get a tiny return. How well an investment performed is subjective. To some, a 0.1% return is great, as it is still a positive return. Figures are objective, but perceptions aren't. Nothing wrong with that.



No, Michael could have never sold 5 million copies. The estimate is about 2.2 million copies. There is no sign that the album will have a long shelf life.

Wait wasn't This Is It part of the deal since Sony owed MJ's estate a few millions ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZJNdrxg3sk

 

[Arklove]

Effective promotion, IMO, is that in which the consumer doesn't need to lift a finger or make any effort whatsoever to know that product is out there...it should be shoved in your face at any given time...my sister and her husband for example watch TV quite a bit and never saw any advertisement...in electronics stores and what not, I have to actually go and search for the Michael album..it's been like that since the day of release...

The point is, we shouldnt have to watch out for promotion...it should be anywhere and everywhere to make any type of impact...if not, then I consider it poor promotion....and I think it's pretty obvious that the Michael album falls in that category...it's just too bad, cuz all it takes is a bit of effort...

 

[love is magical]

^^In the case of the Sony $250 million 10-project deal, don't you think Sony is betting on higher-than-average sales numbers? The $250 million deal is historic and record breaking. Sony is paying above-than-average premium. $250 million is a figure reserved for top artists, who are still able to tour (another revenue stream.) If Sony is content with the lackluster sales figure, I can understand. I guess it's considered great not to lose money in the current market environment. But, for a big investment like that, I would think Sony wants stellar return. Or else, why not just put the money in a risk-free investment to earn modest income?

Like I said, how well an album performed is subjective. While it wasn't terrible (I mean it's still Michael Jackson we are talking about. Despite the fact that it's a posthumous release, we are still talking about a project that bears the name of the best selling artist of all time,) Michael wasn't a success that Sony hoped for. They certainly hoped Michael could replicate the success of TII.

Actually, when I heard that the Estate and Sony are content with the performance of Michael, I couldn't help but feel slightly irritated. Why not think about what can be improved? Why not think about what can be done to take advantage of such immense fan base in such global scale? Instead of holding the interest of the 40 million FB users that "like" Michael Jackson, whoever maintaining that FB page decided to give sporadic updates with no real substance. Marketing expense can be expansive. However, there are ways to promote effectively with low budget. There aren't that many artists with the advantage of having more than 40 millions fans on FB.

 

[love is magical]

Wait wasn't This Is It part of the deal since Sony owed MJ's estate a few millions ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZJNdrxg3sk

Sorry, I can't watch the youtube clip now. As far as I know, TII the movie is a deal among Columbia, AEG and the Estate. Columbia paid $60 million for it. TII, the album, is part of the 10-project deal.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

... As much as I hate to admit it, you're right about the promotion, Ivy. Gone are the days when a single artist dominated every media shop's window. I get that, but I can't help but feel that this album's potential was squandered. Even though the album has Cascio tracks, I still like it! I still listen to it time and again, I still like the other 7 songs. And yes, I know that posthumous releases are EXTREMELY hard to market. Given that I live in the UK, I saw a LOT of advertisements for Amy Winehouse's posthumous album "Lioness: Hidden Treasures". Every day I saw that advert at least once on TV. Imagine if "Michael" had that kind of coverage, as opposed to very, very few appearances (I think I only saw the ad on TV once). I just feel that it was squandered.
Again, the main advertisement for IMMORTAL is the Cirque show itself as they are both symbiotically linked. "Michael", however didn't have that. It felt that as soon as Breaking News dropped, they quickly brushed it under the rug, where I know that people would've wanted to hear the album. The workers at my local game shop LOVE MJ and they were kinda surprised at the news that there was a new album when I told them. The guy working at the new calendar shop where I just bought the Bad 25 calendar is an MJ fan and was shocked that Behind the Mask had been released (of course I told an MJ fan I'm in the video... Don't stare at me like that.) The point is, this album could've been discovered by so many more people. EVERYONE I know knows about Amy Winehouse's new album, why couldn't Michael just get that kind of coverage: minimalistic, but hard-hitting.

Record companies are not promoting music as they did or at all because they expect the internet to do it all but they should know that it's not working well at all.

 

[ivy]

Effective promotion, IMO, is that in which the consumer doesn't need to lift a finger or make any effort whatsoever to know that product is out there...it should be shoved in your face at any given time...my sister and her husband for example watch TV quite a bit and never saw any advertisement...in electronics stores and what not, I have to actually go and search for the Michael album..it's been like that since the day of release...

The point is, we shouldnt have to watch out for promotion...it should be anywhere and everywhere to make any type of impact...if not, then I consider it poor promotion....and I think it's pretty obvious that the Michael album falls in that category...it's just too bad, cuz all it takes is a bit of effort...

I think we all agree with the "poor promotion" but what we are discussing is if that's a trend or industry reality for every artist. For example did your sister and her husband saw any commercial for any other artist? I personally didn't. The promotion I'm seeing is that the artists making appearances at TV shows - not a possibility for Michael and perhaps twitter based "promotion" that themselves do.

Also as I said with the economy and industry going bad, the promotion would be the first thing to go. TV advertising is not cheap. For example it costs close to half a million dollars to place an ad during American Idol. To place an ad on Glee costs $300,000. Any ad during prime time will require $200,000 to $500,000. If they don't have the revenues and profit to support that, they simply won't do it.

 

[Arklove]

I think we all agree with the "poor promotion" but what we are discussing is if that's a trend or industry reality for every artist. For example did your sister and her husband saw any commercial for any other artist? I personally didn't. The promotion I'm seeing is that the artists making appearances at TV shows - not a possibility for Michael and perhaps twitter based "promotion" that themselves do. Also as I said with the economy and industry going bad, the promotion would be the first thing to go. TV advertising is not cheap. For example it costs close to half a million dollars to place an ad during American Idol. To place an ad on Glee costs $300,000. Any ad during prime time will require $200,000 to $500,000. If they don't have the revenues and profit to support that, they simply won't do it.

I know what you're discussing, I was throwing in my little opinion, that's all

 

[ADKIc3mAnX]

I think we all agree with the "poor promotion" but what we are discussing is if that's a trend or industry reality for every artist. For example did your sister and her husband saw any commercial for any other artist? I personally didn't. The promotion I'm seeing is that the artists making appearances at TV shows - not a possibility for Michael and perhaps twitter based "promotion" that themselves do.

Also as I said with the economy and industry going bad, the promotion would be the first thing to go. TV advertising is not cheap. For example it costs close to half a million dollars to place an ad during American Idol. To place an ad on Glee costs $300,000. Any ad during prime time will require $200,000 to $500,000. If they don't have the revenues and profit to support that, they simply won't do it.

I guess on any future releases we will have to promote it ourselves.

 

[love is magical]

Record companies are not promoting music as they did or at all because they expect the internet to do it all but they should know that it's not working well at all.

While internet has become one of the most important media, internet is not "be-all, end-all." There are other ways to promote, such as product tie-in, better displays, etc...

There are people like me, born in the late 70's and early 80's, who still watch TV, listen to radio and go to an actual store.

I agreed with Arky. Effective promotion, to me, means I know the product's existance without having to spend effort to look for it. When I went to Best Buy to get the Immortal album, I had to go round and round to find it. The albums were placed in the bottom shelf. When I went to get Vision in 2010, I saw TII got better display. Think about it. I'm a fan. I'm willing to spend the time to look for the album. Casual fans and non-fans simply won't spend the effort. They don't spend hours on forums, like this one.

When I go to Starbucks to get coffee, I see Michael Buble CD (well... I know Michael Jackson and Starbucks would be an odd match.)

When I watch TV, I see that Lady Gaga / google commercial running non-stop.

Some fans have suggested ways to promote Michael, such as having Lenny and Akron appered on shows like Letterman, American Idol, and having one of the songs, such as Another Day or Behind the Mask, as the theme song of a movie...