The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 05, 1977, Page Page 19, Image 19
Rising albi
By WAYNE DOLKSKI v
Gamecock Staff Writer a
The record buyer today is being s
seriously taken advantage of by I
the record companies of America. r
following a record-breaking year i
of profits in 1976, nearly all major i
labels nave increased their list i
price on new releases from $6.98 to I
> $7.98. (
Raising these prices after ex- ]
periencing all-time high profits is <
purely capitalistic in nature and
the only way for the public to end
this rip-off is by refusing to buy I
albums at the new price. Unfortunately,
the public's consumption
of albums has increased,
and many companies are on the
way to breaking last year's profit
records.
Earlier this year, many companies
were wrestling with the
question of whether or not raising
I the price would have a significant
effect on the national sales picture.
This led a few labels to experiment
with the new price on select major
releases. One of these was
Fleetwood Mac's "Humours,"
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ij Osis, Ph.D. and Erlend
L Ph.D. The first fully-do
f scientific study of the s
AT THK HOl'K OF I)K
interviews with 1000 d
who have witnessed de
Kxtcnsive computer ai
servations have been 11
subject we've all dreade
|| Walden Book St<
?3 Dutch Square
II Columbia, SC 2
im prices i
vhich has sold five million copies
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At about this same time the
;oundtrack to the movie "A Star Is
iorn" was released with a
idiculous list price of $8.98. This
)rice may have kept a few people
?way, but not enough to make
riuch of a difference. The album
opped the charts for weeks, selling
iver three million eoDies. The
public was opening itself up to
capitalistic exploitation.
SUBSEQUENTLY, many labels
began increasing the price on all
their new releases. Even albums
by relatively obscure artists were
soon becoming $7.98 lists. The
situation was continually
becoming worse and recently
many labels have gone a step
further in draining the public of
every penny possible. This latest
moVe has been the raising of the
list price of their entire catalog to
$7.98. This means that now all
albums on certain labels are $7.98,
even those released years ago.
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i^ew lows in capiiciiiMii; uenuviui
are being observed right before our
'IMG FACT AN
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PAPERBACK^
1TH. By Karlis THE TOLKI
ur Haraldsson, J. F. A. Tylei
c iinicntcd. not until yoi
mill's survival guide. Mere
ATM is based on lorci^n \v<
octors and nurses occurring ii
athbed visions. 1 HI' KINCiJ
lalvses of their oh of the l iven
lade Read about <i their writ in
d until now.$3.95. andcharts
are
7 201 /CI
9210
Waldenboo
Whatever you want in * bookstore .. kVc Ve
ripping oH
eyes.
The public has helped set itself
up for this change in more ways
man one. ine nr/u s nave seen a
decline in the sale of singles and an
increase in the sale of albums.
Remember when you would hear a
song on the radio and then rush out
and buy the single? How many of
you do that now? Not even the
young teen crowd goes for the
singles at near the pace they used
to. Many of these kids have the
money to buy the album instead of
the single, and this changing
financial picture has had
tremendous effects on record
sales.
This lack of singles sales has not
hnrf nrnfil c (hnndh ho/MUico t hnrn
is more money to be made on
albums. This increased level of
album sales has given record
companies even more confidence
in their price increases.
Not many singles go gold (sales
of 500,000 units) these days, but
take a long look at the album
charts. It's common to have as
many as 70 gold albums in the top
200 Manv of these are nlatinum
(sales of 1,000,000 units), and more
are double platinum than ever.
The singles ehart may have only
five gold singles in the top 100,
which in past years was unheard
of
MANY GROUPS today don't
even depend on the airplay of
singles to help sell their albums.
The increasing popularity of FM
radio in the 70's has also aided in
the lessening importance of the AM
hits. This is not to say that a hit
single won't help sell an album,
ID FANTASY.
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IEN COMPANION. By
r. Come to Middle F.arth- l>nt
n've read this indispensable
is every known fac t date.
:>rd. .md etymologic al allusion
1 the celebrated I.OKI) ()l
' .-:l l. : 1, wl I.
> iruti^\ it 1111 nun > ii 111.ii \
people. an explanation of
H svslem. and various maps
v,^,,
Walden Book Store
i ? ^ ^ _ 1 L ; _ A __ 11
LJ^^uoiumDia/vtcm
2 Notch Road
Uc Columbia,
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gol lit
: consumei
because it is still questionably the
best promotion an album can get,
especially with a new artist.
Yet many of today's giants
naven i nau a nu single lor years
and their album sales continue at
high level. Good examples of this
trend that come to mind are I^ed
Bette Midler branches oul to
television this week on her first
television special, Wednesday
night at 10:00 p.m. on NBC.
The "Divine Ms. M" lias
invaded concert halls, broadway
and baths with an act that
ha? given her the nam3 of the
"Queen of Tacky." But, will she
be able to bump arid grind with
microphones, unveil hei- person
and say those taste'ul little
things she usually does to
members of the audience on
television?
l
HOW TO GIV1
FOR $12.48 WITF
WW/:
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1 1
{ * ir'
' vl/
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' '*w' fr ' ' /** ' -it
J S42 -IH har^j
Purchase.1 gilt subsi riptum lor .11ru-rnt nr n
by Robert Mills This loveh print in lull mini
Oil I aimed talent ?>l Robert Mills tine <>l th
paintings are in publk ami private ?ollei tun
tfet a year's SANTDI Al'I'l R subscription (12
the startling Imv prueot $12 4M the regular'
lust complete the Imm
u liter not am
Send litrm to Sjndljppn Mj^j/inr
\1\ V?m.
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? I hi* i% 4 gill %ubwnplion jnd should b?* srnt to
J
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Zeppelin, Steely Dan. Yes and
Emerson, Uike and Palmer All
have had the benefit of hit sinui.^
- - *"? * *"
early in their careers, hut in recent
years have missed or avoided the
singles market.
Steelv Dan lends itself par
See I'ltll I'. . p;ii;e -i
\
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Probably not. but I hen again.
it's being shown late at night,
well past the children's hour, so
you can expect more than usual
Scheduled songs include such
ballads as "Shiver Me Tim
iMJrs," (from "Songs For The
New Depression"), "Do You
Want To Dance?'' <lroin "The
Divine Ms. M"), and. of course.
"Friends."
Get ready lor a \ng show and
"majoozas," just another part
of her act that comes with the
package.
= A $42.48 GIFT
[OUT CHEATING
An Origin.)!
Limited i dition Print
<.UI I'lllli
FREE VVilh A
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Sand tapper Maga/ine
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i'ljtivi* .inJ ii t Ihis N'.uitilul v\.?t? r%??l.w print
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e most outstanding artists in the Southeast Hi*
as throughout the I'nited states and i anad.i N > i?
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