Re: Cuban record sales?

Date: 26 Jun 2003 10:03:46 -0700
Newsgroups: rec.music.afro-latin
Size: 5,211 bytes

George, thanks for responding, but could you substantiate some of your
statements:
1. "most Latin music is purchased through the smaller outlets" (this
is probably true but is there a source for this assesment? is it
possible that this is true for Latin music in general but not Cuban
music? I buy most of my music from the internet distributers, like
descarga.com or timba.com, )
2. "The truth of the matter is that there is a very small sector,
mostly comprised of collectors and musicians, that have any interest
in the
Cuban music of today." (I really would like to know the truth about
this one because, on the one hand, I really don't know a lot of
timbaphiles but, on the other, timba.com claims to receive 100,000
visitors monthly. I don't know the truth but I would like to know the
facts.)
3. Where did you get your record sales stats?
Thanks again,
A
"George Rivera" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message news:<wiCKa.18254$email-address-deleted>...
> "Kevin Moore" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
> news:email-address-deleted...
> > The way to find out is to get access to a prohibitively expensive
> > service with a name something like "SoundScan". I think it's done by the
> > same company that publishes Billboard.
>
> Soundscan figures are not reliable since they do not take into account the
> Mom & Pop operations, they only account for the major chains that subscribe
> to the service...most Latin music is purchased through the smaller outlets
> that do not participate.
>
> > 1) the amount of timba records sold in the US is neglible. When it had
> > been out for a while, but before it won the Grammy, "Llegó Van Van" had
> > sold about 13,000 copes. Of course that would be a lot greater now, but
> > the record company is out of business, so maybe not that much greater!
> > And LVV is significantly more well-known that the other timba bands.
>
> Before the Grammy, which does nothing for record sales in most instances,
> LVV sold less than 10,000 units of "Llegó Van Van". This information was
> from the very mouth of Juan Formell, who believed that the label was not
> doing enough to promote the recording. To the contrary, Havana Caliente
> aggressively promoted their catalog, which was completely comprised of Cuban
> acts. The interest was simply not there for LVV.
>
> > 2) the greatest selling Latin album of all time is by Marc Anthony. I
> > forgot if it was Contra la corriente or Todo a su tiempo. I think it was
> > the latter, and it sold 500,000 copies, which put it way ahead of all
> > other contenders, including MA's other CD's. I got this info several
> > years ago. It's possible that something since then has done better, and
> > come to think of it, it seems like the BVSC soundtrack should have sold
> > more than that. Also it seems like Ricky Martin & Gloria Estefan would
> > have sold more than that. It really would be nice for us to have the
> > hard cold facts from someone who has access to that expensive service.
>
> Both of Marc's mentioned productions sold in excess of 2 million copies
> ("Contra La Corriente" in excess of 3 million, "Todo A Su Tiempo" in excess
> of 2 million), whereas BVSC sold in excess of 1 million here in the US
> (which includes sales figures for Puerto Rico, the largest consumer for
> "Tropical" music within the US). BVSC sales figures were boosted by the
> extremely successful film and later DVD & VHS release. Contrary to popular
> belief, Marc is not the "best selling" act of "all time" as previously
> mentioned, that title belongs to Jerry Rivera, who sold in excess of 8
> million copies worldwide ("Cara De Niño"). While both Ricky Martin and
> Gloria Estefan sell considerably better than "Tropical" artists, neither has
> had a "Tropical" release that has outsold Jerry. The biggest seller of the
> two is Rickie Martin, with well over 100 million records sold worldwide.
>
> > 3) Pupy Pedroso's "Qué cosas tiene la vida" received an award at this
> > year's Cubadisco to recognize it as the greatest selling release in
> > EGREM's history (LVV was on EGREM until 1990). I didn't hear how many
> > copies, however. It could be a depressingly small number!
>
> Here in the US, one of the largest distributors of "Tropical" music has had
> trouble selling the title. Less than 1,000 units have been sold since it's
> release. The truth of the matter is that there is a very small sector,
> mostly comprised of collectors and musicians, that have any interest in the
> Cuban music of today. Catalog items of the 50's move far better, but
> significantly less, than "Tropical" artists...Don't blame the Cuban
> government's marketing strategies, or the message within the song being lost
> on those outside of Cuba, the "voluntarily" exiled community, or the dancers
> for the lack of sales, the music is just not catching on because the
> American market would much rather deal with something other than what Cuban
> artists have to offer nowadays.
>
>
> --
>
> Musically,
>
> George Rivera
> email-address-deleted
>
> "Cuando Puerto Rico comprenda el valor de su folklore, luchará con mucha
> fuerza para defender su honor." - Don Rafael Cepeda