But don't you have to spend money to make money? I don't think a #1 is the ultimate goal or necessary. But I believe most of the artists who have moved up to these arena tours are getting hits in the top 10 and that probably helps their album sales and bank accounts with the touring. But I don't know how it all works so they (including Adam) will have their priorities and make the decisions they need or want to make.
Here is one very reliable article (from 2011) about the cost of a hit:
www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/05/137530847/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-hit-songIt still gets quoted a lot -- but $1 million promo budget in 2011 is too low for 2017. It is more like $2 million now.
But the principle remains the same, it costs a lot to market and promote a song. Just to fly an artist to 30 radio stations in the US and buy dinners ++ for the PDs and pay for radio station promo ads and events could be $1 million. And that does not include digital promo, YouTube, video production, press etc.
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The days of using promo dollars to force a song to #1 are pretty much over. It could be done in the past, but not so much now. This is due to many changing forces in the music business -- the transparency of iTunes sales, streaming data (particularly Spotify and YouTube), and personal people meter radio ratings.
Sam Smith is selling on iTunes and getting a lot of airplay because people like his music and what to own/hear it -- and his large fanbase did not have new music for a while. His music fits a lot of radio station playlists and appeals to the audience a lot of advertisers want. Very few artists are as well positioned as he is.
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There is often a lot of discussion about how an artist's label spent $1 - $3 million to promote and song and that is why it got airplay and sold. And I can find examples of that from 2009-2012. But it is not the only requirement because there are also examples of songs that had major promo dollars behind them that were not hits and did not get played. In the end, even in 2001, people had to like a song for it to be a big hit, and a program director needed to be convinced that their target audience wanted to hear a song on the radio.
Yes, it is easier to get radio airplay and sell music if you have money for promotion, and almost essential for a new artist to have a major label to break into mainstream pop -- but still the vast majority of major label, promoted pop singles are not hits and most get little to no airplay.
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Adam apparently did not care "Two Fux" about releasing a radio hit when he picked his last single -- it clearly was a buzz single and by performing it at QAL concerts and promoting it online/streaming, it created some buzz. I think (based on what he has said) he also wanted something that made a statement -- about pride, individuality and creative expression -- and about who he is.
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I will wait until I hear his new music before I start to think about or evaluate the promo strategy.
But one thing I am sure of, Adam is not Sam Smith. And Sam is not Adam. Aside from both being gay men who are nice, wear suits and sing, they have very little in common.