Top 40 stations shun Disney hits despite success

[Tom Morrow]

Disney Music Group sees new success


Disney Music hits right notes (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney1007jul10,0,7564175.story)
Several labels take aim at an overlooked audience: children and preteens
Orlando Sentinel - FL

For more than a decade, Walt Disney Co.'s Hollywood Records was an industry joke. Now, it and Disney's other labels are having the last laugh at a time when the rest of the industry has little to smile about.

Last week, 14-year-old Miley Cyrus bested American Idol star Kelly Clarkson with Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus, which debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. Her album sold 326,000 CDs in the first week, ahead of Clarkson's third studio effort, My December, with 291,000 copies sold. The first Hannah Montana soundtrack, which hit stores in October 2006, also debuted at the top of the Billboard album charts and was the eighth-best-selling album of the year.

That album's success makes for something of a recent trifecta for Disney Music Group. Last year, Disney's Nashville label had the nation's top-selling artist in the country-superstar group Rascal Flatts. It also scored the top-selling CD with the soundtrack album for Disney Channel's High School Musical, which sold 3.7 million copies.

"The Disney Music Group and Hollywood Records are sort of comeback kids at a moment where everyone else is having a tough time holding their position, much less gaining ground," said Eric Garland, chief executive of BigChampagne, an online media-measurement company.

Elsewhere in the music business, global CD sales have fallen for seven straight years. Digital technology has made it easy to copy music, as well as pirate it, and the advent of iTunes means people easily can download their favorite songs without having to buy an entire album.

Disney Music's tactic has been to court an audience that its larger rivals have mostly ignored: children and preteens, whose parents still buy CDs. It also has leveraged the potent partnership it enjoys with the Disney Channel, a veritable launching pad for 'tween superstars.

The two-disc Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus epitomizes the strategy. Cyrus is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, who launched a thousand line dances with "Achy Breaky Heart" in 1992. Now, thanks to the popularity of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana series, Miley is a big star on her own, especially among young girls.
complete article (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney1007jul10,0,7564175.story)



Sent from Ezra (http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/z/Ezra/)

[Tom Morrow]

Top 40 stations shun Disney hits




Hit Disney Acts Find No Love at Top 40 (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/sns-ap-music-tween-hits-no-radio,0,6632256.story)
Orlando Sentinel - FL

The week Miley Cyrus debuted on top of the album charts with Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus, she appeared on national morning television shows, the cover of People magazine, newspaper front pages and other media outlets. The only spot she couldn't be found was the one sure place you would expect a best-selling artist: Top 40 radio.

And she's not alone. A league of tween-leaning acts, including The Cheetah Girls and Aly and AJ, all of whom are current or former stars of the Disney Channel, are routinely mining gold, platinum and multi-platinum CD sales while being virtually locked out at Top 40. That includes songs from the chart-topping soundtrack to High School Musical, which was the best-selling album in 2006 and has passed the 4 million mark (the soundtrack to the TV sequel is due in stores Aug. 14). "We had the No. 1 album of the year and nobody seemed to pay attention in the mainstream radio world, they didn't care," says Gary Marsh, Disney Channel Worldwide's president of entertainment.

That's because mainstream radio, which targets a coveted 18-to-34 year-old demo, doesn't want to risk alienating its older listeners. "Radio has a stigma about playing these acts, considering them teen and preteen in their appeal," says Guy Zapoleon, a radio consultant and former Top 40 programmer.

But Top 40 has shown it is not averse to playing acts the same age as many of their Disney counterparts: 19-year-old Rihanna has one of the biggest hits of the summer with Umbrella and Sean Kingston, also 17, scored with Beautiful Girls. "Their lyrical content is perceived as more adult," says Steve Greenberg, chairman of S-Curve Records and also the music executive behind such past teen-friendly groups as Hanson and the Baha Men.

"I think it's very hard for a very young artist with very clean lyrics to find a place on Top 40. In a previous generation, the Disney artists would have found a home at Top 40. Now there's no room for records that kids like but scare off adults."
complete article (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/sns-ap-music-tween-hits-no-radio,0,6632256.story)




Sent from Ezra (http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/z/Ezra/)

[CoryTheRaven]

I don't think it has anything to do with them perceived as too child-friendly or tweeny. I would suspect that the real issue is the perception that musicians signed to Disney are blatantly commercial... Of course, any major record label is interested in selling units, but the musicians they sign are at least perceived as being legitimate artists (and in most cases, they are). Musicians signed to Disney were not so much "signed" to Disney as created by the Disney merchandising engine as highly synergized brand names.

[Ezra]

This is nothing new in the music industry. Often the real talent is the producer, and the artist is just another corporate "product". If radio ignored every "product" artist out there, there wouldn't be very much left to play. So many amazingly talented people started out as studio "product" that it's very unwise for radio to ignore it. This is where tomorrow's superstars come from.

[Executioner]

I think it's funny that the "mainstream" ignores Disney artists as being big successes, and yet, those are the artists that will be big in the future. Disney has started many careers for many stars. Singing and acting. And they still do.

[CoryTheRaven]

Maybe I just stay too far away from the modern Pop scene (the only recent bands I care anything for are Interpol, She Wants Revenge and possibly The Editors), but I somehow don't think we'll be talking about Cheetah Girls or Miley Cyrus in 20 years.

[Executioner]

Probably not, but the same can be said for Interpol, She wants Revenge and The Editors. Which the last 2 mentioned I have never even heard of till now, and Interpol I have heard but don't listen to. Not saying I listen to the Modern Pop myself, cause I am a metal and rock fan personally LOL.

[CoryTheRaven]

I'd wage that people will still be talking about Interpol, but probably not the latter two. However, I also never claimed that they were going to be "tomorrow's superstars".

I think a fair comparrison can be drawn between the Disney music market and the Christian music one. While they both can bring in scads of money and both may seem dreadfully important to their particular demographics, full of "superstars" and whatnot, neither one is mainstream. They're parallel markets.

[Executioner]

Ooooo I like how you put that.... Very nice comparison. Although very few artists do shine through and make a break for it into mainstream and work. Amy Grant is an example. Christian Artist that made it into mainstream. But for Disney I think it was Annette mainly LOL. Yet her singing stayed mostly to TV shows and movies.Yes there are some that get lucky but it is few and far between. But the main thing is is that, Disney seems to be happy with the numbers they are getting right now and that is good to hear.

[CoryTheRaven]

Like the Christian music market, Disney has its own distribution system... Disney Channel, Disney radio, CDs, the introwebs, etc... They don't really NEED the mainstream market (this is one of the scandalous things about Christian music too... Though it's obstensibly meant to evangelize, it's really only Christians who listen to it) in the way that actual musicians do.

[crystaltink]

Hmmm...I wouldn't rule out Miley Cyrus. Look at Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Both of them got their start with Disney even though they were never signed to the Disney label. I'm not particularly a fan of her music, but it's possible stardom could be kind to her as it has others. As far as the age targeting, I'd say that sounds pretty accurate. The usual target audience is adults, considering most drive, that's not to say that children don't listen. But when I was a kid, I used to bring my walkman and listen to disney tapes. I don't think that the listeners would be too pleased with too much of that on the airwaves. But that's just my opinion.

[Ezra]

I wouldn't rule out Miley Cyrus either. I haven't been a Disney Chanel subscriber for years, so I'm not too familiar, but I recently watched her concert on Disney.com and she's not too bad! I'm not too fond of that style of pop music, but it's alright. Her songs are very similar to the stuff that's playing on the radio. If you want to know what I watched, here's the link:

Disney Chanel Concert Series
D*CONCERT: Hannah Montana Live in London
www.disney.com/hannahdconcert (www.disney.com/hannahdconcert)
(EDIT: The concert's not there anymore. Now there's a bunch of after party videos on there.)

I also watched a High School Musical clip. I don't agree with the opinion that these songs wouldn't fit in with what's playing on Top 40 stations, or that it would be annoying to older listeners. A couple of years ago everybody was listening to N'SYNC and Backstreet Boys, so...

I think the programers just aren't listening. They see something climb the charts with Walt Disney Records next to the title, and don't bother to check it out, assuming that if it's Disney, it must be kid-stuff. I"m surprised John Tesh doesn't play any of it on his show. It would fit right in there.

[CoryTheRaven]

Miley may have the benefit of her dad's influence, though honestly, it baffles me that Billy Ray is still around. Of course, it's being a TV actor that revived his career and made him more than a Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition question.

I also think it's a stretch to say that Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera or even Britney Spears got their "starts" at Disney... Being on a shortlived revival of the Mickey Mouse Club doesn't really count. Most people don't even know they were on that show, except maybe vaguely as a trivia question.

I'm sure that a lot of what Disney is making would fit right in on Pop radio... It's designed to. See what's hot on the market, and copy it. I suspect that's a lot of why it's not being played on mainstream stations. But as I said, I doubt it really needs to.

[TopCat8]

Ok. This is pretty off topic, but the article mentions Sean Kingston and "Beautiful Girls". I just heard that song for the first time about three hours ago, and the play count on my computer is already up to 17. I can't picture that happening with any song by any current Disney Channel star. If I were Disney, I wouldn't give up hope though. Just look at all the airplay Hilary Duff got once she left Lizzie Maguire.

[crystaltink]

Miley may have the benefit of her dad's influence, though honestly, it baffles me that Billy Ray is still around. Of course, it's being a TV actor that revived his career and made him more than a Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition question.

I also think it's a stretch to say that Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera or even Britney Spears got their "starts" at Disney... Being on a shortlived revival of the Mickey Mouse Club doesn't really count. Most people don't even know they were on that show, except maybe vaguely as a trivia question.

I'm sure that a lot of what Disney is making would fit right in on Pop radio... It's designed to. See what's hot on the market, and copy it. I suspect that's a lot of why it's not being played on mainstream stations. But as I said, I doubt it really needs to.


I don't think so. There's a ton of people that know those two as well as Britney were on the MMC once upon a time. Especially those who are fans of them now, or who watched the show then. With all the press they get and interviews they do it's hard to think they aren't recognized with Disney as much as it gets mentioned. That's not to say that Disney is entirely responsible for their fame and success, but it gave them a boost. I'd also have to say the same credit for Ryan Gosling as well, even though he's not one of the more recognized mouseketeers in the roster. I think the lasting attachment has been great for them though. When Disney did their "In Concert" series, among the performers were their former mouseketeers, back in 1999 it included performances from 'NSync, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. So while they might not be an entire product of the Disney name, they certainly have the credits from Disney that helped to get them where they are. Training wheels if you will. I know there are other credits that got them to where they are, Justin joined 'NSync with his fellow bandmates two years after leaving the MMC, Britney persued a short stint on Broadway, and Christina made her way around Pittsburgh in various talent shows. But look at Christina, her first song, was on the Mulan soundtrack. Justin's been on the Disney channel in several concert performances, and Britney as well. Just like I'd have to say Lindsay Lohan got her start with Disney as well as Hilary Duff.

As for Miley. I'm not an avid follower of her, I don't own any cd's of hers or watch her show, but I've seen a performance or two of hers. I think she has great potential to be a huge star, if she plays her cards right. As for the association with Billy Ray, I'd have to say I agree entirely on that. When you have a celebrity parent, things get thrown in your lap, there are more than a handful of examples of that in Hollywood. I can't say I'm a Billy Ray fan because I'm not and I wasn't. Hopefully she won't fall into the trap that so many have fallen into and become another Lindsay Lohan case.