By Matt Vaughan Easy Street Records – Seattle
The Billboard charts are broken. They’ve been hijacked. The Top 200 is no longer viable.
The Nielsen Soundscan rating and tracking system was adopted in 1991. It was the most accurate system the record industry had ever used. So how did the charts get dirty again? In the last couple years, a NASCAR fortune-fueled entity called The Penske Media Group has purchased Soundscan and has since rebranded it under the name Luminate. They also purchased legendary chart-publishing company Billboard. So, Penske now owns the data supplier while also owning the publication that distributes the data, effectively owning the music charts.
The more reliable the data is, the better it is for the music industry, especially the artists, right? Well, if you can control the data…and you own the charts well then in a way you are owning the trends. You can shape the culture as you wish. The fix is in. Who needs payola when you can control the very measures of success that define the industry.
Billboard has been the industry standard for over 100 years, quantifying and recognizing the music, the records, and the artists that created them… and greasing the rails for some more than others. From the 1950s through the 1980s, you could say some radio was rigged. DJs were rewarded off and on—via “payola”—to play preferred artists. There were various forms of preferential treatment all the way into the ’90s. On May 25, 1991, enough was enough, sales were tabulated directly from the point of sale at record shops…the Soundscan era was now in play. [Full disclosure, throughout the 70’s and into the 80’s, my mother was an independent radio promoter for labels such as Casablanca, Island, MCA, Motown, Arista].
The loosey goosey system of the past (pre-Soundscan) was no longer— what the real public was buying was finally registering properly. There was less pay to play, fewer bullies, and a smaller level of tomfoolery. Technology had caught up to the record business. LPs, CDs, cassettes were sold and those scans went directly to Soundscan. Genres that had been under-represented or had been an afterthought, now had records rising up the charts.
No surprise that NWA debuted at #1 in 1991. Nirvana went to #1. In that era, we saw the rise of hip hop and alternative music and a lifestyle, message, and culture that would change the world. Yes, it became popular and even trendy, but it was also genuine, it was real.
Since the purchase, Luminate has purged its indie retail accounts. The rules, regulations, the gerrymandering, the onboarding process, it has all throttled our ability to report. It’s the corporate equivalent of redrawing a district map when you don’t like what the voters have to say. Walmart and Target are still reporting, but are they really record shops? Amazon is a reporter. As is Spotify and any streaming service that provides full-length albums. How that is reported on a subscription service, I have no idea.
Have you started to hear that sales in the physical marketplace are down? Like, close to 50% down? That’s what some may want you to believe. Sales of physical media are up 9% from last year. $1.7 billion in sales, that’s $500 million more than 2022. Vinyl is huge again and has been a feel-good story for over a decade. All the while, downloads have plummeted. If PMC can champion streaming, they can decrease the costs of manufacturing, shipping, and distribution. BTW … The UK physical music marketplace is up 14% so far this year.
LUMINATE IS KEEPING US IN THE DARK
Luminate recently stated that 95% of independent retail is being accounted for on their charts. I am one of the owners of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. We represent over 40 of the top independent record stores around the country. I can tell you there isn’t a storefront in our coalition that is reporting to Luminate.
Since our formation in 1995, two other coalitions were formed, the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS) and the Department of Record Stores (DORS). Between the three of us, we created Record Store Day (RSD). It has become a worldwide phenomenon and is often credited for reviving the vinyl format. Ultimately, it is a day that celebrates music, independent retail, and record store culture. We also have a smaller version of Record Store Day on Black Friday. Small Business Saturday is the following day, making for a great weekend celebrating brick and mortar retail, music, and the small business neighborhoods throughout America. Most recently, Black-owned record shops have created their own coalition, Forever A Music Store (FAMS). Now, four coalitions are steering and guiding Record Store Day to even greater heights.
This year’s RSD will take place on April 20th. Over 400 exclusive titles will be made available on that day. Over 25 countries participate, including Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, England, South Africa, Ghana, Iceland, Germany, France, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Netherlands … Each year, we gather in New Orleans to compare notes, meet with our label partners, suppliers, hardware companies, trade organizations, and of course we listen to and watch a lot of live music. Over 300 record shops attended last year’s “RSD Summer Camp” conference. I am confident that we will see even more this year. What I can tell you: none of these stores are Luminate reporters. To say that 95% of independent retail is being accounted for is a total fabrication.
There will be fewer independent record labels and artists represented on the charts by not having the indie retailers reporting. Independent labels won’t be buying much advertising from any PMC publications even if they are on the charts. So, make room for more major label and pop music acts. They pay up and many still think it means something to be on the cover of Rolling Stone and/or a slot on the American Music Awards.
Other than the artists not getting paid appropriately, I don’t have an issue with streaming. I love my Sirius Radio. I love making Spotify playlists. I’ve discovered so much music because of streaming services. I’ve found myself listening to and trying out full records and synching them to my phone when I’m traveling. Streaming has made for great radio.
However, when it comes to supporting an artist, wrapping your arms around their music, finding yourself enraptured by a song, an album, by their work of art, my ultimate preference is having it in my hands … or at least close by. Vinyl is the ultimate. Vinyl is final. Vinyl is the most concrete example of music in an art form. It is also evidence that you supported that artist. There is proof of purchase. You identify with the art and the artist. You gave them your money, you invested in them, you are instilling confidence in them. It’s easy for an artist to comprehend what kind of money they made from selling a physical record, the arithmetic is simple. Streaming? Good luck.
You are supporting the arts every time you buy a record. True, you might also be supporting a retailer with that purchase and if so, I would hope that it would be a local and independent one. There are over 1,500 independent record shops in America. They pay local taxes, they employ local citizens, and in most cases, they reflect the community they do business in. When you are buying a record, even if it’s a used record, you are servicing your neighborhood. As the author Nick Hornby said, “Record stores can’t save your life, but they can give you a better one.”
If Penske and friends keep showing that physical is down, the general public might just start believing it. If they could be rid of the physical marketplace there would be significantly better margins for the labels—no manufacturing, no shipping, no distributor, no pesky retailers, and way less work. Also, some major labels have a stake in the game. They own shares, they have equity, they benefit from Spotify’s success. Spotify and the majors depend on each other. Artists not included. Artists are on the outside looking in.
What does all this mean for well established artists that have new records in 2024? Kid Cudi, Brittany Howard, The Idles, Kacey Musgraves, Pearl Jam. In many cases these are artists that were brought up through record store culture. If Billboard is not going to recognize the sales generated by independent retail, well then, those records are not going to chart as high if at all on the Billboard charts. [As of this publication, it appears neither Kid Cudi nor Brittany Howard have made a showing on the Billboard 200]. The Idles debuted #1 in the UK, was #1 at indie retail in the U.S. It debuted at #137 on the Billboard 200 and was gone the next week.
Killer Mike’s “Michael” just won the Best Rap Album Grammy and was a top seller at indies, but isn’t anywhere on the 200—or, likely, on Walmart shelves. Not to say there isn’t hip hop being reflected on the current Billboard 200, but the question is how much hip hop is truly being represented and is it possible that much of it is being entirely excluded? I’m not sure when you last went to Walmart to go record shopping, but I can tell you, you won’t find much to browse and you most certainly won’t find much that raises your social consciousness. You won’t find much that will expand your world view. The messengers, the real MCs, the real beat makers and producers, you will be hard pressed to find them there. You’ll leave discouraged, walking out with a case of Angel Soft toilet paper and a 40 count of Hefty garbage bags. You may eventually make it to an independent record shop and get your Killer Mike. You might even buy the new Kid Cudi and Earl Sweatshirt while you’re there. However, do keep in mind … the record of these sales will not make it to Billboard.
This chilling effect is already real. The Smile’s “Wall Of Eyes” was one of the most anticipated records of the year, but it debuted at #44 on the Billboard 200 and was off the chart a week later. “Saviors,” the new Green Day record, would be #1, right? Wrong, it was #4. Billboard didn’t count the many thousands of copies our 1,500 indie record shops sold across the country, that cost Green Day a #1 record.
PMC’s control of the industry doesn’t end there. Guess who now owns Rolling Stone magazine? Austin’s culture-shaping SXSW fest? Dick Clark Productions, which runs the American Music Awards, the Country Music Awards, and countless TV shows? Vibe magazine? The Hollywood Reporter? There’s more, but the gist is this one media company is becoming an omnipresent force of influence on American lives. Every day, they’re telling you what to listen to and what to care about.
You might say, well, the indies should just do their own chart. Well, we are and we are growing in numbers. We hope to have 600 reporters by Record Store Day. Our Streetpulse chart is supported by HITS Magazine and endorsed by Record Store Day.
The fact remains however, Billboard has been the lifeblood of the industry. Historical stats, chart positions, weeks on the charts, it’s been ingrained into music history lore, as well as The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Taylor Swift’s Wikipedia pages. The Beatles hold the record for 19 #1 records. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” held the #1 spot for 37 consecutive weeks, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” 942 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. Taylor Swift is the first artist to have 5 of the Top 10 records in one given week. We accept these as facts. The Billboard chart validates the success of an artist. It has 17,000 weekly music industry subscribers. It has over 50 million social media followers. If Billboard is the Clear Channel, Comcast, CNN, and FOX of the record business, then the indie record stores and our Streetpulse chart are the PBS and NPR.
We might have the truth, but we don’t have the reach.
If Billboard truly wants accurate reporting, they will accept the sales that Streetpulse has provided and merge those with their Luminate chart.
Almost half of all the album sales are not being accounted for otherwise.
In the world of music, our country will appear to be a milquetoast, robotic, saccharine society. Programmed by a major conglomerate, Penske Media, with sales being submitted only by big box retailers like Walmart and faceless monstrosities like Amazon and Spotify.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM SOUNDSCAN
Before Soundscan, pre-1991, the charts were shoddy and shifty. Many artists and genres were vanquished. How is it that records such as LL Cool J’s breakout Def Jam release of 1985’s “Radio” could go platinum, yet only peak at #46 on the Billboard album charts? Same with Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation to Hold Us Back” in 1988. It peaked at #42, but it also went platinum. Maybe the most alarming is NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton,” also released in 1988, a record that was banned by many chain stores and mainly sold at independent record shops. Congress, the FBI, and law enforcement agencies made continuous threats, the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) slapped “parental advisory, explicit content” stamps on the cover. It was a raw account of street life, gang violence, and police brutality. By year end “Straight Outta Compton” had gone platinum and eventually went triple platinum (3 million copies), but it only reached #37 on the Billboard album chart. It has since gone on to be considered one of the greatest records of all time. Three years later, in 1991 and now in the first year of the Soundscan system, NWA would release its final record with “NIGGAZ4LIFE.” There was no denying them this time. The data was correct, the reporting was honest, and the charts were justified. NWA was more popular than the Billboard charts had given them credit for. “NIGGAZ4LIFE” went to #1, although it sold less than “Straight Outta Compton,” as Ice Cube was not on the record and the group was splintering off into solo careers.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) quantifies and certifies the amount of records shipped to retailers. However, certification of sales has nothing to do with the Billboard charts and the reporting of sales. They do not work in congruence; they are not aligned.
The hip hop genre wasn’t the only one that benefitted from accurate sales data. Hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock, and a new form of music coming out of Seattle, was all redirecting the shape of music, lifestyle, and making for one of the greatest and most influential decades of music and culture.
In the mid-late ’80s, classic Metallica albums bubbled under. Arguably, the greatest metal record of all time, “Master of Puppets” closed out the year in 1986 at only #87 on the Billboard charts. To anyone working record stores at that time (and I was one of them, at Penny Lane Records in Seattle), you all know just how well this sold, it was a monster. In its first week alone, according to the RIAA, “Master…” had sold 300,000 copies and by year end had gone platinum. Keep in mind, Tipper Gore and the PMRC had tried to disparage and muzzle the heavy metal genre just a year earlier (PMRC Senate Hearings ’85) citing that heavy metal was leading children to suicide, drug abuse, and sadomasochism. Legendary questioning and testimony went back and forth. Rob Halford and Dee Snider eviscerated the senators and the PMRC on national TV. John Denver and Frank Zappa backed them up and did the same. This was a thwarted attack to censor music through political means and intimidation. It almost worked.
The self-titled Metallica Black Album was released on August 12, 1991. It debuted at #1 and remained on the Billboard 200 for a whopping 550 weeks. No surprise that their next 5 records would debut at #1 also. Metal was now in the mainstream. It was as popular as we had thought it to be. Metallica had been justified, validated, and given the confidence and the financial security to continue. The sub-genre of speed and thrash metal had been brought to light. Bands such as Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, and many others would have very similar storylines.
Metal fans are probably the most devoted of any genre. They buy records, they support their favorite bands. Religious and political leaders might call it devil’s music, just like they called Robert Johnson, Louis Jordan, or Elvis Presley, but that is only because the popularity and influence threatens their traditional values or how they want to define America. Try to squash it, bury it and by any means necessary, please don’t report how well it’s selling. It just might become popular and influence our youth.
It was acceptable that the British wave of punk bands from the late 1970s had made some dents on the charts. It was even fully acceptable that NYC’s The Ramones did as well. The Ramones’ record covers were often cartoon characterizations of the band themselves. Whatever political or societal message they had, they disguised it with cheeky song titles and hidden messages, “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Commando.” Either way, The Ramones were never commercially popular enough to threaten those above.
Throughout the 1980s, though, the punk rock scene was strictly underground and made to stay that way. Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, Black Flag, The Germs, Fear, Circle Jerks, Descendents, Bad Religion, NOFX, Social Distortion … As far as these bands were concerned, let’s keep it that way. They were fighting against corporate America and its mainstream excess anyway. They were anti-establishment, anti-fascist. They were more often than not non-violent yet cited by authorities for being violent. They were criticized for doing drugs, but many of them were from the straight-edge culture and would rather skateboard than do drugs. The DIY (Do It Yourself) culture begins with ’80s punk and hardcore scene.
Washington DC’s Fugazi (post-Minor Threat) would only charge $5 for tickets to their shows. They created their own record label, Dischord Records, and charged minimal prices for their records. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Ian MacKaye from Fugazi wasn’t the only one to start a record label. Fat Mike from NOFX started Fat Wreck Records, having now released over 300 records, Face to Face, Propagandhi, Against Me!, and his own band NOFX … to name a few. Brett Gurewitz from Bad Religion created Epitaph Records and would release Bad Religion records and records for The Distillers, Pennywise, and punk stalwarts and chart toppers, Rancid. Brett would team up with Tim Armstrong from Rancid and create Hellcat Records, which would release Rancid records, but also Tiger Army, Transplants, and helped bring the ultimate punk rock warlord, Joe Strummer, back to the forefront with his critically acclaimed trifecta, Joe Strummer & The Mescalaros. What did this tell you? These punkers wanted to sell more records, they wanted to lift up their friends, their heroes, and the overall scene as a whole. Yes, they also wanted to make a living, but … they didn’t trust the system.
Once Soundscan was enacted, it was clear just how popular that underground scene really was. Bad Religion, Social Distortion and a slew of newer acts from the scene were now getting their sales reported. Bands like The Offspring, Blink-182, and the Bay Area’s Green Day were now topping the charts. Even Fugazi’s 1993 “In On The Kill Taker” entered the charts. Now, it could be said that this was the beginning of the end for punk rock and went against everything the scene stood for. However, without the punk and hardcore scene, we would’ve never had the Beastie Boys. We would’ve never had Nirvana. No Nirvana? For us in Seattle, that would be like living in a world without Mt. Rainier. Both acts have sold over 50 million records. That’s a lot of lives touched and a lot of musicians and groups they inspired. They reshaped how we listen to music and yes, they created trends, they became popular, sometimes more popular than they wanted. Artists want their art to be heard, to be seen, they want to give back to the world and through their art, they are in search of having a better understanding on how to live in it. Once they release their music though, it’s out there, you can’t pick and choose who listens to it. It finds people.
One of the greatest admirers of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain is Lana Del Rey. On January 14, 2012, shortly before Lana Del Rey’s debut record “Born To Die” was to be released, she performed on Saturday Night Live. Her performance was widely panned…unfairly in my opinion. Her record was released two weeks later. I received a call from Interscope Records “What are your thoughts on Lana Del Rey?” “Staff loves her. The record is doing well. She kind of has that Nico, Hope Sandoval, Julie London thing going on.” He says, “Can you host an instore with her? How’s March 10?”
Lana arrives, she’s nice to the entire staff and she’s thrilled to see the store packed, line around the block. She sat in our green room/break room for a while, seeming fragile and nervous. I could sense that the crowd was excited and was going to shower her with love. We all knew what she had been through on SNL. She couldn’t start her first song, the crowd was screaming for her. She engaged with the crowd: “This means so much to me guys, you have no idea.” She owned the stage, owned the songs.
Once the performance ended, Lana walked off stage, the applause wouldn’t stop. Her band remained. Lana is in our storeroom sitting on the back of the stage, crying, the curtain was blocking her from being seen. I went up to her, “Lana, this doesn’t happen much at record shop in-stores, but I can tell you, they aren’t going to stop, I know this crowd, they are here for you, they adore you, they want to hear another song. What do you think?” She stands up, she’s trembling, her lips are quivering. I didn’t know what to do, but to hug her. She’s still trembling. She looks at me and says, “Do you know why I wanted to play here and come to Seattle? Nirvana is my most favorite band ever. “Heart Shaped Box” is my favorite song, it’s the first song I ever learned. Should I?”
It looked like she was about ready to get back on stage. She turned to me and said, “You know what … can you turn the lights on? It’s been such a great day, I don’t want to mess it up. I wanna go meet everyone, sign some autographs, take photos … and can you please crank Nirvana the rest of the night? Start with “Heart Shaped Box” please. This was so fun, thank you.”
Lana Del Rey has gone on to sell 40 million records and is considered one of the great songwriters and singers of her generation. Two years after that rapturous in-store, in 2014, she would have the #1 record on the Billboard 200 with her record “Ultraviolence” and again with “Lust For Life” in 2017. At this year’s Grammy Awards, she was nominated with 5 Grammy’s, including “Album of The Year” for “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.”
HISTORY ON REPEAT: PENSKE AIMS FOR TODAY’S CULTURE CAPITAL
So, now that the indie stores are no longer reporting to Billboard, are we going to go back in time, back to the pre-Soundscan era? Is our youth going to be made aware of what’s really selling, what’s really happening musically and culturally? They certainly won’t see it reflected in the charts and because Penske owns so many publications and media outlets, they won’t be reflected there, either.
The Billboard charts have been corrupted, and with that so has the lifestyle that goes along with it. We cannot let our music lovers get programmed to purchase what a media conglomerate is directing us to buy or not to buy. We can’t buy into the trends they formulate and we cannot allow our youth and society to get tricked into becoming a consumer of a bastardized culture and lifestyle.
So just how big is the Penske Media Corporation and what else do they own and what are they after? Penske’s tagline: Our Brands Shape Culture. With entry points in various forms of media and entertainment, their goal is to engage their audience around the world and to gain advertising from those that look to target that very same audience. By owning so many well-known and trusted brands, they are effectually shaping culture.
They now own Vibe Magazine, which is often referred to as the Rolling Stone of Hip Hop and R&B, originally founded in 1993 by the most decorated musician of all time, Quincy Jones. They also recently purchased Art News, Footwear News, New York Magazine, The Eater, Variety Magazine, Art in America, WWD (Women’s Wear Daily), Art Forum, the Robb Report, Indie Wire, She Media, She Knows, Deadline, Beauty Inc, TV Line, and the Hollywood Reporter, to name a few.
As previously mentioned, Penske now owns Dick Clark Productions, which is the Golden Globes, American Music Awards, Country Music Awards, So You Think You Can Dance, Billboard Music Awards, New Year’s Eve Rockin’ Eve, and the You Tube Streamy Awards, to name a few. For those who might need a little history lesson, Dick Clark was a Philadelphia disc jockey throughout the early to mid 1950s. In 1957, his local TV show “Bandstand” was picked up by ABC, rebranded as “American Bandstand” and would go on to be the longest-running variety show in the history of American television.
What we’ve learned is that we cannot allow a media empire to dictate and program what they deem as acceptable and what they think we should see and hear. Otherwise, culture gets tainted and careers get destroyed. The arts have been the main contributor to our nation’s identity. Don’t let it be sugarcoated.
Who is Penske and how did they create the fastest growing media company in the country?
Roger Penske was a successful race car driver in the 1960s. After retiring from racing, he would establish Team Penske and go on to win multiple NASCAR and IndyCar titles. He purchased the Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway in 2019. He also owns Penske Truck Rental and Leasing. He owns multiple car dealerships, his son Greg Penske is the CEO of the Penske Motor Group, they own 214 car dealerships throughout America, including the largest car dealership in the world, 50 acres in El Monte, Ca. In 2019, Roger Penske was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-president Donald Trump. Team Penske went back to back winning NASCAR in 2022 and 2023.
In 2003, the Penske Media Corporation was established. Roger’s youngest son Jay Penske is the CEO. Jay is also the owner of Penske Autosport racing team. At 24 years old, Jay Penske was running the Penske Media Corporation. Jay was an All-American lacrosse player. He would graduate from the Wharton School of Business. He was named one of the best-dressed men in the world by Vanity Fair. He served two years (2014-2015) as Vice-Chair of The American Film Institute, the same seat that Sidney Poitier had originally held. He is married to John Mellencamp’s ex-wife, supermodel Elaine Irwin. At 16 years old, Elaine landed on the cover of Seventeen Magazine and soon became the top model for Ralph Lauren and Victoria’s Secret. Jay and Elaine own a private island in the Bahamas.
In 2018, Penske received a $200 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Since, they’ve quietly gobbled up all these publications and brands, creating one of the fastest growing digital media and publishing empires in the world. Jay Penske is an American media mogul now and has a near-monopoly on the Hollywood trade sources and magazines. Expect PMC to monetize and advertise to its audience while also driving up the value of their media empire. To date, PMC has seen a 46% increase in revenue in just one year and has over 140 million weekly readers and subscribers.
BONUS TRACK: MUSICAL CULTURE-SHOCK IN THE PNW
For us in the far-left corner, we’ve had a storied past and one that continues to thrive. We had the folky protest singers Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger holed up here, seeking refuge from the CIA and FBI. They did their New Deal-era Hootenannies out here in the early 1940s … then we had a young Ray Charles getting his start here and recording his first songs. He becomes best friends with a young local Seattle kid, Quincy Jones. They both go on to have two of the most legendary careers in the history of music. The song “Louie Louie” is popularized at local clubs, house parties, and college campuses, ushering in the beginning of garage rock with The Wailers, The Sonics, and the first guitar gods, The Ventures. Jimi Hendrix takes it one step further and the world would be changed forever. Heart pays dues, fights misogyny, and goes on to score multi-platinum records. There is much more in between and after … Sir Mix A Lot and the Seattle hip hop scene, Queensryche and the metal scene.
However, it wasn’t until the late ’80s and early ’90s that we realized that something else was going on, we were about to be in the middle of a musical and cultural revolution. We were inclusive, but we had an aversion to authority, anti-corporation, anything that reeked of oppression or injustice, we called it out. The music reinforced those ideas and values. Record labels, zines, radio, venues, graphic designers, photographers, and record shops… we were all part of the ground swell. We were Gen X, the slacker generation … Mudhoney, TAD, Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog, Screaming Trees, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and many more … it was rumbling, catchy, groovy, fuzzy, bone-crushing, knee-breaking, chunky, gritty and pure, and yes … it was grunge-y. Movies were made about it. The fashion became trendy. There was also the riot girrrls … Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Sleater-Kinney, The Gits, 7 Year Bitch … “Girl Power,” “Girls to the front.”
We call it a revolution … and it was, but why did we all feel blindsided by the popularity and cultural impact of it all? We were already part of it for a few years, the bands were out on club tours and playing around town, Sub Pop, K Records and other labels had been selling records for the bands. Some of the bands were even signed to majors and had put records out. None of them were doing much on the charts though. Soundgarden’s “Louder Than Love” (’89) peaked at #108, Alice in Chains’ “Facelift” (’90) peaked at #42. Mother Love Bone’s “Apple” (’90) never entered the Billboard 200. Then along came Soundscan.
“Temple Of The Dog” is released April 16, 1991. Pearl Jam’s “Ten” on August 27, 1991, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” September 24, 1991. Soundgarden’s “Badmotorfinger” October 8, 1991. Nirvana would eventually dethrone Michael Jackson for the #1 record on the Billboard 200. Pearl Jam would come in at #2. The following year, Alice in Chains’ “Dirt” would enter the Top 10 and Cameron Crowe’s cinematic lovefest “Singles” had an entire country enraptured by the Seattle lifestyle and music that went along with it. Soundgarden would claim a #1 record with “Superunknown” in 1994. Pearl Jam, to date, has racked up five #1 records and counting, with “Dark Matter” to be released April 19 of this year.
Author Charles R. Cross recently put it to me this way: “When Soundscan first came in with an honest reading of what people were buying, it dramatically shifted music. By finally recognizing sales that rap bands like N.W.A. were enjoying in stores that weren’t reporting in the ‘call it in’ era, and showcasing the commercial dominance of Nirvana, those early Soundscan charts paved the way for what would dominate music over the next two decades.”
The charts told a story, as I’m telling you now. They provide momentum, confidence, and they validate the artist, the label, and all those who worked for and supported that artist and that record. The record producers, guest musicians, graphic designers and artists, the pressing plants, journalists, band managers, distributors, the instrument brands, the DJs, the agents, venues, fan clubs, and the record shops. We all take great pride and satisfaction in knowing that we contributed to the success of an artist and band that we care about. When we see how a record and artist can positively impact the listener and the world at large, it’s even more gratifying. To create a musical revolution, well you would’ve had to have been there. For us to encourage our artists, they need to be acknowledged, valued, and rewarded properly.
With all that is happening in the world, why does it seem as though nothing mainstream is reflecting the times. We don’t feel validated. We feel defrauded. There’s a disconnect. Nobody is talking about what really matters. The real messengers are being cut off from the mainstream and the underground DIY scene can’t afford to do it the same way anymore. Music is being sanitized for a larger audience. Now it could be that the public isn’t looking to music to inspire its social conscientious. They need it watered down. They only have so much patience. They want it marginalized. Is it possible that even the art of musicianship has lost its luster?
Independent record shops have been trained to be skeptical. We’ve been hoodwinked many times before. This time it’s not just our future we are concerned with. Our youngsters must be able to make their own decisions and create a culture that is rightfully theirs. Our musicians deserve validation and clarity.
This year already, we’ve seen where buzz worthy bands and much anticipated records aren’t getting off the ground. From what I understand there are some great people at Luminate. Over the years, there have been some highly respected people at Billboard, but if they both truly want an accurate tabulation of record sales, they need independent record stores.
Our Streetpulse chart is here for the taking.
Team Penske might be dominating our race tracks and PMC might be dominating our media, but don’t let them dominate our music. If a deal gets worked out soon, “I’ll be the first to say I’m sorry, I over-reacted, let’s sell some records, let’s break some bands.”
Edited by Clint Brownlee and Patrick Robinson
Matt Vaughan worked at record stores throughout his high school years, in the mid-late 80’s. He opened his own shop
Easy Street Records in November 1987 while a student at Seattle University.
West Seattle Chamber of Commerce “Business of the Year”, King County “Business of the Year”
His mother Diana worked for Thom Bell and Mighty Three Music Publishing, she was an independent radio promoter, and would go onto manage and get signed, Seattle metal band Queensryche.
Matt’s father Dennis Vaughan is a retired Admiral, US Navy, served under Colin Powell.
Vietnam, Bosnia, Desert Storm, Gulf War 1 – Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit Award
His sister Aimie Vaughan is the EVP of Radio/Streaming for 300 Entertainment – Elektra Records
See Matt Vaughan’s photo in the As Many Weirdos as Possible project held at Base Camp 2 Gallery from April 4th – May 11.
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