FEATURE:
Long Play, Long Stay…
IN THIS PHOTO: Adele in 2011/PHOTO CREDIT: Solve Sundsbo for British Vogue
Is It Purely Nostalgia Driving the Chart-Topping Stamina of Classic Albums?
_________
I have written a fair few features…
around vinyl sales and how the market continues to boom. The growing success of vinyl means that not only are new albums being bought. Classic albums are being snapped up. Classics that seemingly have been in the album charts forever include Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. That 1977 album always pops up when we see the vinyl charts and the best-selling examples! Even if classic albums are featuring high in the all-time best-selling vinyl albums, new albums are definitely in the mix. Before moving to a recent article which reveals the staying power of classic albums which remain on the Billboard 200 after so many years, I want to turn to this recent feature. It reveals the biggest albums on vinyl from this year:
“Lana Del Rey’s Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd is the best-selling vinyl album of 2023 so far, Official Charts can confirm today.
The self-analytical ninth studio LP from the alt-pop icon, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. became Lana’s sixth UK Number 1 album earlier this year. To date, it’s sold 34,000 copies on vinyl. Upon its debut, Did you know… provided Lana with her strongest opening week in nearly a decade, since Ultraviolence in 2014.
A brand-new showing in second place is Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which extended Taylor’s record-setting run of 10 consecutive UK Number 1 albums. Still the only female artist to achieve this feat this century, Taylor is the female artist with the second-most Number 1 albums in UK chart history. Only Madonna, with 12 in total, has more. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has now sold over 29,000 vinyl copies to date.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kylie Minogue/PHOTO CREDIT: Erik Melvin
Blur’s The Ballad of Darren earns the title of the third-biggest vinyl album of 2023 so far, while the Top 5 is completed by Lewis Capaldi’s Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent (4), which still boasts the biggest opening week of any album this year, and Kylie Minogue’s Tension (5) proving one to keep an eye on as it enters the vinyl best sellers list after just one week on sale.
Also ranking in the Top 10 are Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ Council Skies (7) and the Gorillaz’s second Number 1 LP Cracker Island (9).
Elsewhere, other 2023 Number 1 albums to make the list include Foo Fighters’ But Here We Are (11), Boygenius’s the record (12), Olivia Rodrigo’s recent chart-topper GUTS (13), Ed Sheeran’s – (21), Niall Horan’s The Show (22), Paramore’s This is Why (25) and Metallica’s 72 Seasons (28).
Thanks to celebratory re-releases, several hit albums from yesteryear have returned to relevance, including Courteeners’ St Jude (16) which hit Number 1 for the first time ever last year, De La Soul’s 1989 debut 3 Feet High And Rising (18), David Bowie’s revelatory 1972 record The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust celebrating its 50th anniversary (30) and The 1975’s self-titled debut (35) one of the most quietly-influential albums in modern pop”.
New research from Luminate highlights which classic albums have been on the Billboard 200 for a long time. How people are hearing and consuming these albums. The report suggests that nostalgia is a big reason when it comes to driving these sales and longevity. I will end by asking if that is the only contributing factor as to why certain albums remain desired and successful:
“If you’ve studied the Billboard 200 albums chart week-to-week you may have noticed that there are some titles that never seem to drop off the list. Classic albums like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Nirvana’s Nevermind or Drake’s Nothing Was The Same consistently rank on the Billboard 200, but what albums have spent the most weeks on the chart and what insights can we learn from these perennial favorites?
In the past year, the number of albums that have been on the Billboard 200 for over eight years in total nonconsecutive weeks jumped from 4 to 15. In Week 39 of 2021 (week ending 9/30/21), albums that had been on the chart for more than 4 years occupied 22% of the 200 slots. This number increased to 27% in week 39 of 2022, and this year is now at 33% for week 39.
IMAGE CREDIT: Luminate Insights
Adele’s 21 takes the top spot in longevity: it has been on the Billboard 200 for 583 weeks, 88% of the time since the album was released in January 2011. In the past year, the album ranked consistently in the #150 to #200 range, earning roughly 8.1k units per week in activity. Otherwise, the range of long-staying albums is vast: everything from Kendrick Lamar (Good Kid M.A.A.D City; 568 weeks) to Bob Marley, Journey, Eminem, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Lana Del Rey. Eighteen of the albums on the Billboard 200 this week were “greatest hits” compilations, which collectively averaged 263 weeks on the chart, or just over five years.
Each week, new albums have to compete with these long-tenured players in order to make it in the Billboard 200. But what type of consumption is most important in making it onto the chart?
The longest-charting albums have consistently high consumption from streaming. The top 10 longest-running albums on the Billboard 200 each earned over 78% of their units from streaming last week, and in particular Drake’s Take Care (on the chart now for just under 9 years) had a much higher streaming ratio, at 98%. Album sales are important –on average, these albums sold 1.5k units last week– but streaming is critical. If an album is going to stay in the top 200, then it needs to be streamed week over week to do so.
Using Luminate Insights consumer research data, we can see that nostalgia plays a part in older generations’ music streaming habits. US Baby Boomers that stream music are the generation most likely to report agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement, “I listen to music from my past to remind me of that period in my life,” compared to other music streamers (index 109). But, while nostalgia doesn’t play as big a role in younger streamers’ listening habits, Gen Z is the most likely to report listening to songs on repeat, indicating that once a song becomes a favorite it stands a good chance to be listened to over and over again.
In the streaming age, activity week-to-week can keep an older album buoyant on the Billboard 200. Before streaming, there was no way to know how often someone listened to an album that they bought. Now, the Billboard 200 illustrates not only how popular an album is at the time of its release, but how much it continues to be streamed week over week. We can see which albums are lasting with consumers as new albums try to compete with them for a spot on the chart”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Oz Art/Pexels
I think that it is the case that many people are buying or streaming certain albums because they are classics. They take people back to the past. We might see this even more. As the news grows even more grim and dystopian, many people will immerse themselves in classic albums. Not a particularly new trend, many older albums have been reissued on vinyl and provide opportunities to bring them to the turntable. Even works from artists such as Taylor Swift are getting new versions - compelling fans to keep the ‘original’ album on the chart. When it comes to classic albums doing well, it may be the case that there were previously unavailable. Nostalgia would be one explanation behind this new report. Long play albums enduring and staying on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S. for so long. I think that new listeners will also be getting these albums. Maybe not around when these albums were originally released, perhaps the sheer quality of the material is a huge reason why classic albums are kept alive. There is a coolness to owning certain older albums. Any time a big anniversary happens, that drives a new wave of sales. Also, as many radio stations play famous cuts from beloved albums of the past, that will also get people streaming and buying them. I think the vinyl market is one that is more accessible to bigger artists. It can be expensive releasing our album on vinyl and making sure it gets heard. For that reason, there is always going to be a skew towards huge artists. A lot of the legendary albums are coming down in price, so that makes it more affordable to people.
IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift in 2014 (the year her fifth studio album, 1989, was released (1989 (Taylor's Version) is out on 27th October)/PHOTO CREDIT: Mario Testino for British Vogue
Of course, one cannot rule out nostalgia as the main reason why the same old albums are hanging around the Billboard 200 chart. I find it funny that there is still this big demand for them. I know that albums such Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours are phenomenal and offer something for all generations. There is that security of hearing music from the past that evokes fond memories and rushes of protection and happiness. Perhaps there is something else at play. Some buying classic albums as art. The iconic covers! Owning a classic album is also pretty fashionable. People might expect you to own that album. People streaming iconic and decades-long albums might be younger listeners who have not heard them before. They might have heard them discussed - though they may not be familiar with the songs. Why do certain classic albums endure and stay in the mindset whereas others may well not?! I am not sure whether it is a simple case of word of mouth and songs being featured on the radio. There is a depth and originality of some of these albums that you do not get today. Whether it is coming-of-age sounds of Adele’s soulful and powerful 21 and Taylor Swift’s 1989; the cinema and beauty of Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die. In a few cases, the albums are creative peaks for those artists.
People owning the album because of the importance and excellence of them. Of course, when we think of artists like Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, they are still making music today. It is only natural that fans would investigate their previous albums. It is an interesting thing. That Luminate report that shows people are still buying and streaming albums such as Nirvana’s Nevermind from 1991. Aside from the nostalgia for those who bought it the first time, there is also an implied or artificial nostalgia from younger listeners. Those who may not remember or been around in the ‘90s getting this second-hand hit. More discussion and investigation should take place as that idea of nostalgia driving music tastes is interesting. In any case, it is clear that a select iconic albums are being kept very much relevant and alive! I guess Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours will always be on the chart. Will artists like Nirvana and Adele fall out in years to come?! Are we going to see new albums more at the fore?! Fewer legacy and legendary albums making the headlines?! I am not too sure. All I know that it is encouraging and fascinating to see some well-known long players enjoying…
SUCH commercial longevity.