Strip mining for cold and platinum: Record sales and chart performance pre‐and post‐MTV

Making time stand still

“…While researching Top 40 music and its culture, I came across some peculiar books in the library. They had names like Thirty Years of Hits 1960-1990 Research (Guest, 1991), The Melbourne Chart Book (Ryan, 2003c); there were also volumes for Sydney (Ryan, 2004), Adelaide (Ryan, 2003a) and Brisbane (Ryan, 2003b), as well as The Book: Top 40 Research 1956-1994(Barnes and Scanes, 1995 and The Australian Chart Book 1970-1992(Kent, 1993. Upon further inspection, I discovered that these publications were a very particular version of Top 40 chart research.…”

“…This was a mode of collecting which I had not come across before; this was not the official record-keeping of record companies or radio stations, but the collection and collation of charts, of data, of numbers and hierarchy by individuals for personal interest. 3 Thirty Years of Hits 1960-1990 Research (Guest, 1991, no page numbers) is one such document, put together by Thomas J. Guest, an obvious enthusiast of the Top 40 countdown for over 30 years, whose taste was forged during the advent of what the book terms 'Rock 'N' Roll'.…”

“…Others have used analyses of the charts in order to map certain trends (e.g. Fitzgerald, 1997;Harrison, 2007;Myer and Kleck, 2007;Phillips and Schlattmann, 1990;Schlattmann, 1991;Schurk et al, 2007). 3 Australian fans of chart information now have an online home, at the Australian Charts website (n.d.).…”

Die Fabrikation globaler Vielfalt

“…Die Kosten für die Herstellung von MTV-tauglichen Clips lagen Mitte der 1980er-Jahre bereits um die 50.000 Dollar (Banks 1996, 43), eine Summe, die viele der kleineren Musikproduzenten nicht aufbringen konnten. Und in der Tat scheint die Einführung von MTV in den 1980er-Jahren dazugeführt zu haben, dass sich der Verkauf von Tonträgern stärker auf eine Hand voll Superstars wie Michael Jackson, Prince oder Madonna konzentrierte (Phillips und Schlattmann 1990). Zusätzlich versuchte MTV die Schallplattenfirmen und ihre Künstler und Künstlerinnen mit Spezialverträgen an sich zu binden (Banks 1996, 63ff.…”

Counting down to number one: the evolution of the meaning of popular music charts

“…One reason that the charts are taken for granted is that we imagine them as a mere reflection of the music business. Scholars have used the charts as indicators of the impact of MTV on the number of award winning records (Phillips and Schattmann 1990), of women in the business (Hesbacher et ah 1977;Cooper 1985;Wells 1986Wells , 1991Schlattmann 1991), and of new music charts on established charts (Ennis 1992). No one, however, has analysed the structural meanings of the charts per se.…”