Chinese Democracy co-worker says the album will do well in the long run

[norway]

I just wanna hear more now

[western_chaos]

Yes, this is a strong album. I believe it will do well in the long-run, however badly the sales numbers may look now.

We're talking about an album that has 12/14 songs that are very strong.

[ThatGuy]

thats funny that the kid rock scenario was mentioned, because when i thought of the current sales of the chinese democracy album, i immediately thought about 10 years ago, when kid rock's devil without a cause came out, and the first single released, I am The Bullgood got mediocre reviews and not a lot of interest.  however, after the album had been out a few months, you got more and more singles being released (Only God Knows Why, Cowboy, Wastin Time, etc, etc), and the album REALLY took off and ended up being pretty successful.  it kicked off a "second coming" of kid rock's career.  its quite possible chinese democracy could do the same.

[acompleteunknown]

How long between AFD's release in July 87 and when the album finally went to the top of the charts?  Almost a year right?

The reason that AFD did well is because of the Word of Mouth.  This time around...we (the fans) need to do the same thing.  We need to do our part.  We need to spread the word. 

[TomFriend]

To be honest I'm not that bothered if it gets toured or not - it'll be cool if it happens, but if not, at least we've got the bootlegs from '06. A concert lasts one night, a great album's something you can enjoy for the rest of your life - but it would still be great to read/hear Axl talking about his masterpiece now that we have it. I guess, if anything, that's what I'm hoping for but to be honest I don't see it happening.

Serious question - does anyone know if the rumor about music videos that someone (I forget who) mentioned being finished and awaiting Axl's approval was true, and if so, what happened to them?

[Bruno Poeys]

Whatever, a world tour is in the works and a videoclip as well. I don't think we'll wait too long anymore.

[Lord Kayoss]

I hope you're all sending your CVs to Universal Music and other companies since you're all experts on marketing, touring, promotion and so on. 

/jarmo

Geffen/Black Frog definitely need somebody in their ear.  Their promotion and marketing for CD sucked, big time.  Send away, people.

But for the record, I am very satisfied with the album.  Anything else that happens (tour, videos, chart-topping) is a bonus from here on.  I'm all good regardless.

[Chuzeville]

A logic move might to release some potentially huge single at the time the Best Buy exclusive ends to boost CD's general release...

[TomFriend]

A logic move might to release some potentially huge single at the time the Best Buy exclusive ends to boost CD's general release...

When does the Best Buy exclusive end?

[Annie]

The guy is claimed to be a GN'R insider too, take that for what it's worth.

All Guitars Tech Drums Classifieds Marketplace RSS Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy nosedives on the charts
An insider offers his thoughts

Joe Bosso, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 5:43 pm UTC

 
Can anything stop GN'R's downward spiral?

View in gallery
For Axl Rose, it's bad times. A week ago, his much-anticipated album Chinese Democracy debuted to less-than-steller chart showings - in the UK it was handily beat by The Killers' Day & Age, and in the US it did even worse, coming in at Number 3 behind Kanye West and Taylor Swift.

And now it appears that the raging apathy of once-fervent Guns N' Roses fans continues.

Final sales figures are still coming in, but in the UK, Chinese Democracy dropped off the Top 10 and slid to Number 11. And in the US the story is even grimmer, where the record nosedived to Number 17 -that's a 78 percent drop-off from its first-week sales.

Some see a turnaround
With radio stations turning a deaf ear to the album, it would seem that the goose that is Chinese Democracy is cooked. But some insiders close to the Guns N' Roses camp still view the record as a long-term winner.

Bob Chiappardi, the New York City-based CEO of Concrete Marketing, has worked with Guns N' Roses since the Live Like a Suicide EP. Recently, his company worked on TV ads for Chinese Democracy and serviced the album to gentlemen's clubs in the US. According to Chiappardi, the record has yet to receive its moment in the sun.

"It's going to follow the same kind of life of the Kid Rock record, where songs keep coming" Bob Chiappardi, Concrete Marketing"We all expected a situation with the numbers falling off," says Chiappardi. "First off, it's not in every record store in the country, which doesn't help. But I hope it's going to follow the same kind of life of the Kid Rock record, where songs keep coming - then we'll have really good numbers by summer."

Believe in ballads
Radio's resistance to the title cut is "disappointing," says Chiappardi, but he believes that several of the album's ballads "are going to come through. Maybe not on a November Rain basis, but there's some tracks there."

Above all, Chiappardi claims that Chinese Democracy needs time and nurturing. "The record is like a unicorn - there's a legend around it," he says. "It's hard to explain. I think once the smoke clears, it'll rise to the top."

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy-nosedives-on-the-charts-186624

I totally agree.  Personally I think THIS I LOVE would be a great choice for the theme song to the next movie of the TWILIGHT series. It's Christmas and all I can think about is vampires and CHINESE DEMOCRACY. It reminds me of going to see the musical LESTAT inbetween GNR concerts at the Hammerstein ballroom and having all the vampires kiss me on the neck.

[Chuzeville]

A logic move might to release some potentially huge single at the time the Best Buy exclusive ends to boost CD's general release...

When does the Best Buy exclusive end?

I think it's a six months deal. Not sure. 

[The Catcher]

Whatever, a world tour is in the works and a videoclip as well. I don't think we'll wait too long anymore.

If a video was to come out, I want the whole thing, not just a clip

[Dr. Blutarsky]

A logic move might to release some potentially huge single at the time the Best Buy exclusive ends to boost CD's general release...

I think having the BB exclusive probably held down sales numbers just due to the fact that many people don't live real close to one ( unlike wal-mart) and their promotion was not consistant with all their locations & a bit lackluster.

But the deal that was made guaranteed the label would turn a profit, so I understand that part of it.

But back to the topic point - I agree that this album will have a long life if there is a tour in 2009. Just because it did not go platinum in 2 weeks does not mean it is a failure like some are saying - this album has impossible expectations to meet for many due to the history behind it. And then there are the haters of it as well.

If the next 2 albums are already recorded with some minor touches to add later, I'd say the label will make out pretty good since those 2 albums have little or no cost to them since they have been paid for by Chinese Democracy. In other words I would not expect any problem between the band and the label putting out a couple more albums which is good news for us.