Biggest Band on Earth

DewieCox wrote:

Backspacer_Backer wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

Jason Aldean sold out Wrigley the night after and nobody is making an argument that he is even the biggest country act, b/c he's not selling out stadiums night in and night out.

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Jason Aldean didn't sell out Wrigley, and he had Kelly Clarkson to help sell tickets, too. <at least, it wasn't a sellout going into the week of the show.> Certainly didn't sell out in 5 minutes or whatever.

It was a sellout according to many news sources. True he had Kelly Clarkson to help, but everybody knows the headliner is responsible for the vast majority of tickets sales. My point was more that the yearly concerts at Wrigley are a big event and them selling out isn't indicative of a band's ability to sellout stadiums for a whole tour.

That's true..... Check out the tour page. Most shows are not sold out yet, and they are only arenas: http://pearljam.com/tour

Pushin Forward Back wrote:

Arcade Fire fuckin suck... they aint shit-

I don't think they suck, but they are not a huge band by any means. Not even close.

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

mrk2 wrote:

DURP wrote:

The Fat Boys

That reminds me that Pearl Jam wasn't even one of the biggest Grunge/Seattle bands, Tad and Screaming Trees were way bigger.

Not where I'm from.

Me neither.

It's fair to say that Pearl Jam intentionally stepped back from its fame when it was at its peak, but it is much harder to claim that, but for stepping back, Pearl Jam would still be as popular today, or nearly as popular today, as it was in 1994. People's tastes change. The landscape of popular music has changed.

With respect to those who have argued here that "Backspacer" was calculated to appeal to a broader audience, if that was the band's intention, they did a terrible job of executing the "plan." First, they decided to give an exclusive to a single large retailer, meaning that major music retailers including Wal-Mart and Best Buy (this was still true of Best Buy in 2009) were completely cut out of the equation. (And for those of you who think a record is a collection of MP3s, the majority of sales of "Backspacer" were of physical CDs, so retail matters.) Second, they did virtually nothing to push the single that could have been their first cross-format hit in over a decade, "Just Breathe," to greater sales and airplay. (I know many people here are not crazy about "Just Breathe," but it was the only song since "Last Kiss" that got played at modern rock radio, Triple A, adult contemporary and CHR (i.e., top 40).) A little promotion could have pushed that song into the top 10 on the pop chart, which would have translated to another 100,000 or 200,000 in album sales, but they pretty much let that single release die on the vine, even diluting it by making it a double A-side with "Got Some." These were not the actions of a band seeking to reach mainstream audiences and maximize sales.

Finally, if Pearl Jam were really concerned about growing its audience, it wouldn't slow its creative output to a trickle. Since 2002, Pearl Jam has released exactly two albums of new studio material. "Lightning Bolt" will make it three in 11 years. You can't disappear from radio and the marketplace for that length of time and expect to come back to the same audience. (Not that it can't or hasn't been done, but it's tough.) The market is crowded. People have a lot of options. When four years go by between records, a lot of people start to forget that they liked you. As I mentioned earlier, "Mind Your Manners" hasn't even cracked the playlist at KROQ in Los Angeles, an influential station with a very large audience. That station has played three different Foo Fighters songs and three different Nirvana songs today, all "oldies," and they can't be bothered to play a rocking new PJ song. Why? Because their market research tells them people aren't interested, I'm sorry to say.

Pushin Forward Back wrote:

Arcade Fire fuckin suck... they aint shit-

With such a strong view on a very creative and talented band I'd love to hear what you think is good?

BF25394 wrote:

As I mentioned earlier, "Mind Your Manners" hasn't even cracked the playlist at KROQ in Los Angeles, an influential station with a very large audience. That station has played three different Foo Fighters songs and three different Nirvana songs today, all "oldies," and they can't be bothered to play a rocking new PJ song. Why? Because their market research tells them people aren't interested, I'm sorry to say.

But is FM 94.9 playing it?? Based on their Facebook page, I'd guess, yes they are. And that's the only station that really matters.

curmudgeoness wrote:

BF25394 wrote:

As I mentioned earlier, "Mind Your Manners" hasn't even cracked the playlist at KROQ in Los Angeles, an influential station with a very large audience. That station has played three different Foo Fighters songs and three different Nirvana songs today, all "oldies," and they can't be bothered to play a rocking new PJ song. Why? Because their market research tells them people aren't interested, I'm sorry to say.

But is FM 94.9 playing it?? Based on their Facebook page, I'd guess, yes they are. And that's the only station that really matters.

It looks like their overnight DJ must like it. They played it twice within two hours during the overnight last night, but it hasn't been played since 3:18 a.m. according to the playlist on their website.

Firstly I really like Arcade Fire. They are a great band, great albums and brilliant live. I would say that they are nowhere near one of the biggest bands on Earth however (yet). They have received a lot of critical acclaim and awards (rightly so), are very successful and a big band. Awards & critical acclaim alone do not make you the biggest band. They are at best however, on a worldwide scale, an arena band, not a stadium band. (Hell, I would LOVE to be in a band big enough to sell out arenas around the world). Yes, they will headline nights at festivals around the world but they wouldn't (as yet) be able to do a stadium tour. This day may come, but I doubt it.
To be considered the biggest band on Earth I think you really need to look into worldwide CD sales, downloads etc. and the tours that the band can do. I would say that (from the bands still out there playing) U2, Coldplay, Rolling Stones (their back catalogue alone probably shifts more than an AF album or a PJ album for that matter), Bruce, Foo Fighters, Kings Of Leon, Muse, RHCP & Green Day to name a few are "bigger" than Arcade Fire. Better? No (especially not KOL) but bigger yes. Then we have to look at sustaining that size over a period of time and we are really only left with a handful of truly big bands led by U2 & the Stones.

butte1 wrote:

Well the Arcade Fire -vs- Pearl Jam debate was put to rest, as far as Australia is concerned. Pearl Jam and Arcade Fire are both part of that festival series but Pearl Jam is the HEADLINER and not A.F..... so I think it's fair to say PJ > AF ... atleast in Australia

Right but AF was also second band listed in front of Blur and Snoop Dogg. Those are two BIG 90's acts they're headlining over.

I think it shows they are a top 5 modern music act in terms of name value. WIth Muse Black Keys Jack White etc.