Waiting For Stevie

Get_Right said:

It was great at MSG with Watt. 

That's in my top 3 moments this tour (maybe #1)

BF25394 said:

vedpunk said:

BF25394 said:

There are a lot of people here who feel strongly about this song because it tracks with their idea of the quintessential Pearl Jam sound, which they associate with "early Pearl Jam." The problems with this in terms of releasing a single with that sound are: 1) the segment of the listening audience that shares this affinity is mostly uninterested in new music-- to the extent they want to listen to songs that sound like this, they'll just keep listening to the same old early Pearl Jam songs; and 2) the segment of the listening audience that is open to new music is not attuned to rock music that sounds like this. There's a reason why this song has gotten little traction at radio thus far, failing to cross over from mainstream rock stations to alternative and Triple-A stations. (And it could never be a pop hit in 2024 barring some exogenous Kate Bush-in-Stranger Things-type event.) This radio edit is an attempt to salvage things by making it more palatable for more formats (and, of course, shorter).

The song has only been out for barely two weeks.  Give it some time, it’s actually moving up the active rock chart.  

It has moved up only six spots from its debut to its third week, from No. 33 to No. 27. "Dark Matter" and "Wreckage" both shot up 14 spots in the same span. And they were also shooting up the charts at other formats besides Mainstream Rock. "Waiting for Stevie" hasn't cracked any chart other Mainstream Rock Airplay.

See https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/301063/dark-matter-and-its-tracks-on-the-charts/p1.

Its the 4th single broseph…..going to take time and some actual promotion by the band (which probably won’t happen)

vedpunk said:

BF25394 said:

vedpunk said:

BF25394 said:

There are a lot of people here who feel strongly about this song because it tracks with their idea of the quintessential Pearl Jam sound, which they associate with "early Pearl Jam." The problems with this in terms of releasing a single with that sound are: 1) the segment of the listening audience that shares this affinity is mostly uninterested in new music-- to the extent they want to listen to songs that sound like this, they'll just keep listening to the same old early Pearl Jam songs; and 2) the segment of the listening audience that is open to new music is not attuned to rock music that sounds like this. There's a reason why this song has gotten little traction at radio thus far, failing to cross over from mainstream rock stations to alternative and Triple-A stations. (And it could never be a pop hit in 2024 barring some exogenous Kate Bush-in-Stranger Things-type event.) This radio edit is an attempt to salvage things by making it more palatable for more formats (and, of course, shorter).

The song has only been out for barely two weeks.  Give it some time, it’s actually moving up the active rock chart.  

It has moved up only six spots from its debut to its third week, from No. 33 to No. 27. "Dark Matter" and "Wreckage" both shot up 14 spots in the same span. And they were also shooting up the charts at other formats besides Mainstream Rock. "Waiting for Stevie" hasn't cracked any chart other Mainstream Rock Airplay.

See https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/301063/dark-matter-and-its-tracks-on-the-charts/p1.

Its the 4th single broseph…..going to take time and some actual promotion by the band (which probably won’t happen)

Broseph?

"Running" was not a radio single. The band did nothing specific to promote "Wreckage" and it hit number one at multiple formats. Sometimes, it's about the song.

I love when people try to educate me on the music business.

Get_Right said:

Their audience has been growing because of the live shows. They play ballparks and have plenty of traction. They have a sirius channel. Dark Matter is all over apple. They are doing just fine.

Who is arguing that they're not doing fine? That's not the discussion here. It's about whether this single is gaining a new audience for them (or bringing back the old audience that is unaware they're still an active band). Evidence does not suggest that their audience is growing. They sold fewer copies of this record than the last record. They do not stream well and, with rare exceptions, they play arenas, not stadiums. The first two singles got a lot more attention from radio than we've seen with recent albums, but rock radio is a niche format in 2024, and Triple-A is even more niche. They have a Sirius channel because they are a well-known act among a demographic that Sirius targets. Bruce has a Sirius channel, too, but no one can reasonably argue that Bruce's audience is growing.

vedpunk said:

BF25394 said:

vedpunk said:

BF25394 said:

vedpunk said:

BF25394 said:

There are a lot of people here who feel strongly about this song because it tracks with their idea of the quintessential Pearl Jam sound, which they associate with "early Pearl Jam." The problems with this in terms of releasing a single with that sound are: 1) the segment of the listening audience that shares this affinity is mostly uninterested in new music-- to the extent they want to listen to songs that sound like this, they'll just keep listening to the same old early Pearl Jam songs; and 2) the segment of the listening audience that is open to new music is not attuned to rock music that sounds like this. There's a reason why this song has gotten little traction at radio thus far, failing to cross over from mainstream rock stations to alternative and Triple-A stations. (And it could never be a pop hit in 2024 barring some exogenous Kate Bush-in-Stranger Things-type event.) This radio edit is an attempt to salvage things by making it more palatable for more formats (and, of course, shorter).

The song has only been out for barely two weeks.  Give it some time, it’s actually moving up the active rock chart.  

It has moved up only six spots from its debut to its third week, from No. 33 to No. 27. "Dark Matter" and "Wreckage" both shot up 14 spots in the same span. And they were also shooting up the charts at other formats besides Mainstream Rock. "Waiting for Stevie" hasn't cracked any chart other Mainstream Rock Airplay.

See https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/301063/dark-matter-and-its-tracks-on-the-charts/p1.

Its the 4th single broseph…..going to take time and some actual promotion by the band (which probably won’t happen)

Broseph?

"Running" was not a radio single. The band did nothing specific to promote "Wreckage" and it hit number one at multiple formats. Sometimes, it's about the song.

I love when people try to educate me on the music business.

Ok bossman, but you don’t know the level of promotion to radio and marketing efforts behind the scenes to get radio to play it.  My main point however is that a 4th single (3rd technically) isn’t going to be promoted as heavily as the earlier singles and will require more effort to get radio adds and plays 

I know more than you realize about all of this. I'm trying to provide helpful perspective here based on actual knowledge and experience, not feelings or speculation. Obviously, you are free to continue to ignore it.

Get_Right said:

BF25394 said:

Get_Right said:

Their audience has been growing because of the live shows. They play ballparks and have plenty of traction. They have a sirius channel. Dark Matter is all over apple. They are doing just fine.

Who is arguing that they're not doing fine? That's not the discussion here. It's about whether this single is gaining a new audience for them (or bringing back the old audience that is unaware they're still an active band). Evidence does not suggest that their audience is growing. They sold fewer copies of this record than the last record. They do not stream well and, with rare exceptions, they play arenas, not stadiums. The first two singles got a lot more attention from radio than we've seen with recent albums, but rock radio is a niche format in 2024, and Triple-A is even more niche. They have a Sirius channel because they are a well-known act among a demographic that Sirius targets. Bruce has a Sirius channel, too, but no one can reasonably argue that Bruce's audience is growing.

I guess you can call it a niche format, but radio play has basically been irrelevant for a long time. I cannot remember the last time I put on the radio to hear music. Same with record sales, albums are basically free these days. They seem to be as popular as ever. I do not have any data analytics to support my position. I suppose it's a fair statement to say that Waiting for Stevie in a vacuum is not bringing in new fans. The tour is what does that. I would not call four ballpark dates just on this tour rare exceptions. And every rock festival wants to book them. The evidence is that tickets are harder to get, at least in the northeast. 

Just because it is irrelevant to you, don't assume that you are representative of the overall audience. The overall radio audience still dwarfs the streaming audience. Just to give you a data point, the current number one song in the country, Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" was streamed 27.8 million times this week, but its radio airplay reached 78.2 million listeners. The difference is even more pronounced with respect to rock music, the audience for which skews older and does not stream music as much as younger listeners. Pearl Jam's streaming audience is paltry. When I say that rock radio is a niche format, I mean that it does not have the audience that CHR stations have, and the difference is greater than it was 20 or 30 years ago.

Radio is free and it is everywhere. People listen in their cars, their homes and their offices. Large portions of the country have poor wireless connectivity, but radio stations penetrate these areas. Radio is still very important, and there is a reason why record companies and artists give radio a lot of attention. Trust me on this.

Pearl Jam is a draw, but they're not a stadium-level draw anymore. If they could sell out stadiums other than two of the smallest MLB ballparks, they would play more shows at larger MLB stadiums and NFL stadiums. Those shows gross beaucoup bucks relative to the arena shows. The Chili Peppers sold out two shows at SoFi last year. Pearl Jam can't do that in 2024. They might not sell out one. Their tours do not bring in significant numbers of new fans. If they did, then you would see more streaming and more sales. Their tours attract their existing fans, overwhelmingly.

Let it be known, from henceforth 'Waiting for Stevie' shall be christened Song of the Year.
https://www.spin.com/2024/10/pearl-jams-waiting-for-stevie-is-record-store-days-song-of-the-year/