Dark Side of the Moon: The Porn of Audio Media
In the video world, the running joke is that whatever media format Porn adopts will win any given format war. VHS, DVDs, Intertubes — all became multi-billion dollar tools of distribution in the massive economy that is “adult entertainment”.
EMI has announced that their DRM-less music sales via iTunes are through the roof.
Back when CDs were launched in the early ’80s, Dark Side of the Moon dominated the CD sales charts for years and years. Similarly, it had been one of the hottest selling LPs back in the days when vinyl was king. As of today (6/07), the album has been in the top 100 — typically in the top 5 — for 1,558 weeks. Almost 30 years!!
So, I watched with quite a bit of amusement to see Dark Side of the Moon quickly take and hold the #1 (now #2) position in iTunes Plus. A 350% increase in sales was reached in the week after the launch of iTunes Plus. Thus, iTunes is following the same pattern as other audio oriented media; DSotM dominates sales as soon as a high quality recording is available in that format.
If porn embraces a video format, it’ll be a success. Likewise, if DSotM dominates your audio media sales, definite success indicator…
Update: Of course, by now, DSotM has fallen considerably in the sales ranks, but Wish You Were Here and The Wall are at #19 and #20 as I write this. Maybe people are mixing it up a bit. Dark Side of the Moon is still $8, which could quite likely have driven sales.
Of course, with any album that has been so popular for so long, there are bound to be derivative and related works.
Like Reggae? How about Dub Side of the Moon!
Or an all vocals, no instruments, version?
There are the inevitable tribute albums. This one has some truly phenomanol musicians.
Finally, the ubiquitous string quartet re-interpretation makes an appearance, too.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Man, I knew DSOtM was a major hit record, but I had no idea. That makes it the king of all back-catalog properties, doesn’t it?
-jcr
June 21st, 2007 at 1:24 pm
It’s better DSOtM than New Kids on the Block or some other modern day garbage.
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:39 pm
1991 is modern day?
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:44 pm
I would love to get porn on the iTunes store.
June 24th, 2007 at 12:28 am
My bad Ben – how about Britney Spears, Paris Hilton’s stab @music, 95% of hip-hop (although there are some jewels in the underground), Fergie… and on and on. New Kids were the first to come to mind because I never stopped hating them. I’d love to get Jean Luc Ponty’s cosmic messenger DRM-less, I have it on vinyl – but haven’t had the time to transfer it.
June 24th, 2007 at 3:06 am
As a devoted Pink Floyd for many year now, all I can say this article put a HUGE grin on my face .. I’ve always been telling people about how DSoTM is still in the Top 100 after all these years.
June 24th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
In all fairness, the fact that DSotM is a total deal on iTunes ($8) was also probably a factor. It’s also slipped substantially since then.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
[...] Ik ben blijkbaar niet de enige die vol vreugde Dark Side of the Moon heeft gekocht in het nieuwe iTunes Plus-formaat, zoals ik een maand geleden nog vol vreugde meldde. ‘bbum’ vertelt: [...]
June 24th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
hi i to get full information
July 1st, 2007 at 7:56 am
phenomanol ==> phenomenal
July 18th, 2007 at 7:14 am
[...] programs is malignantly short), but Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” just keeps on selling, no matter what decade it [...]
April 14th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
It amazes me that this album hastranscended so many generations and formats. My friends 8 year old daughter asked him to load The Dark Side of the Moonon her ipod. He never told her about it, she said she heard about it from other kids in her class. Their is an obivious arctypical appeal that reaches beyond generational trends.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:58 am
…with the death of Richard Wright, I would hope that sales of DSotM would rise considerably. We’re talking about one of the founders of Pink Floyd. Although he got phased out right about the time of The Wall, I was ecstatic to @ least have seen him (not live mind you) with his original band during that charity concert 3 years ago in The U.K.
Bless his soul and long live PF!
February 10th, 2009 at 1:02 am
Dark side of the Moon is timeless. Both my kids 6 and 8 have it on their Ipods. I don’t think they even know how old it is! lol