It's a brave new world out there in the music industry and these days, having a hit single doesn't translate into massive album sales. Not in an age where singles can be snatched up for $.99 or $1.29 on iTunes. The ol' venus fly trap tactic that the record companies used to employ, by holding the hot single hostage in order to force music lovers to buy the whole album, doesn't work anymore. We are now witnessing artists with successful hit singles who are struggling to even break 100,000 copies sold. Take Flo Rida and Sean Kingston, for example. Both artists had massive hit singles, ("Right Round" and "Fire Burning" respectively) and yet both are pulling in album sales figures that look more like Skee Lo's.
Kingston has sold 30,247 copies of his new album Tomorrow, while Flo Rida is in the 200,000 range for his album R.O.O.T.S. Flo Rida's lackluster performance is especially troubling since his lead single "Right Round" was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks. Then again, the single sold 2 million copies on iTunes. The reality is, people already got what they wanted from him.
Mario, sadly, is finding himself a new member of the HSDA (Hot song, dead album) club, along with Flo Rida and Sean Kingston. Mario's "Break Up," featuring the rent-a-rapper of the moment Gucci Mane, was a modest hit peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. But when Mario released his fourth studio album, D.N.A., on Oct. 13th, it was met with tepid reception debuting at #9 and selling 31,519 copies. And sadly it doesn't look like things are warming up: The album to date has sold 43,385 copies and a second single, "Thinkin' About You," has already been serviced. If things keep up at this pace, Mario won't even break 100,000.
This dismal performance means two things are likely to happen for Mario in the near future:
A) Mario will soon begin to complain that his record label failed to set up his record properly, squabbling between the artist and the label will ensue and then there'll be a split. Mario will say he parted ways with his label amicably and the label quietly spread that he was dropped due to lackluster performance.
B) If the label is feeling REALLY generous, Mario will hit the studio and re-record some new songs and re-release the album in hopes of salvaging the project. The lead single will feature Lil' Wayne and/or Drake.
There is the possibility that Mario has some plan B that no one knows about. Perhaps he'll pull a JC Chasez and just leave the music thing alone and land a hosting gig. "So You Think You Can Dance" needs a new judge, right?
