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Dose of sales reality for Pop Idol champion: McManus's debut single continues downward trend.(Retail)
Will Young's record-breaking debut sales were a fading memory last week, as latest Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus fell short of retail expectations with her debut.
The S Records single All This Time was yesterday (Sunday) expected to safely debut at number one, on the back of sales barely an eighth of those which first series winner Young achieved two years ago. His debut, Evergreen/Anything Is Possible, opened in March 2002 with a record 1.1m tally.
BMG's newly-appointed sales director Neil Boote (see p3) says the major is only "at the start of the process" with McManus, with the key being to "keep the momentum" going following her win just before Christmas. An album is expected in February or March. "There's a single out there, but equally there's more and more promotional work being done. It's a bigger project than the single," he says. But retailers suggest the level of sales for the McManus single is the latest evidence that the public's appetite for reality pop is waning.
Virgin Megastores' head of rock/pop and chart Gareth Perry says his chain's share of the market is on target, but that the single's overall sales are about 15% lower than forecast. "It's a bit disappointing because at this point you're trying to determine whether there's an album artist out there," he says.
The latest Pop Idol final had a TV audience of 10.9m, compared to 13.1m who tuned in to see Young win in 2002. The choice of finalists attracted criticism from some of the judges. Perry notes that little more than one in 100 people who saw McManus' victory will have bought her single in its first week, compared to about one in 10 for Young. Around 35% of McManus' sales have come from her home country of Scotland, even though Scottish stores only contribute around 8% of total UK singles sales.
"It is a case of diminishing returns," adds Perry. "It's now become a TV phenomenon and people tune in to watch the programme, but it's translating less and less ...