wayneashleymusic

I was 15 when GTIG came out... it was my first true exposure to Janet, and when I became a true fan.  I remember watching the GTIG video and just being amazed at seeing so many beautiful representations of blackness.  It astonished me that Janet, for all her wealth and success, could feel so strongly connected to her people and her heritage.  

I ran out and bought The Velvet Rope, and BOY was I in for a shock!!  I sat in my room listened to the whole album non-stop, then went in again.  

Thanks for pointing out Billboard's selective and inconsistent recollection of Hot 100 history.  To not credit Ms. Keith on Making Love in the Rain (or Diamonds), yet to have somehow updated the chart on Diamonds to show Janet as a feature is not cool.  From the actual album cover, Janet and Lisa should be credited as featured artists for BOTH tracks.  If chart rules evolve, that should be reflected equally.  

http://vinylalbumcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/herbalpertkeepyoureyeonmesleevefront.png 

I already explained the qualifier for WATW 25.  

And I can guarantee you that by their own calculation, Billboard is including hits as a featured artist for everyone listed.  As a lead artist, Rihanna only has 22 Top 10 hits.  But her count expands when her features are included.  

But if you need to check Billboard yourself, here's the receipt...  

http://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-songs/1987-06-20 

Don't ya know... RECEIPTS are a guy's best friend!! 

Well, anyway...  

It just needs to be said that album sales are a tough thing to do today with the exception of a precious few folks.  People just experience music differently.  

Take your a titan seller like Beyonce as an example  Anyone wanna guesstimate her cut of sales from Lemonade??    

2,500,000 units sold at an avg of $10 per  unit equals $25,000,000

Pay 40% of that to Sony for distribution costs:  $15,000,000 remains

Pay 30% of that to the TON of co-writers (63 co-writers on Lemonade, compared just 8 for Janet's Unbreakable):  $10,000,000 remains

Pay 20% of that for other associated costs:  Parkwood Entertainment makes roughly $8,000,000 in sales from 2,500,000 units.   

Everyone is wondering about Jay-Z's new album not doing well on the charts because it's a Tidal exclusive, but he already made hundreds of millions from Tidal, including his most recent deal with Sprint.  How much could he possibly make by trying to stoke album sales??  Next to nothing when compared to revenue from touring and merch.  

As for Janet, a decent tour will more than cover costs for anything she wants to undertake from new music.  But she could also stand to make a lot of money by offering more in terms of merch.  UWT's choices were pretty limited in that department.  

But what even are "great numbers" in the music industry today??  You have number 1 albums almost every week that were far lower than Unbreakable's 1st week sales (hello Halsey 76k sales, how's it going Lorde 82k sales, and even Queen Mary J. Blige78k sales +streaming).  Then you have the rare exception, handful of folks (Adele, Taylor Swift, Beyonce) that can move a sizable number of units.  And then you have rappers that do ok in sales, but people just stream the heck out of their songs so they stay high on the charts.  An album/ new music is basically an excuse to go on tour and reconnect with fans.  From what I can tell, that's all Janet really wants to do. 

It has to do with one thing... after the Superbowl, she became the scapegoat for indecency in the 2004 election campaign.  Ever since then, the media and much of the music industry has hung her out to dry.  And Janet has been around... she just hasn't been around at their beckoned call because she knows most of them aren't going to give her a fair shake anyway.  

Beyonce hasn't sat for a proper interview or called into a radio station in 5 years either, but she's a name that is on everyone's lips (which I have no problem with BTW).  But the difference is her career has not yet been tarnished by the media.  So she's following a similar path to Janet and making things about her fans.  

But as a fan of Janet, it's not cool with me to let these shady moments pass by, so I'm going to point it out.  

The 11 by 17 pictures are like $8.  These prices are for the Canvass Art.  

As we all know, Billboard magazine is a primary offender.  In a recent article written by Gary Trust, they are discussing artists with the most Top 10 hits... 

"Thoughts," from Khaled's new album, Grateful, released Friday (June 23), and which samples Santana's "Maria Maria," a 10-week Hot 100 No. 1 (featuring The Product G&B) in 2000, marks Rihanna's 31st top 10, the third-best total dating to the Hot 100's Aug. 4, 1958, launch. Here's an updated look at the acts with the most Hot 100 top 10s:

38, Madonna
34, The Beatles
31, Rihanna
29, Michael Jackson (as a soloist)
28, Stevie Wonder

Left off of the list was Janet, whom has garnered 28 Hot 100 Top 10 hits... 29 if you are counting We Are The World 25 for Haiti... 

Here's the list (though many of us on here already know it)... 

#4 What Have You Done For Me Lately

#3 Nasty

#1 When I Think Of You

#5 Control

#2 Let's Wait Awhile

#5 Diamonds (Herb Alpert ft. Janet Jackson & Lisa Keith)

#1 Miss You Much

#2 Rhythm Nation

#1 Escapade

#4 Alright

#2 Come Back To Me

#1 Black Cat

#1 Love Will Never Do

#10 The Best Things In Life Are Free (Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, Bell Biv Devoe an Ralph Tresvant)

#1 That's The Way Love Goes

#4 If

#1 Again

#10 Because of Love 

#2 Any Time, Any Place

#8 You Want This

#3 Runaway

#5 Scream (Michael and Janet Jackson)

#1 Together Again 

#3 I Get Lonely

#3 What's It Gonna Be (Busta Rhymes ft. Janet Jackson)

#1Doesn't Really Matter

#1 All For You

#3 Someone To Call My Lover

#2 We Are The World 25 for Haiti (Artists for Haiti)

I've posted on the subject before, but would like to know what others have seen in terms of members of the media that continue to try and erase Janet's legacy.  If you find blatant omissions of Janet's work, unfounded comments or other subtle forms of shade, post them hear.  If we all know about them, maybe we can all refute them as a community.  

For those unfamiliar with the issues, this post on The Inquisitr is a good place to start.  

Kendall Harris and Taylor Hatala discuss going on Tour with Janet.  This was from the Unbreakable World Tour.  It's very sweet, and I appreciate their playlist!!  

Can't wait to see these young ladies again for the State of the World Tour!!  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/6be2828f-6c0d-4059-99d4-fa18acf1a296 

Super exciting news for for the Europe fans!! A good friend of mine is moving to London soon and a Janet concert would be a perfect vacation to go see them. 

I'm a Tidal subscriber, and have been since they started.  It's a great service, especially for those that are into the behind the scenes things with artists.  But Jay-Z already banked a huge chunk of $200 million from Sprint's stake in the service (as did all the other artist- owners like B, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Rihanna, etc.), which is probably a heck of a lot more than he would've made on album sales anyway.  

Tidal's biggest hurdle right now is the fact that Billboard apparently still ignores its streaming data, though I've heard rumors that is about to change.  If so, I think that would bolster the service.  

And I'll say it again... the sound quality on Tidal is EPIC!!  But I agree he'd get more overall impact if he releases everything at once.  A smarter choice would be to do BTS stuff, additional tracks, etc. via Tidal as that will still drive hardcore fans to sign up.  

Yep... and whether it's hit or miss, we still talk about it, as people have been for over 40 years.  #EarnedIt.  

She dresses in a lot of ways which are not meant to generate attention, because right now she doesn't want attention.  I'm sure there's people in London (not super fans, paps or celebrity hounds) that wouldn't recognize her if she's not "dressed up" and/or someone else points it out.  And even for the casual observer that does recognize her, they would have to stop and think for a minute, which is just long enough to get away.  

I think there's definitely a reason for dressing down when you/re not in "performance mode".  

Ok so I digress.  The comparisons to Ms. Jackson's work are not warranted.  End of story and I take back the comment.  

On Katy Perry's Witness, it is most certainly not 'complete shit'.  Some of the songs are quite good, and a hell of a lot more inventive than most of what's coming out today.  At least she's trying to do something.  But even on some of the songs that lack lyrical depth, the production is stellar and they are bops which would be welcome on most any playlist.  

Awe Janet looks relieved. I'm almost certain she would've been there to support Jimmy and Terry for #SHOF if not for her court date and custody situation. 

Sending positive vibes for Janet, Wissam and little Eissa, as I know this can't be easy for them. 

Listened back to this interview whil cleaning the house, and this is exactly why I LOVE Jimmy! If you let him talk long enough, all the secrets will be revealed!! When Kelly asks about tour prep, he's talking about the sonic treatments, and almost says what new songs are going to be added!! 

The album is hit and miss. The title Witness is worth a listen, as are Swish Swish and definitely Pendulum. I think Power and Deja Vu get close to great but don't quite make it. 

This is not an album that'a going to hit on first listen. And yes I totally agree when I say the era is similar to TVR I'm not saying the albums are similar. Witness isn't as personal, and it lacks the range and focus of TVR, plus the lyrical content isn't as strong (of course that's the case when comparing any Katy Perry album to ANY Janet album). But is taking a huge risk in trying to get woke. 

So it took me a minute, but after a couple of listens, I have actually come around to Katy Perry's new album Witness and I understand what she's trying to accomplish. Honestly, I think she really is starting to get WOKE and realizes that the superficial pop princess isn't going to cut it anymore. 

Witness isn't a perfect album, but it sure is a more bold move than most pop stars at the height of their powers would be willing to take. Ironically, the Witness era bare many similarities to Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope, which was also misunderstood by 90s era critics for it's overt pushing of boundaries, but is heralded twenty years later as one of the greatest albums in pop music. 

What do y'all think? 

Awesome!!  Well maybe this year we can all submit so LOC takes notice.  

OMG yes this interview is EVERYTHING!!  He gives so much T on Perspective Records/ A&M, why some artists succeeded and failed.  Seriously this is a can't miss series for music fans.  

In a brief look at the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, I was shocked to learn that none of Janet Jackson's works have been inducted.  Each year, the Librarian of Congress and their staff select 25 recordings to be inducted based on the cultural significance and impact which the audio recording made.  

Interestingly enough, the list doesn't have a lot of pop music, but Michael Jackson's Thriller was inducted in 2007.  

Any American citizen can nominate recordings they feel are of cultural significance.  So I ask... what recordings by Ms. Janet are her most impactful?  Both albums or recording tracks can be considered.  

I plan to nominate a few, but would love to hear the forum's thoughts and justificaions.  

Drops a little bit of tour prep info and baby news.  Jimmy and Terry are being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame THIS WEEK!!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaKFUKJ6OUw 

I just appreciate ET's coverage.  The report and never seem to go too far overboard (at least not during this era).  

And hmm... a big reveal followed immediately by a Netflix series which chronicles her training and tour preparation??  Doesn't sound so far-fetched after this story.