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Should you buy the CD or just the single? By ETHAN SMITH
.c The Associated Press Eds: Via AP By ETHAN SMITH The Wall Street Journal Amely Greeven rarely ventures into music stores and hasn't replaced the iPod she lost in January.
When Ms. Greeven does pick up new music, she becomes the kind of customer the recording industry
is desperate for - one who buys entire albums, not single songs. ``It would never occur to me to pick through an album song by song,'' says Ms. Greeven, a 31-year-
old marketing consultant and writer in Los Angeles who usually buys music online. ``I still take the
leap of faith and buy the whole thing.'' With album sales down almost 8 percent this year and single downloads continuing to rise, the $34
billion recording industry is in a fix. How can it keep consumers buying compact discs, which account
for the bulk of the industry's revenue, but still satisfy the expanding audience that wants to cherry-
pick hit singles? In a nod to the inevitable, labels are working to make more single tracks available
through downloading, subscription services and even deals that one day will allow consumers to
download music onto cellphones. At the same time, the industry appears to be placing its larger bet
this summer on the familiar names they think still have the power to sell entire CDs - from Coldplay's
adult-friendly ``X&Y'' to Bruce Springsteen's acoustic ``Devils & Dust.'' Which poses a crucial question for consumers: Is it worth buying the whole CD - or just a song or
two? To find out, Weekend Journal asked retailers, radio programmers and record company
executives to help us sort through summer's big releases for a good cross-section of rock, country,
pop and hip-hop. Then we ran the albums by a few of the most experienced ears in the industry,
including the colorful Walter Yetnikoff, former CBS Records chief executive; Emmanuel ``E-Man''
Coquia, music director at Power 106 FM in Los Angeles, an influential hip-hop station; and ``American
Idol'' judge Randy Jackson, who is a producer and musician. The panelists weighed in in favor of buying rock group Nine Inch Nails' new ``With Teeth,'' even
though the band is encouraging fans to download the album's remixable cuts ``Only'' and ``The Hand
That Feeds'' for free, using Apple's GarageBand or other specialized software. On the other hand, they gave a thumbs down to the Foo Fighters' two-CD set, which sold more than 500,000 copies in its
first three weeks in stores. (Their complaint: not enough material to fill two full CDs.) These days, even recording-industry executives acknowledge privately they alienated some
consumers by resisting single-song sales for so long - frustrating people who felt they had to pay $15
for a full CD when all they wanted was a single cut. But analysts believe that change is afoot. ``We're
going to see a lot of pop music returning to singles, and that's going to shake up the industry,'' says
David Card, a senior analyst at Jupitermedia Corp.'s Jupiter Research. Nearly all of the labels are
trying to make music available in as many forms as possible, starting with more product on services
such as iTunes, which sells about four-fifths of all legal music downloads, as well as Napster,
Rhapsody and AOL. Most of these services charge 99 cents a song, with Wal-Mart's rate a dime
cheaper. Napster, Yahoo and Rhapsody offer ``all you can eat'' subscriptions, where consumers pay a flat
monthly fee between $6 and $15 for access to an unlimited amount of music. As for the cellphone
downloads, they're still a ways off. The plan eventually is for consumers to be able to download songs
from a special service, directly to handsets - just as they do with MP3 players. (The phones will
probably have limited ability to store songs, more along the lines of Apple's iPod Shuffle). Apple and
Motorola have built a prototype for a hybrid iPod-cellphone, but its commercial rollout has been
delayed. For now, record executives are sticking to CDs because that's where the bulk of their revenue lies -
even though the margins on digital sales are better than CDs. On average, labels collect $10 to $12 a
unit on CDs that retail for an average $15, but they have to pay for manufacturing and shipping, and
handle unsold discs returned by retailers. Digital sales sidestep those costs, plus the industry takes in
at least 80 cents for a track that sells for 99 cents online. Still, even a recent optimistic forecast from
PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that by 2006, digital sales (including cellphone ringtones) will account
for no more than 25 percent of the industry's projected $42 billion global revenues. In Los Angeles, Ms. Greeven says she heads to the music store for ideas. Proof in point: In a blue
mood a couple of weeks ago, Ms. Greeven was wandering through a Virgin Megastore when she
stepped up to a CD listening station and heard a dance song. ``It lifted my spirits so much, I ended up
spending over $100.'' Here are a dozen summer releases from the best-known names in rock, country and pop, with
suggested retail prices - typically, stores charge less - plus our panelists' take. Audioslave ``Out of Exile'' (Interscope/Epic), $19.98 One way to get fans to buy albums? Give your music away - at a concert. ``Out of Exile'' made its
debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart last month, thanks in part to two free performances
by this alternative rock band. The first concert, which attracted nearly 10,000 fans, was held on a
closed-down Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Calif.; the second was in Havana, Cuba, where MTV
covered the event as news and broadcast the music to American fans. Like the audience in Cuba, where no major U.S. rock band had played before, panelist Mr. Yetnikoff,
72 years old, was unfamiliar with Audioslave. Judging from the band's name, he thought the music
was going to be electronic. Instead, ``it's old-fashioned rock and roll, with a very good lead singer,'' he
says. The group's guitar riffs inspired panelist Randy Jackson to pay Audioslave a high rock
compliment: ``Led Zeppelin rides again.'' VERDICT: Our panel liked the title cut best, and all recommended buying the disc. The Black Eyed Peas ``Monkey Business'' (A&M), $13.98 This rap group seems to have learned about appealing to a broader audience with its previous album,
``Elephunk.'' To get more airplay for one of that album's songs, ``Let's Get Retarded,'' the Peas changed
the title and lyrics to ``Let's Get It Started'' - and ended up winning a Grammy for it this year. The
group filled its third album with peppy tunes such as ``Don't Phunk With My Heart,'' which is No. 6 on
Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart. Mr. Jackson thought the music, a blend of light disco and hip-hop,
was very danceable, and especially liked the songs ``Pump It'' and ``My Style.'' One odd tune is ``Bebot,'' sung entirely in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines. (It was the
brainchild of the Pea named apl.de.ap, who is Filipino.) The song was Greek to our panelist E-Man, a
Filipino who doesn't speak the language. Still, he dubbed the song catchy. VERDICT: Buy the album - unless you just don't like rap. Coldplay ``X&Y'' (Capitol), $18.98 Although it was recently knocked out of its first-place perch on the Billboard 200 album chart by
country singer George Strait's ``Somewhere Down in Texas,'' Coldplay's ``X&Y'' has sold 1.5 million
copies in the U.S. since its release in June. That makes it one of the biggest rock releases of summer,
along with its now-ubiquitous hit single, ``Speed of Sound.'' The album got a boost over July Fourth
weekend when the band, led by Gwyneth Paltrow's husband, Chris Martin, sang at the Live 8 concert
in London. Mr. Jackson describes the album's thoughtful, hum-along rock - on sale at Starbucks
around the country - as if it were a latte: ``It's music to soothe and enlighten you,'' he says. And it's
less edgy than the band's last album, 2002's ``A Rush of Blood to the Head,'' panelist E-Man says. VERDICT: Buy the album - though if you're simply looking to keep up, check out ``Speed of Sound,''
``Fix You'' and the title track. Foo Fighters ``In Your Honor'' (RCA), $19.98 Bands make television appearances all the time to promote new albums, but Foo Fighters, led by
former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, took things a step further - by hosting a 24-hour gig on MTV2.
In a separate tack, the group posted a lengthy account of the appearance in an online diary, including
behind-the-scenes descriptions of TV production. The upshot: The two-CD release (one acoustic, the
other their usual, louder rock) sold more than a half a million copies in its first three weeks in stores.
Still, our panel thought the two-disc set could have been pared to one. ``You could have chosen five
songs from each and made a good record,'' says Mr. Jackson. VERDICT: Download ``Best of You'' and ``The Last Song.'' Gorillaz ``Demon Days'' (Capitol), $18.98 Promoting Gorillaz has been a slightly complicated proposition since the band started. That's because
technically, the band doesn't exist: The rap-meets-rock music on its first album and the new ``Demon
Days'' is performed by Damon Albarn (the former lead singer of British rock band Blur) and a rotating
cast of collaborators. But it is officially credited to a quartet of animated, futuristic street urchins with
names such as 2D and Murdoc. Our panelists were mostly positive about Gorillaz's spacey beats and
surreal lyrics, which alternate singing and rapping. The disc made its debut in Billboard's Top 10, but
sales have been slow since the release, hovering in the 330,000 range. VERDICT: Download ``Dirty Harry,'' ``Feel Good Inc.'' ``Dare,'' ``El Manana.'' Toby Keith ``Honky Tonk University'' (Dreamworks Nashville), $13.98 After years of toiling in Nashville semi-obscurity, country singer Toby Keith rose to stardom in 2002,
thanks to the hyper-patriotic ``Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).'' With his
third post-Sept. 11, 2001, album, ``Honky Tonk University,'' Mr. Keith starts with a title track nod to
``my boys in Afghanistan and Baghdad City,'' but then tries to broaden his appeal. A duet with
honky-tonk legend Merle Haggard, ``She Ain't Hooked on Me No More,'' for instance, plays on the 12-
step language of addiction-recovery. That song appealed to Mr. Yetnikoff, ``because I'm an addict
myself.'' (His memoir chronicled his battle with substance abuse.) He dismisses the effort's slicked-up
twang as ``cowboy, not country.'' VERDICT: Skip the album. For a more authentic honky-tonk sound, check out Dwight Yoakam's latest,
``Blame the Vain.'' Dave Matthews Band ``Stand Up'' (RCA), $18.98 For his seventh studio album, South African-born Mr. Matthews adds a few hip-hop touches to his
funk and Celtic rock show - with the help of Mark Baston, the sometime-producer of rapper Eminem.
But his fans won't be too surprised by ``Stand Up,'' which sticks pretty close to his past efforts (Mr.
Jackson compares him to '70s bands such as Yes and Kansas). Our panelists unanimously said to skip
the CD. ``If you like Dave Matthews, you'll probably like this record,'' says Mr. Yetnikoff, who says he
finds Mr. Matthews' voice bland and uncompelling. ``I'm not wild about it.'' VERDICT: Fans should download ``Dreamgirl'' and ``American Baby,'' which have classic Matthews
sound. Otherwise, skip it. Lizz Wright ``Dreaming Wide Awake'' (Verve/Forecast), $15.98 In the three years since singer Norah Jones became an out-of-nowhere success story, the music
industry has been looking for another superstar with Ms. Jones's dusky, bluesy, jazz-meets-soft rock
appeal. With her second album, Ms. Wright becomes the latest entrant in that derby. She has a
throatier, more powerful alto than Ms. Jones, and occasionally conjures up Tracy Chapman (where Ms.
Jones has been compared with Carole King). Ms. Wright hasn't come remotely close to matching Ms.
Jones's massive sales totals (nearly 30 million for Ms. Jones; about 19,000 for Ms. Wright). But Ms.
Jones was anything but an overnight phenomenon, and the critical word-of-mouth on Ms. Wright is
strong. VERDICT: Buy the album, or get a taste from ``Without You'' (written by frequent Norah Jones
collaborator Jesse Harris) and ``Chasing Strange.'' Missy Elliott ``The Cookbook'' (Goldmind/Atlantic), $18.98 Not many singers in today's svelte-obsessed, pop-culture world could score a Top 10 single with the
opening lines, ``I've got a cute face/chubby waist/thick legs.'' But that's what rapper Missy Elliott of
Virginia Beach, Va., has done with ``Lose Control,'' the first single from her sixth album. An eclectic
mix of influences - rap, R&B and horror-movie strings - the album has a smoother sound than earlier
efforts. E-Man, the hip-hop station music director, thinks that's a good thing, and singled out
``Meltdown,'' the string-heavy ``On & On'' and the stripped-down ``Irresistible Delicious'' and ``We
Run This.'' ``Lose Control,'' he says, lives up to its title, declaring the dance tune ``out of control.'' VERDICT: Buy it if you don't mind the sex-heavy lyrics and fast pace of the rap. Nine Inch Nails ``With Teeth'' (Interscope), $13.98 Talk about keeping your enemy close. To promote ``With Teeth,'' Nine Inch Nails is telling fans to not
only to download two tracks (``Only'' and ``The Hand That Feeds'') but to remix them with various
software programs, including one that comes free with current Apple computers. So far, thousands of
fans have - and posted the results on various Web sites. They bought more than 271,000 copies of
the CD during its first week in stores, enough to give it a No. 1 chart debut at the end of May on the
Billboard 200 album sales chart. The band's leader, Trent Reznor, while impressed by the turnout,
seems ambivalent about what he heard. ``I've enjoyed and cringed at what you've done with my
song,'' he wrote in a posting on the band's Web site. ``Thank you (I think).'' The album itself, which
was six years in the making, is on the experimental side, and heavy on the keyboards - a reflection of
Mr. Reznor's emotional honesty, says panelist Mr. Jackson. ``It's like a view inside his mind.'' VERDICT: Difficult, but rewarding. If you like a challenge, buy the album. Bruce Springsteen ``Devils & Dust'' (Columbia), $18.98 As befits an album of quiet ballads, Bruce Springsteen's ``Devils & Dust'' was at one point slated for
sale at Starbucks. But according to executives at other labels, the coffee chain pulled the disc at the
last minute, after discovering some graphic references to prostitution in the song ``Reno.'' Starbucks
denies this, saying the CD was pulled because of logistical concerns. Mr. Yetnikoff, who for many years as president of CBS Records oversaw the distribution and
marketing of Mr. Springsteen's music, isn't sold on the album. In Mr. Springsteen's early days, he
says, ``there was a real youthful kind of energy: 'Put your hands around my engine, baby, we were
born to run.' I don't think he's quite in that groove any more.'' Nevertheless, the album has performed well as a disc of solo, acoustic-guitar tunes - including one
week at No. 1 on the Billboard album sales chart. And Mr. Jackson is high on it. ``Always, always pick
up Bruce Springsteen,'' he says, citing as favorites the title track, ``Reno,'' and ``Long Time Comin'.''
``It's like buying equity in a legend.'' VERDICT: Mr. Jackson says The Boss is ``the real deal.'' Buy the album. The White Stripes ``Get Behind Me Satan'' (Third Man/V2), $18.98. The White Stripes have added a few new instruments - marimba and piano - to a stripped-down
two-person act of drums and guitar. And kept their ear for publicity, too. In the days before the
album's release, Jack White, who at times has claimed to be the brother of bandmate Meg White
(they're ex-spouses), married model Karen Elson in a ceremony in the Amazon jungle, according to
Mr. White's press representatives. Ms. Elson also appears in ``Get Behind Me Satan'''s first music
video. That stunt helped boost the band's profile enough for the album to come out of the gate at No. 3 on
the pop charts, the Stripes' best debut to date. And the music's really good, says our panel, comparing
the music to swaggering '70s arena rock. Mr. Jackson says this is ``the way music should be created,
with joy of soul and passion and reckless abandon.'' VERDICT: These two have talent. Buy the album. Classical and Jazz The summer season has a range of classical and jazz music, too, from opera singer Renee Fleming's
interpretation of pop songs to Sony Classical's collection of suitable highbrow music for driving. Here
is a sample. Robert J. Hughes ARTIST: Bryn Terfel ALBUM/LABEL: Silent Noon (Deutsche Grammophon), $16.98 COMMENTS: The popular Welsh bass-baritone sings English song by modern composers such as
Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams. ARTIST: Yo-Yo Ma, The Silk Road Ensemble ALBUM/LABEL: Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon (Sony Classical), $18.98 COMMENTS: Cellist Yo-Yo Ma's second album of music from the famous ``Silk Road'' trade route from
Asia to the Middle East. New age classical. ARTIST: The Harp Consort, Andrew Lawrence-King and others ALBUM/LABEL: Les Travailleurs de la Mer (Harmonia Mundi), $17.98 COMMENTS: This offbeat CD features harps, bagpipes, fiddles and other sounds of the Normandy coast
- a kind of Celtic version of Gregorian chants. ARTIST: Duke Ellington ALBUM/LABEL: The Essential Duke Ellington (Columbia/Legacy), $24.98 COMMENTS: A 2-CD set of remastered recordings from various Ellington orchestras and others who
played his compositions. ARTIST: Bill Charlap ALBUM/LABEL: Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin (Blue Note), $17.98 COMMENTS: The jazz pianist does Gershwin. Swinging singles include ``How Long Has This Been Going
On'' and ``Somebody Loves Me.'' ARTIST: Paavo Jarvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra ALBUM/LABEL: Peer Gynt (Virgin Classics), $16.98 COMMENTS: There are other abridged versions of ``Peer Gynt,'' but this one, which runs about an
hour, includes vocals. ARTIST: Thomas Ades, Arditti Quartet and others ALBUM/LABEL: Ades Piano Quintet, Schubert 'Trout' Quintet (EMI Classics), $16.98 COMMENTS: Young English composer Thomas Ades (his opera of ``The Tempest'' gets its American
premiere next season) is also an accomplished pianist. ARTIST: Renee Fleming, with Bill Frisell and Fred Hersch ALBUM/LABEL: Haunted Heart/(Decca), $17.98 COMMENTS: The latest in a series of classical performers to try their hand at pop tunes, Ms. Fleming
here sings the Beatles' ``In My Life'' and Joni Mitchell's ``River.'' ARTIST: Various Artists ALBUM/LABEL: Drive Time: Miles of Great Music (Sony Classical), $11.98 COMMENTS: For summer driving, Sony Classical has put together four road-trip CDs. Sample: For the
Pacific Coast Highway, try Beethoven's ``Pastoral'' symphony. ARTIST: Joe Lovano ALBUM/LABEL: Joyous Encounter (Blue Note), $17.98 COMMENTS: The jazz saxophonist and an acclaimed quartet perform standards such as ``Autumn in
New York'' and ``Don't Ever Leave Me.''
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