Billboard and Nielsen have proven once again, through their annual list of the most powerful platforms in the promotion on music, that television is probably the biggest force behind music sales. Having an arena tour? Only no. 7 in the group's Top 10. We narrowed it down to the Top 5 to show you how much impact TV has.
5. "Home-page placement on iTunes"
Alright, so this first example isn't television-related. According to Billboard, iTunes was responsible for 41 percent of music retail last year. So it makes sense that when your song gets placed on the main page, it makes it that much simpler for consumers to purchase.
4. "Song in a TV commercial That Runs During a Special Event with Significant Viewership"
Billboard listed a few examples of "special events," but I think we all know what event brings in the bacon: The Super Bowl. Justin Timberlake was the winner last year, getting his single placed in both a Target and Bud Light Platinum ad. This model sounds optimal to us, and performers are essentially paid to do publicity for their own product as well.
3. "Performance on Saturday Night Live"
The pull of Saturday Night Live increased since the previous year, when it was ranked no. 5. Two examples that showed immediate turnaround after performing on the comedy program during 2013 were Of Monsters and Men and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The show's influence is also evident in the recent big names who've gone on to promote new albums. such as Eminem and Lady Gaga.
2. "Performance During The Grammy Awards"
Music sales might be down, but music award shows are still going up. The Grammys are still the main attraction, and last year's ceremony was the highest-viewed in 20 years. Although that show tends to feature already-established artists, Nielsen showed that appearing during the Grammys drove participants' album sales up by 17 percent.
1. "Performance During the Super Bowl Halftime Show"
There's no arguing with an 108 million person audience. Interestingly, it wasn't Beyoncé who received the biggest boost in sales however. Remember the bit where Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams came out for a temporary Destiny's Child reunion? That drove sales of the disbanded pop group's albums up 21 percent, and singles up 36 percent.
