Bruce Springsteen Forum

Columbia Records has chosen to pit Bruce Springsteen against the return of Matchbox Twenty, Annie Lennox and Faith Hill's catalog rather than go up against the commercial juggernauts Rascal Flatts, James Blunt and the Foo Fighters.
But by choosing an Oct. 2 release date rather than Sept. 25, the first Springsteen and the E Street Band album in five years lands outside this year''s Grammy eligibility period. Even unheard, the album, with the rather dull title of "Magic," would be a prime contender for rock and general awards.
But I figure the Springsteen camp isn't about to let that happen.

Although the official announcement issued Thursday made no mention of a single or any special online releases, there's good possibility "Magic" could pull a little something out of the hat and appear on online services by Sept. 30, the actual cut-off date for 2007 Grammy Awards eligibility. Springsteen and the music industry's top awards, in this day and age, need each other.
The whole point of releasing a track or album against the awards deadline is no different than Oscar-oriented release schedules: If an artist's song is on the radio when the ballots are issued, it feels fresher than a 6-month-old tune that some voters may feel is stale.
Springsteen is exactly the type of performer that Grammy Awards needs for its 50th anniversary edition. The voting body loves those who persevere and take stand - witness last year's romp by the Dixie Chicks. He would up the awards' credibility factor with the general public and an E Street Band appearance on the telecast would be a strong selling point for the core CBS audience that grew u on "Born in the USA," "Born to Run" and his unparalleled live shows. Springsteen appeared on the telecast several years ago in an impressive tribute to the late Joe Strummer and his work with the Clash, making it clear he's not averse to that type of appearance.
While Springsteen and the E Street Band is a holy grail for concert promoters, there continue to be question marks regarding his ability to sell albums. For "The Rising," Springsteen did more pre-release promotional efforts for that disc than any other in his career. Media powers that be are still mighty impressed by the man and he will certainly have his pick of outlets in September for perfs and interviews.
Certainly, Columbia Records wants to see "Magic" atop the Nielsen SoundScan chart in the second week of October and that may be one tough feat.
Were "Magic" released on Sept. 25, not only would it not open at No. 1 due to Rascal Flatts, it could be derailed by albums in their third and fourth weeks (Kanye West's "Graduation," "High School Musical 2"). Rascal Flatts had last year's biggest sales week - nearly three-quarters of a million sold - and posted the highest sales tally for a single artist album for the year. Rapper West and the country trio are the rare acts that could approach million sales in a single sales frame; Springsteen and the E Streeters, on name alone, should do about half that. Topping Faith Hill's "Hits" seems like a surer bet.



http://weblogs.variety.com/thesetlist/2 ... ns-ma.html