H&F sold about 6 millions copies, UTIS more than 2 million and PS, only 700 thousand

Does it look like there are less people that like keane now?. Maybe H&F was such a comercial hit just because of Everybody's changing and Somewhere only we know...

daniel_san_18:

 H&F sold about 6 millions copies, UTIS more than 2 million and PS, only 700 thousand

Does it look like there are less people that like keane now?. Maybe H&F was such a comercial hit just because of Everybody's changing and Somewhere only we know...

 

You must remember that across the years there are more piracy than past years, i think is more that than other kind of troubles relating to fans, a lot of people see as more cheaper and easy to buy there music illegal that in the legal way :) and fans are not the exception too.

That's a good point, yamkeane. I mentioned before in another post that Keane might be building up another audience with "Perfect Symmetry" since it combines all these musical styles in addition to a retro 80's pop dance appeal which is I think is pretty big in the States.

Yeah, there is so much more illegal downloading now- in 2004, downloading had really only started to become popular, but by 2006 downloading was very common- i think UTIS would have sold 4 million if it wasn't for illegal downloading, and Perfect Symmetry probably would have solf over a million by now. Also, Hopes and Fears would probably have reached the 10 million mark by now if it wasn't for illegal downloads.

I think it's more than just illegal downloads.  How many of us actually buy our CDs brand-new, in a store at full price?  I sure don't. 

Most of my CDs I have bought off of eBay or through Amazon and their sellers.  Unless you are buying new from Amazon itself, I doubt that the sale is being tallied as part of the overall sales of an album. 

Oddly enough, my regular "Perfect Symmetry" was bought at full price, but that's because it was a gift.   The deluxe version and the singles I bought from eBay sellers.  I am loathe to pay $20 for a CD.  And a lot of my local retailers (record shops and Target for example) don't carry many singles, unless they are top 10.  So Amazon and eBay are my go-to sites for a lot of CDs.

Then there's iTunes.  If I buy a song individually off iTunes, how is that calculated for the purposes of sales?  I'd bet a lot of folks bought the album off iTunes.  Would those sales have been tallied?

I think you're all right, hey when did Richard say "is that supossed to be on fire?"?...

In the "Strangers" DVD, as they are getting off a bus.  The wheel appears to be aflame.

  of course is less because of the guitars. 

genex:

  of course is less because of the guitars. 

 

I don't think so....or I certainly hope not anyway. I'm sure the use of guitars isn't to everyone's liking, but I really don't think album sales has anything to do with a few instrumentation changes. I agree that I think it's more to do with the rise of downloading, and I'm guessing the economy isn't helping either.

 

Dionysia:

In the "Strangers" DVD, as they are getting off a bus.  The wheel appears to be aflame.

That sure was funny! xD

genex:

  of course is less because of the guitars. 

And Jesse's bass.

 

(I'm kidding, of course.)

Besides like people says upstairs, the band has change the music very much if we compare like the under the iron sea album and hopes and fears (the difference between "under the iron sea" and "hopes and fears" was important, but it was always stick in the same road for say something, i mean, always was a piano band, but dark colors of his style and music, the difference was the distorcion piano of tim more than anything), and now is more 80's and now there is another member (jesse), the colors of today wasn't in the other previous albums and that determinate a diferent point of view of the fans of the previous album styles too, today is no more a only piano band, there is a balance between guitar and piano (synths too but on this time is playing like 1st person and not as a backup sound like previous albums)

Maybe this new album instead of bringing more fans, attainment have fewer fans than before, but that is a risk every band most take when change so much is way of performing

 Cos PS is not as good.

Dionysia:

How many of us actually buy our CDs brand-new, in a store at full price?  I sure don't. 

Depends on the artist and if they deserve my support (or I think they deserve my support).
But I agree with the rest of your points. Cos I do that too. But again, depends on the artist and if I actually want a physical to pet.

I should clarify that I do still buy the physical CDs, just not at full price from a brick-and-mortar retailer.  I rarely buy an album entirely digitally.  I still want the CD in my collection.

 

b0red:

 Cos PS is not as good.

I wouldn't say that's the main reason...So, you don't like PS..?

 Nope. And I know lots of others that don't like it either. And people who do like it say they don't like it near as much as the other 2 and it is not as good as the others but they do like it (wow wallowords).
I wouldn't say it's the *main* reason but it def is a factor. I hear/see more negative than positive.

b0red:

Nope. And I know lots of others that don't like it either. And people who do like it say they don't like it near as much as the other 2 and it is not as good as the others but they do like it (wow wallowords).
I wouldn't say it's the *main* reason but it def is a factor. I hear/see more negative than positive.

Yeah, I like PS but I don't think it's as good as the other albums. From the point of view of the band I can understand why they feel it's their best album yet. From a quality perspective I have to disagree though.

I don't think they've lost tons and tons of fans in general, but I really doubt they've gained as many as they seemed to think early on in the tour either. Losing some amount of fans was always inevitable, but I bet people who have moved on from Keane still have something by them in their collections. So at least they can still appreciate the music they've made in the past and that seems perfectly fine to me.

Well, it's good that we have critical ears and don't feel the need to candy coat anything but can still remain Keane enthusiasts. I said before that I'm a new fan and first heard of Keane through a dance music remix but what made me want to know more about them was their original sound and the fact that they didn't need a guitar to make good music. I feel that a lot of DJ's and electronica types have a similar musical philosophy too. All in all, I have to say that despite my admiration of the band's experimentation on PS and some stellar tracks on this recent album, I personally like them best when they highlight the distorted piano, on-point rhythms, and breathless, intimate vocals on the older albums.

Maybe they are testing their fanbase? Maybe they just want to have fun?

b0red:

 Nope. And I know lots of others that don't like it either. And people who do like it say they don't like it near as much as the other 2 and it is not as good as the others but they do like it (wow wallowords).
I wouldn't say it's the *main* reason but it def is a factor. I hear/see more negative than positive.

Not everyone who likes it, says that. I've heard lots of people saying that it is their best album so far. I love it as much as the other 2 and I know many people who do it to, and even many people who like it more than the other two. I'm not saying that everyone likes it, because I also know a few people who don't like it but, there are a lot of people who do.
And maybe this cd sold less than the other but aren't all the cds selling less than before? And besides H&F was the big revelation, the huge success and had a lot of sales, then UTIS was released short after H&F, when everyone was still keen on Keane (sorry), they had great advertising and all that...then two years had passed when they released PS, things had happened. Many people I know had forgotten about Keane. They had too little advertising this time and the songs aren't so "likeable" as the others when you listen to them first. It took me time to like the songs as much as I liked the old ones and now, I love them! I think I can say that PS is my favourite CD.

Everyone knows Melanie doesn't like PS. :P

I guess the reasons are at least:

1. Decline of sales in the CD market (and digital downloading is not capable of replacing the loss)

2. H&F went massive because the time was good for them (the rise of British indie rock in year 2004)

3. Bad selection of singles from the album

4. Not-well received nor organized promotion

5. Damage on the image of the posh and clean (lol) band Keane (the well documented problem in 2006) If you want you can add the use of guitars here. :P

By the way I don't think "number of CD sales" = fans, and it is not proportional to the quality of the album. Good albums don't always sell well.