A Welcome Sales Surge : Last-Minute Blitz in ’91 Gives Record Industry a Boost

The record industry moves into the new year on a “cautiously optimistic” note after a last-minute 1991 sales blitz that helped overcome what had been sluggish business during most of the year.

Thanks to sales spurts registered by such varied artists as pop icon Michael Jackson, underground rock group Nirvana and country sensation Garth Brooks, sales during the final five weeks of the year totaled an estimated $1.1 billion, up a modest 3.7% from the same period in 1990, sources said.

Surprisingly, it was Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Brooks’ “Ropin’ the Wind” that dominated the eleventh-hour shopping blitz that resulted in an estimated $600 million during the final two weeks of the year.

Other acts registering impressive sales over the five-week period ranged from rockers U2, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica to rapper Hammer and pop stylists Michael Bolton and Mariah Carey.

Retailers and record executives both see in this diversity a “healthy” and “fundamental” shift in consumer buying patterns.

“Musical tastes in America certainly seem to be opening up,” said Macey Lipman, whose Los Angeles marketing firm has monitored holiday record sales across the nation since 1983. “Sales of country music are soaring. Alternative rock, metal and rap are huge sellers too. Pop is only a part of the sales picture now. Frankly, it doesn’t seem as if radio is paying much attention to what consumers are buying these days.”

Retailers point to the success of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” on DGC Records--which captured the No. 1 spot last week on the nation’s pop charts and has sold more than 2.5 million copies since August--as evidence of hard-rock’s increasing sales punch.

Nirvana’s rise with its major label debut follows Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, both of whom obliterated one-week pop sales records earlier last year. Metallica’s “Metallica” album on Elektra--which was still the nation’s ninth best-selling album last week--has sold more than 3.4 million copies since its August release.

Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion II” and “Use Your Illusion I” on Geffen--which placed No. 7 and No. 8, respectively on last week’s pop chart--have ranked in the Top 20 since being released in September, chalking up more than 3.5 million and 3.1 million in sales, respectively.

However, country music appeared to be the biggest winner in the total 1991 sales contest. Retailers across the nation reported an upsurge in country sales throughout the year, with an influx of young pop fans purchasing an unprecedented number of albums by Brooks, Reba McEntire, Travis Tritt and Vince Gill.

Brooks--who currently has three albums in the pop Top 20--became the first country artist in history to debut at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s pop album chart. His latest collection, “Ropin’ the Wind,” has since sold more than 4 million copies.

“Country music made a big splash this year across the entire nation,” said Mike Shalett, chief operating officer of SoundScan, the New York company whose research is used in compiling the nation’s weekly pop charts. “So did alternative rock. But it’s not as if Michael Jackson and other pop artists have stopped selling.

“If anything, what the holiday sales numbers show us is that compared to other products, recorded music fared extremely well across the board this season.”

The holiday season opened strong for retailers on Thanksgiving weekend but slowed considerably throughout the month of December, picking up again just a few days before Christmas.

Many retailers expressed optimism that the year-end buying frenzy might translate into a strong showing in January, which is traditionally viewed as the second-biggest sales month.

Arnie Bernstein, executive vice president of Minneapolis-based Musicland Group, the nation’s largest record retail chain, is counting on Jackson--whose “Dangerous” has sold about 1.8 million copies since its November release--Brooks, Hammer and Guns N’ Roses to generate steady business throughout the first quarter.

“We believe that most of the current big-selling albums are loaded with untapped hit singles,” Bernstein said. “We’re optimistic that these albums have legs and anticipate that they will sell well long past January.”

Other potential big sellers for 1992 include Bolton’s “Time, Love and Tenderness” on Columbia, which has sold 4 million copies since April, and Hammer’s “Too Legit to Quit” on Capitol, which has sold 3 million copies since November.

Retailers also cite Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable” on Elektra, which has sold 3 million copies since June, and U2’s “Achtung Baby” on Island, which has sold 1.8 million since Nov. 19. Boyz II Men’s “Cooleyhighharmony” on Motown and Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” on Capitol are also selling swiftly.

But Jim Dobbe, vice president of sales merchandise at the 300-store, Torrance-based Wherehouse chain, warns it’s too early to declare the record business out of its 1991 slump.

“We’re being very conservative regarding our outlook on future sales,” Dobbe said. “We aren’t expecting any big wind to really kick in until June.

“Let’s face it. There’s a recession going on.”

Even if the year-end spurt helps the retail sales to slightly eclipse the $7-billion total established in 1990, the reason won’t be because more units were sold--but because of a continuing consumer shift from cassettes to CDs, which cost between $2 and $5 more than cassettes.

“The recession finally got us,” said Jason Berman, president of the Recording Assn. of America.

“Most of the record companies were forced to go through the agonizing process of downsizing in 1991.

“Now that that’s behind us, we’re hoping to make a better stand in 1992.”