THE YEAR IN POP MUSIC : Variety, Holiday Boom Makes for a Record Year

Albums by such diverse artists as pop diva Mariah Carey, rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and rockers Pearl Jam led a recording industry holiday sales surge that pushed business in 1993 to a record $8.7-billion level--an estimated 9% more than 1992.

“Diversity was definitely the key to 1993,” said Mike Shalett, chief operating officer of SoundScan, the New York research firm that compiles computerized sales data for the music industry.

“This was a year when we saw underground artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Pearl Jam hold their own against pop stars like Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. A year when two knuckleheads like Beavis and Butt-head ran neck and neck with a saloon crooner like Sinatra. I mean, how much more eclectic can it get?”

While Carey’s “Music Box” dominated sales during the final weeks of the holiday season, Whitney Houston’s “The Bodyguard” was the year’s top seller, accounting for 5.3 million units and more than $67 million in receipts.

After Houston, the best-selling albums of 1993 were: Janet Jackson’s “janet.,” 4.1 million; Kenny G’s “Breathless,” 3.7 million; Pearl Jam’s “Vs.,” 3.5 million; Carey’s “Music Box,” 3 million; Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged,” 2.8 million; Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” 2.8 million; Garth Brooks’ “In Pieces,” 2.6 million; Stone Temple Pilots’ “Core,” 2.5 million; and Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams,” 2.5 million.

Although figures are not yet available for the final week of the holiday season, industry sources estimate that consumers have purchased about 130 million albums since Thanksgiving. Retailers got their biggest sales gains the week ending Dec. 26 when customers bought about 31.8 million albums--an 8.5% increase above the 29.3 million units sold during the same period in 1992.

This year’s Top 40 list is packed full of surprises, including unexpected hits from acts such as Dr. Dre, Frank Sinatra, Stone Temple Pilots, Blind Melon, Meat Loaf and the soundtrack from the movie “Sleepless in Seattle.”

Many in the industry credit SoundScan with the high visibility of non-traditional artists in the pop market. In many cases under the industry’s old system, store personnel frequently under-reported sales of lesser-known artists, thus causing their showing on the prestigious pop chart to be lower than it should have been.

These artists fare much better under SoundScan because figures are entered into a computer every time a clerk runs an album through a bar code scanner at the sales register.

“Different kinds of music draw different kinds of people into record stores,” said Stan Goman, senior vice president of the Sacramento-based, 82-outlet Tower Records chain. “In 1993, the industry released a wide variety of powerful albums and that greatly expanded the demographic base of consumers willing to spend money on music.”

Mike Murray, vice president and general manager of the music division of the Ft. Lauderdale-based, 520-outlet Blockbuster chain, concurred.

“It wasn’t just the kids out there spending money last year on music,” Murray added. “We saw lots of their parents shopping and their parents’ parents shopping too.”

A survey conducted by Studio City-based Macey Lipman Marketing suggested an 18% increase in credit card usage among holiday shoppers who frequently purchased several CDs and cassettes at a time.

A panel of 200 retailers (representing more than 8,000 outlets) interviewed by Lipman were satisfied with sales in 1993, but cited concern about the growing threat of price-slashing from discount houses such as Target and Circuit City, who sell Top 40 compact discs below cost for $10.

“Record store owners are afraid this new trend is undermining the perceived value of the CD,” Lipman said. “The big fear is that consumers are getting the wrong impression that record retailers are cheating customers when in fact the discount houses are selling their compact discs at a loss.”

Jay Berman, chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Assn. of America, the Washington organization that represents the nation’s six largest record companies, said sales gains registered in the United States were also reflected around the world. International sales are expected to increase approximately 7% over last year’s $28.7-billion mark.

“1993 turned out to be a very strong year abroad as well as at home for the recording industry--particularly the fourth quarter,” Berman said. “And we’re confident that the momentum will maintain throughout next year. There are just so many incredible albums being released these days it makes everybody optimistic about the future.”

Other major sellers during 1993: the Spin Doctors’ “Pocket Full of Kryptonite” and Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell,” both 2.4 million; Aerosmith’s “Get a Grip,” 2.3 million; “Sleepless in Seattle” soundtrack, 2.2 million; Pearl Jam’s “Ten,” 2.1 million; Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Doggy Style,” Rod Stewart’s “Unplugged and Seated” and SWV’s “It’s About Time,” all 2.1 million; Sting’s “Ten Summoner’s Tales,” 2 million; Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Some Gave All,” Alan Jackson’s “Lot About Livin,” U2’s “Zooropa” and Frank Sinatra’s “Duets,” all about 1.8 million units.

Retailers said the year’s biggest superstar disappointment was Guns N’ Roses’ “The Spaghetti Incident,” which is sinking down the chart, selling only 760,000 copies since its Nov. 23 release.