[originally published 07/17/07](antiMusic) It seems that people are opting for classic hard rock and metal CDs over most generic "new" music. This according to a report by the Associated Press. While record companies try to fathom reasons why people aren't buying their "new" product, by ignoring the most logical explanation and looking to court tweens to help pick up their bottom lines, it appears that music from other eras where A&R people took chances on bands that didn't sound like everyone else and bands were allowed to develop a fanbase over several albums is still attracting a lot of buyers. Twenty-Seven years after its release, AC/DC's Back in Black is still selling almost enough copies a year to qualify for a gold record. Last year while we were treated to dozens of sound-alike emo bands that didn't sell many CDs, AC/DC's landmark album managed to sell 440,000 copies in the US.
While [insert silly multi-worded name here] was struggling to attract the attention of TRL girls, other albums from long-ago were also moving pretty heavy numbers. Metallica's jump to the commercial mainstream, aka The Black Album was added to the CD collections of 275,000 US music fans last year and Guns 'N Roses debut which broke records when it was released in 1987 is still a hot seller, welcoming 113,000 more people to the jungle last year. And the album that killed "hair metal" and touched off the grunge trend of the early 90s (Nirvana's Nevermind) is still going strong with 143,000 copies sold last year.- - more on this story
