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It's very hard to say.... as you might know, record company accounting practices are full of twists and turns and weird "rules" and all sorts of legalities, to the point where just about any album could be shown to be a money loser if it serves the company's wishes.No doubt, every Carpenters' album, by this time, is profitable--regardless of its RIAA Status.
Some perspective:
Page 82, On Record-Rock, Pop and the Written Word (Simon Frith,2000)
states that the " break-even point for album sales in late 1970's was approximately 100,000 copies sold."
This number reflects cost of production versus actual sales to consumers.
Made In America sold (at least) 60,000 copies in the UK (1981)
and, Adam, as you say, 10,000 copies in Japan (1981).
In USA, the album was at Billboard chart position #62 after eight weeks, and #52--its peak-- the previous week.
(Obviously, at that time, it had failed to 'go USA Gold'.)
Passage peaked at #49 USA, and fell short of Gold status, at that time.
Kind of Hush certified USA Gold, and peaked at chart #33 (In Japan 80,000, UK 100,000.....in need of citation)
Coleman (page 289):
"...Made In America joined the long list of records that were very profitable, both for A&M and for the Carpenters."
I suppose one could make the case that all Carpenters albums were profitable.
However, that, and the statement from Coleman, fail to paint an accurate reflection
of the historical (at the time of release) picture. (production and marketing costs, actual sales, returns.....etc.)
For instance, as we know from Richard Carpenter, Made In America was also the most expensive to produce. (Actual Cost Unknown ?).
LP The Singles 1974-1978 , A&M budgeted upwards of $550,000 plus for marketing, it went Platinum UK=300,000 copies.
As Alpert remarks: " The big joke in the Industry was shipping an album Gold, and it was returned Platinum." (A&M 25th Ann. Book)
" By 1979, A&M Records nearly went bankrupt." (page 138, Top 40 Democracy, Univ. Chicago Press 2014, Weisbard)
"Sales slumped 20% between 1979 and 1982" (ibid.,page 145)
"A&M found itself buried in returned product." (ibid.,page 145).
Now, who says this is all Black and White?
Just using simple math: if MIA cost upwards of $500,000 to produce, and given that in 1981 (if memory serves me correctly) new releases sold in the $10-$12 range then MIA could have "broke even" at about 60,000 copies sold. I do remember somewhere (maybe on this site somewhere) it being stated that MIA sold a miserable 125,000 copies or so? Again, I'm just thinking out loud and not doing any deep research here; but if that is the case, then A&M made at least $1.2 million in sales minus the $500K to produce it. Or a "profit" of about $700,000. At a 7% royalty, K&R shared about $50,000 from sales. Not huge, but "profitable" nonetheless. Not sure what the retail store mark-up would have profited the stores, but I think you get the idea. This does not count the sales of singles such as "Touch Me" which would have just been icing on the cake, in a sense. Does this make sense?
Was inflation the culprit prompting RC's most expensive production comment? I don't see where the money was spent. They saved a bundle with '78s I BELIEVE YOU inclusion and the lovely WHEN IT'S GONE is a stark production. Where's the beef said Clara back in the day?
Jeff
They did record a lot of tracks for the album though (pretty much double what appeared on the released album), which would have clocked up the studio hours and it was a fairly slow album to produce - Richard spent the best part of a year on it. I imagine that burnt through a fair few dollars...
As Richard has said, only one song on Voice Of The Heart was finished, the rest required additional work to complete them in 1983 and most of those came from MIA sessions.
I remember the state of inflation in the U.S. being associated with the earlier 70's. The 80's were more associated in my mind with 'Reaganonics' and an emergence from inflation. But I was a kid in the early 70's so my recollection is of how tight my parents' budget was at that time. Being a young adult in the 80's, I recall we were not told to conserve resources all the time, like we were taught as school children, and people returned to more normal spending. I know I was thrilled when my parents were able to find the money for the occasional concert tickets.Was inflation the culprit prompting RC's most expensive production comment? I don't see where the money was spent. They saved a bundle with '78s I BELIEVE YOU inclusion and the lovely WHEN IT'S GONE is a stark production. Where's the beef said Clara back in the day?
MIA-total sales are approx.500,000 as of 1992-but the album only sold between 200,000-300,000 in 1981.Just using simple math: if MIA cost upwards of $500,000 to produce, and given that in 1981 (if memory serves me correctly) new releases sold in the $10-$12 range then MIA could have "broke even" at about 60,000 copies sold. I do remember somewhere (maybe on this site somewhere) it being stated that MIA sold a miserable 125,000 copies or so? Again, I'm just thinking out loud and not doing any deep research here; but if that is the case, then A&M made at least $1.2 million in sales minus the $500K to produce it. Or a "profit" of about $700,000. At a 7% royalty, K&R shared about $50,000 from sales. Not huge, but "profitable" nonetheless. Not sure what the retail store mark-up would have profited the stores, but I think you get the idea. This does not count the sales of singles such as "Touch Me" which would have just been icing on the cake, in a sense. Does this make sense?
"Look To Your Dreams" was finished in 1978.Likely came up before but which tune was finished already? Sailing?
Ed