Mr. J. , I will acquiesce ,at least partially, with your assessment regarding my harshness toward marketing by UMG.
Perhaps it is not lack of marketing, but mis-handling/marketing of their entire output. I truly want to emphasize the total musical output.
UMG did promote toward worldwide markets (particularly Japan) , but I still believe the USA market barely registers as promotion worthy.
Singles 1969-1973 (7.5x ) certified platinum April 16,1998
( UMG Purchased Polygram in 1998)
Love Songs Released March 24,1998 and Gold June 12,2000 (Copies sold 675,000)
Yesterday Once More Released April 28,1985 Gold April 16,1998 (2.3x platinum)
Gold Released February 2004 (525,000 sold)
Perhaps I am not stressing the point I intended to emphasize: Studio Albums by the duo were/are given scant mention in deference to compilations.
The Singles 1969-1973 is The LP that the general public remembers as Carpenters--those songs are what the general public remembers.
Too much of the general public perceives Carpenters as only 'the hits' packages which have been re-invented and re-released.
And, of course, that's how Carpenters are marketed.
I do not believe that 40/40 (Copies sold 30,000) or As Time Goes By (30,000) received much attention in the USA.
Richard was on QVC for 40/40 promotion in USA, but in the UK they got an entire TV Celebration (produced by UMG)
The Philippines also had an entire program devoted to Carpenters.
Most folks, in general ,in the US, they know Close To You and We've Only Just Begun; they do not know Rainbow Connection or album cuts.
Christmas Portrait, even though it sells every year, it should never be out of the top 20 at Christmas time.
Lack of Promotion (?)
That Christmas album, above all should receive heavy promotion every year (well, it irks me that it musters only #114 on the charts).
And, lets not forget, even Herb Alpert sued UMG, and won, because they broke a clause in the contract pertaining to A&M Records.
So, please forgive my tirade, but I contend that Something is not right.
Again,some of your statements aren't quite accurate.K&R's entire catalog was issued on CD in the 1980's-and remastered & reissued again in 1999.Their entire catalog was in print when Universal took over A&M in 2000.
Universal deleted several albums in 2006/2007 that evidently slowed down-sales wise.They might have a higher minimum sales quota for catalog albums than A&M/Polygram did-which would account for the fact that they were deleted.
But,K&R's catalog wasn't mishandled or mismarketed in any way-and the studio albums weren't neglected in deference to compilations,as you suggest.Until 2006,their entire catalog was always in print.
The fact that so many definitive compilations are available is the main reason why many of the studio albums slowed down in sales.
Your statement about the general public perceiving K&R as a "greatest hits package" artist is erroneous,also.Some of the studio albums are perennial bestsellers(and classics)-and are selling as well as the compilations.Close To You,Horizon & Christmas Portrait are their best-selling studio albums.
No A&M artist was given more attention to their catalog in the CD era than K&R.
Just this year, aren't Carpenters #32 in all-time top artists? For all years in all formats.
I'm just saying, I hear Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow, etc. every day on the radio,
Why not Karen & Richard Carpenter ?.
Billy Joel & Elton John are top-40 artists,K&R aren't.You will never hear K&R on a top-40 station,just as you will never hear Frank Sinatra or Barbra Streisand on a top-40 station.