Chinese Democracy Failed

Chinese Democracy was one of the most anticipated albums ever and was poised to set sales records. The numbers are now in, and they are disappointing. What went wrong? Many are blaming Axl Rose for the poor sales numbers for Chinese Democracy, claiming that he did not do enough promotion for the album. But, here are a few interesting facts:

1.) "Chinese Democracy," "Guns N' Roses," and related terms were all in the most-searched terms on places like Twitter, Google, etc around the week of release. People were talking about it.

2.) The album was streamed millions of times on MySpace in a few days. People were listening to it.

3.) Axl has been talking about new songs for Chinese Democracy for over 15 years and promising an imminent release more than once. People did know about the album.

I have more than one guess as to why the new Guns N' Roses did not blow the world out of the water with sales numbers. I do not believe this was an issue of poor promoting. My best guess is that the content was not there. The songs were outdated and simply could not live up to the hype created. After millions listened to the album on MySpace, they realized that it wasn't that special, and therefore did not rush out to purchase it. Sure it has its moments, but the album simply became a victim of too much promotion spread over 15 years. Agree or disagree?

Dr. Pepper Tells The Truth

A big promise will be kept. Dr. Pepper told America that if Chinese Democracy actually came out this year, they would give everyone in America a free soda. Almost everyone was skeptical of a 2008 release of the long-awaited Guns N' Roses album, but even more were doubting that Dr. Pepper would make good on their claim if the album somehow managed to be released. When the band announced that on November 25th Best Buy would exclusively release the new disc, Dr Pepper was faced with a choice. Looks like the made the right one. Soon everyone in America will be able to visit the Dr. Pepper website and receive a free can of soda.

Free Dr. Pepper?

In May of this year, Dr. Pepper offered a challenge to Gun's N' Roses: a free can of Dr. Pepper to everyone in America (except former GNR members) if Gun's N' Roses released their album "Chinese Democracy" before the end of 2008. Sounds like a great PR idea, right? The album has been in the works since 1991 with little sign that it would be coming out this year.

“It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love,” Dr Pepper director of marketing Jaxie Alt says. “So we completely understand and empathize with Axl’s quest for perfection — for something more than the average album. We know once it’s released, people will refer to it as ‘Dr Pepper for the ears’ because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic.”

This PR stunt garnered a lot of attention and seemed like a brilliant move for Dr. Pepper...until today. Guns N' Roses announced that "Chinese Democracy" will be coming out Nov. 23rd exclusively through Best Buy.

So where is the free Dr. Pepper? 300 million Americans are waiting...

5 easy steps on how to get sued as a blogger

1. Create a blog. (www.antiquiet.com)
2. Post content that attracts people. (music reviews and news)
3. Take a CD that has been in the making for over a decade and stream the tracks online. (Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy")
4. Get massive traffic on your blog. (Servers overloaded)
5. Get arrested. (at 6:59am in your pajamas)

A blogger who goes by the name Skwerl has been arrested for streaming 9 tracks off Guns N' Roses unreleased album Chinese Democracy. If convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison. Read the article from the Smoking Gun and follow updates from Skwerl's associates here.