Some Live 8 performers have seen their record sales rocket. But who will be giving their extra profits to charity, asks Jim Carroll
It was the perfect opportunity for the young band with the charismatic lead singer. Playing at the biggest live music event ever, with a huge worldwide audience watching on TV, this was a showcase that would catapult the band to global attention. It may have been a charity event but for this group it would prove to have a huge commercial knock-on effect.
Twenty years ago, U2 were the young band in question. In the aftermath of their Live Aid appearance, U2's record sales rocketed and their albums re-entered the UK top 50 in the weeks immediately following. They may have been a significant act before the event, but U2's real rise to mega-stardom began then.
This week, music industry observers have been seeking to establish which performers will benefit most from the Live 8 bounce. While Mariah Carey used her performance to blatantly plug her new single, most acts toed the line in keeping the focus on the issues at hand. But, while the events may have been about raising awareness about Africa, debt and trade, the day-long concerts and associated publicity turned out to be a huge promotional plus for many acts.
Pink Floyd's first live performance together since their acrimonious split in 1981 seems to have inspired many music fans to hit the shops. A snap-poll carried out by HMV indicated that sales of the band's Echoes greatest hits album increased by more than 1,300 per cent compared with the previous week, while Amazon.com reported significant increases in demand for such back-catalogue albums as The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. Other big retail winners post-Live 8 included The Who, Dido, Travis, Razorlight and Madonna.
HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said the poll showed that "the Live 8 concert is having a marked effect on sales of featured-artist recordings like its predecessor 20 years ago. Iconic acts such as Pink Floyd and The Who have done particularly well. It shows that when acts like these perform, it reminds everybody how fantastic they are."
Castaldo added that the Live 8 bounce would probably continue to have an effect on sales for some time. "It's likely that this impact will become more pronounced as more fans and record buyers respond to the combined effect of the weekend's televised event, the G8 summit and the ensuing publicity."
Such news is probably music to the ears of many in the record industry. Given how much moaning the industry has engaged in over the last few years about its woes - most of which have been self-inflicted - anything that boosts sales would be warmly welcomed in offices and boardrooms.
Yet Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour quickly pointed out that he himself did not wish to benefit from profits from these increased sales. "Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert," he said.
"If other artists feel like donating their extra royalties to charity, perhaps then the record companies could be persuaded to make a similar gesture and that would be a bonus."
Other acts certainly shared Gilmour's sentiments and Keane, Annie Lennox and The Who all weighed in with pledges to consider donating profits to charity.
New English band Razorlight, however, didn't join in with this chorus. A spokesman for the group pointed out that the band had been very involved with the Make History Poverty campaign and had previously donated proceeds from the use of one of their songs in a car advert to Action Aid. "It's not so easy for younger bands who are just making their name like Razorlight to pledge a large charitable donation," the spokesman said.
With just a single album released to date, it would be very surprising if Razorlight were in a position to profit from their record sales. Given the huge amounts of money spent on promotion and marketing, most new acts such as Razorlight remain heavily in debt to their record labels for many years.
Of course, it's not just the bands who performed who will profit from post-Live 8 sales. It's doubtful, however, if any record labels, retail outlets, distributors or ancillary businesses will put a share of this extra revenue into the charity pot unless someone such as Bob Geldof makes another intervention. None have come forward to date to promise to hand over such Live 8-enhanced profits.
In the wake of Live Aid, acts such as U2, Queen, Dire Straits and Midge Ure (who had a solo number one with If I Was) enjoyed chart success and increased sales. No one, however, was demanding a share of those spoils back then.