Billboard Magazine - May 6, 1995
LIVE'S Radioactive Set Takes Long Road To The Top
by Craig Rosen
Los Angeles - In a classic example of successful long-term marketing, Live's
Radioactive/MCA album "Throwing Copper" has hit the summit of The
Billboard 200 in its 52nd week on the chart. The yearlong run marks the
most weeks an album has been on The Billboard 200 before hitting No. 1 since
Billboard began using SoundScan data in May 1991.
The Album--which has sold 1.9 million units to date, according to SoundScan--is
the first Radioactive title to top The Billboard 200. The chart triumph
couldn't have come at a better time for Radioactive president Gary Kurfirst, who
founded the label as a joint venture with MCA five years ago. Kurfirst
says he is currently negotiating with MCA to renew his contract with the company
and has hopes of launching a second, more grass-roots-oriented label.
The success of Live is also a coup for Radioactive partner MCA, which had a
difficult time breaking new rock acts in recent years. MCA Records
president Richard Palmese expresses his delight that not only is "Throwing
Copper" a No. 1 album, but it's a successful rock album.
Bob Bell, new release buyer from the 348-store Wherehouse Entertainment chain
based in Torrance, Calif., says, "Live continues to get huger and huger.
The long term for the project really paying off." Bell reports that
the album is at No. 2 at the chain, second only to the new "Friday"
soundtrack.
Live first appeared on The Billboard 200 in early 1992 with its first
full-length album, "Mental Jewelry," which peaked at No. 73 in
February 1992. According to SoundScan, the album has sold more than
480,000 copies. "Four Songs," the band's 1991 debut EP, failed
to chart.
With the May 1994 release of "Throwing Copper," Radioactive's plan was
to shore up the band's base at modern rock and college radio. "That
was our mission, because we were coming off a lot of MTV exposure," says
Kurfirst. "Even though that can be a real positive in selling
records, at alternative radio at that particular time it could also be a
negative."
Kurfirst says that MTV's early support of Live created a credibility problem for
the young band. To combat that perception, Radioactive chose the
anthem-like "Selling The Drama" as the first track to work at radio.
"We chose that track, because we felt that it didn't have much crossover
appeal," Kurfirst says. "We just felt, at the college and
alternative level, it was the right kind of music with the right sort of
lyric."
The label's plan worked; the song hit No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks
chart on May 21, 1994. And despite what Kurfirst and the staff of
Radioactive felt initially, the track did have crossover appeal, at least at
album rock radio (Billboard, June 25, 1994). The song became the band's
first hit, reaching No. 4 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 43 on the Hot
100 Singles chart.
For a second track, Radioactive chose the hard-rocking "I Alone,"
which didn't manage to create as much of a stir as "Drama," but did
effectively demonstrate to modern rock and album rock radio that Live was
definitely not a one-hit wonder.
Modern rock KROQ Los Angeles music director Lisa Worden says Live is one of the
station's core bands. "Some people even joke that they are the KROQ
house band. They just can't do any wrong right now," she says.
"I Alone" peaked at No. 6 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on September
17, 1994, and No. 6 on the Album Rock Tracks chart on December 24, 1994, setting
the stage for a third track, "Lightning Crashes," which topped the
Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks and is in its seventh week at No. 1 on
the Album Rock Tracks chart. The track also is bulleted at No. 12 on the
Top 40/Mainstream Airplay chart.
While modern rock and album rock embraced the band, MTV never let go. The
videoclips for "Selling the Drama," "I Alone," and
"Lightning Crashes" were all designated as Buzz Bin clips on MTV.
And on April 19, Live was featured on "MTV Unplugged."
With Live reaching a new level in popularity, Radioactive is experiencing what
success can bring. The album track "All Over You" has been
played on 26 modern rock stations, according to Broadcast Data Systems, although
the track hasn't officially been serviced and is not being promoted by the
label.
"This new track is not our design," says Kurfirst. "We
didn't put out a CD pro, and we didn't want it out. There is no
endorsement from the label. There's no video, and there are no ads.
It's not the direction we would have really chosen to go in."
"It's kinda scary to start losing control of the project," he adds.
After "All Over You" runs its course, Radioactive will service radio
with the official fourth track, "White, Discussion," the song the band
uses to close its concerts.
The band's relentless touring has also been a factor. Upon the album's
release, the band played clubs that typically seated 800-1,500. After a
European tour in May, the band will return to the US in June for a series of
shows in sheds in the 6,000- to 7,000-seat range.
Kurfirst says the band already has two-dozen new songs for a follow-up album.
"In October they will start rehearsing. At some point we will start
going over the material... It would be great if we could have another album next
summer."