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Billboard: MAXIMUM EXPOSURE 2010: NO. 1, PERFORMANCE ON THE
An insider scoop from Billboard, on how Grammy performers are selected and how their performances affect their record sales. Of course giving praise to P!nk  
Quote:
MAXIMUM EXPOSURE 2010: NO. 1, PERFORMANCE ON THE GRAMMY AWARDS
October 02, 2010
Strong Ratings For 2010 Telecast Further Burnish A Track Record Of Boosting Sales
GAIL MITCHELL
The biggest "wow" moment of the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31 had to be Pink's acrobatic, water-spraying performance of her song "Glitter in the Air."
The reaction from music fans watching at home was instantaneous. U.S. digital track sales of "Glitter in the Air" topped 9,000 units for the sales week ended Jan. 31—29 times greater than the previous week, with most of the sales generated on the same day as the Grammys, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
And in the following week ended Feb. 7, sales of the digital track skyrocketed 1,100% to 114,151, while sales of Pink's album, "Funhouse," surged 234% from the prior week to 31,000, according to SoundScan, pushing the album 61-15 on the Billboard 200.
"It was a defining, watershed moment for Pink," Jive Label Group executive VP/GM Tom Carrabba says. "We were at the tail end of the album's cycle, after the fourth or fifth single. But the performance and word-of-mouth from it gave the album another life, which was remarkable. We saw instant sales growth, and phones started to ring."
Pink's show-stopper delivered a huge sales boost despite the fact that she didn't win in either category for which she was nominated. Of course, the star picked the perfect stage. Four other acts that performed at the Grammys—Imelda May, the Dave Matthews Band and trophy winners Green Day and Beyoncé—enjoyed album sales gains ranging from 100% to 117% in the week after the show, according to SoundScan.
Thanks to a diverse and compelling lineup of performances that also included Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Drake, Eminem and Lil Wayne, the live CBS telecast of the 52nd Grammys attracted 25.8 million viewers, its largest audience since 2004 and up 35% from last year, according to Nielsen. That series of high notes is why a performance on the Grammys tops Billboard's Maximum Exposure list for 2010.
"Most artists view this as one of the most important performances they will ever do," Recording Academy president/CEO Neil Portnow says. "They really bring it forward."
The 52nd Grammys featured 16 performances, including special segments involving multiple performers such as an all-star tribute to Michael Jackson that included Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher as well as a video of the late pop star's "Earth Song." Through the years, Portnow says, as many as 21 performances have been logged for the show.
So what's the process for determining who fills those coveted performance slots on the Grammys? Each year, the Recording Academy assembles a TV committee comprising individuals from various sectors of the recording industry to help determine the lineup for the next awards show in conjunction with the show's producers, director and CBS executives.
The 2010 telecast was produced by John Cossette Productions and AEG Ehrlich Ventures, with Ken Ehrlich and John Cossette serving as executive producers and Louis J. Horvitz as director. The day after the Grammy nominations are announced, the TV committee, producers and a CBS representative start discussing what form the upcoming awards show should take.
Portnow says the same mandate guides the discussions every year: Look at the year in music, culture and society and see what starts to make sense. A musical theme or a cultural trend may emerge. Sometimes tragedy may set the tone, as it did during the 2002 telecast, which was Portnow's first and came just months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"We have a fresh canvas to paint on every year," Portnow says. "For this year, there were interesting breakthroughs with Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and other newbies like Drake, Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band . . . It comes down to whatever musical cards we get dealt. We're painting a mosaic: creating great viewer anticipation through performances that celebrate the year in music, while building buzz behind the Grammy brand. That's the aim."
With an eye on holding onto older viewers who may not be familiar with the latest hitmakers, the awards show regularly features performances by veteran artists as well. This year's telecast included Elton John, Stevie Nicks and—performing on the Grammy telecast for the first time—Bon Jovi. In keeping with the academy's stepped-up digital and social media presence—including its "We're All Fans" interactive marketing campaign in association with advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day and a new Grammy iPhone/iPod Touch application—fans were invited to vote for one of six Bon Jovi hits for the group to perform (the winner: "Livin' on a Prayer").
Portnow says that calls from artists' various representatives come year-round. "Sometimes the volume gets a little intense," he says. "That's just people doing their job. We reach out based on our thoughts about what will make for a great show. Then we make the asks."
While CBS is a partner and adviser, the creative process "is that of the academy and production company, so the last word on the choices is with those entities," Portnow says.
According to SoundScan, all but two of the 32 songs that were performed or received awards during this year's telecast enjoyed digital track sales gains of at least 5% in the week after the show, with seven of them more than doubling their sales from the prior week. The latter group included Pink's "Glitter"; Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli's cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which benefited Haiti relief efforts; and Jackson's "Earth Song."
Album sales by Grammy performers also posted big gains. The week after the show, Lady Gaga's "The Fame" slipped two notches to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 but still posted a 17% gain in sales to 79,000 units, according to SoundScan. The Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." rose 10-6 on the albums chart as sales leaped 76% to 70,000, while Swift's "Fearless" climbed 13-7 on a 58% gain to 53,000. And best new artist winner the Zac Brown Band—which performed a medley of "America the Beautiful," "Dixie Lullaby" and "Chicken Fried" with Leon Russell—entered the top 10 for the first time with "The Foundation," which climbed 12 rungs to No. 10 as sales jumped 82% to 40,000.
Online channels help extend the promotional reach of a Grammy performance beyond the live telecast. This year, the videos of 10 performances from the telecast could be purchased at iTunes, including those by Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Pink, the Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi and the Zac Brown Band. Two days after the telecast, Pink posted a video of her "Glitter" performance on her Vevo/YouTube page, where it has been viewed 2.3 million times.
With the third "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!" show scheduled to air Dec. 1 on CBS, the push will soon be on to line up performances for the 53rd Grammys on Feb. 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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at Bey's performance not being critiqued. That is, unless I just happened to skim past it. 