“We thought it was finished. I really believed that. Oh, they might play the odd song, with a reference to the seventies, perhaps, but that’s it.”
Those are the words of Björn Ulvaeus, one of the members of the Swedish pop foursome ABBA.
Maybe you’ve heard of ABBA? They were kind of a thing fifty years ago, back in the 1970s. But ABBA broke up in ’82. By the end of the 1980s, they had largely fallen into oblivion.
That’s how things go. Fashions change, audiences move on, content is disposable.
It would have ended up the same with ABBA. Except…
A team of record company execs at PolyGram saw some possibility there.
They worked to issue a compilation of ABBA hits, collected and organized specifically for the relatively new CD format, along with a loving set of new liner notes, and extensively promoted by the company.
The result, which came out in 1992, was ABBA: GOLD.
And GOLD is right:
The album has gone on to sell 32 million copies worldwide. It’s become not only ABBA’s best-selling album, but among the 25 top-bestselling albums of all time.
Every couple of years, the record company — first PolyGram, then Universal — finds an excuse to reissue the album, and make a few more million sales.
First there was a “Remastered Reissue” in 1999, to mark the 25th anniversary of ABBA’s EuroVision win…
In 2002, there was a 10th anniversary reissue…
In 2008, a new remastered version came out along with the release of Mamma Mia (the movie)…
In 2014, there was an edition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Eurovision win…
And then, in 2022, there was still another reissue, to mark the 30-year anniversary of the initial release of the album.
There were regional versions, too — Spain, Australia UK… plus VHS and DVD versions… all totaling in the millions upon millions of sales.
But it’s not just money.
GOLD is most probably the only reason that anybody knows ABBA today… why hits like Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia and Waterloo are still super popular, and can be heard in cafes, dance clubs, karaoke bars, and wedding receptions… why entire new generations know and love ABBA songs (or know and hate, but the “know” is the important part).
And if you don’t believe me:
Try to remember some hits by The Sweet or Nazareth or Gentle Giant. All were big acts around the same time as ABBA. But they weren’t lucky enough to get their own GOLD compilation album — or at least it wasn’t properly promoted — and that’s why nobody today has heard of them.
GOLD, by the way, was the start of a giant sea change in the music business.
Lucian Grange, one of the record execs behind ABBA: GOLD, and now the CEO of Universal Music Group, has bought the back catalogues of Elton John, the Beatles, The Bee Gees, Bob Dylan, on and on.
Was a time when, if music wasn’t new, who wanted to listen to it? At best, it was relegated to the “Oldies” radio station.
Today, that’s all changed. Back catalogues account for 70% of the entire music industry. We’re all listening to music recorded 30, 40, 50, 60 years ago, whether we want to or not.
Maybe there’s a lesson there? Maybe?
Maybe you can take your proven hits from years or decades past… collect and organize them… add in some new liner notes… and reissue them to great success? And then, keep reissuing… remastering… and taking any and every occasion to bring in a few more million in sales?
So lemme ask you:
Do you have a back catalogue of previous products — courses, ebooks, recorded workshops — that sold well once upon a time?
If you do, hit reply. I have an offer for you that you might like.