If you've read any reports from 2013, you know that music sales are down, across both physical copies and downloads. Music awards shows are as hot as ever however, and that's resulting in commercial slots for the 2014 Grammys going for their highest prices ever. Some 30-second positions are going for more than $1 million.
The previous two renditions of the ceremony have been the highest in the history of the event. Last year's telecast brought in 28.4 million viewers, second only to the Oscars in terms of viewership (and more than double the MTV Video Music Awards). The 2012 edition featured even more viewers-probably due to Whitney Houston's sudden passing the day before-attracting more than 39.9 million viewers.
The 2012 numbers pushed last year's advertising prices to their highest ever, with some advertisements going for more than $900,000. The average price for a 30-second slot during this year's event was between $800-850,000; 90 percent of the slots were sold off over the summer in advance. As the event neared, the remaining spots became more expensive.
Still, there are other factors in play.
Gibbs Alvin, a managing director at media-buying firm MEC, says that the Grammys' closeness to the Winter Olympics has an impact. Some products-such as mobile phone services and domestic automakers-can't advertise during the Olympics because of exclusivity, and thus are cramming to get their products on the air in the few weeks leading up to the event.
The Grammys might be commanding the highest advertising prices during January, but the Super Bowl has it beat. The average ad during this year's NFL championship will cost around $4 million.
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