POWERMAN 5000: Is The End Near?
November 6, 2003POWERMAN 5000 are strongly rumored to have been dropped by Dreamworks Records as a result of the disappointing sales performance of the band's last outing, "Transform".
"Transform", which debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 album chart in late May, has shifted 148,561 copies in the U.S. so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan — a far cry from the 1,316,172 units registered by its predecessor, 1999's "Tonight The Stars Revolt!" The band's 1997 offering, "Mega!! Kung Fu Radio", has sold 156,954 copies to date.
POWERMAN 5000 were originally scheduled to release the their projected follow-up to "Tonight…" on August 28, 2001, but just two weeks before the release date, the band announced they were heading back into the studio to record new songs for the album. The group's scheduled headlining tour was cancelled, and the album release was postponed indefinitely.
Early last month, POWERMAN 5000 withdrew from their tour with MUDVAYNE, FINGERTIGHT and V-SHAPED MIND after their tour support was reportedly pulled by Dreamworks. The band's frontman, Spider One, blamed the move on declining record sales, stating "the music business is in the toilet — no one is buying CDs, and less and less people are going to see bands live. Every major label in America has lost an obscene amount of money this year and it's getting worse every day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to feel sorry for the labels, but the reality is this: if they're not making any money, you better believe your favorite band isn't doing too well either."
A representative for the band's management, The Firm, declined to comment on the latest reports when contacted earlier Thursday.
Comments Disclaimer And Information