In a recent week on the Rhapsody online music service, a variety of older acts had four or more songs among the 1,000 best-selling tracks, including the Eagles, the Rolling Stones and Guns N' Roses. But the same bands have enjoyed strong sales of their hits CDs. The Eagles' blockbuster Greatest Hits 1971-1975, for example, sold 117,000 copies last year, up about 20 percent from the year before.
Tim Quirk, executive editor of Rhapsody's music service, said he believed the bulk of these sales were coming from fans who would not have sprung for a hits CD. "If they can plunk down a buck for one song, they're going to do it," he said.
That sentiment is shared by artists like Jim Peterik, the former guitarist and keyboardist for Survivor and one of the writers of Eye of the Tiger -- which, in addition to its online sales, has sold an estimated 200,000 ring tones. The song is available on at least five different albums in the marketplace -- collectively they sold about 90,000 copies last year.
Peterik said he had been delighted by the song's success online. But he said such sales can "coexist" with continued sales of full albums. Those buying the song "are not fans of Survivor," he said. "They're fans of Eye of the Tiger.'"
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