Miley Cyrus, star of the hit Disney series, Hannah Montana, recently broke the record for being the youngest artist to have two Billboard chart-topping albums in under a year.  Her second two-disc album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, sold 326,000 copies, beating out Kelly Clarkson’s My December.  The record-breaking sales are certainly a big accomplishment for the 14-year-old actress-singer, but surprisingly, she is experiencing little success in the most popular music medium: radio.

Despite the numerous Hannah Montana fans and avid listeners of the show’s music, Miley Cyrus’ singing prowess has yet to be heard on Top 40 Radio.  Unfortunately for Disney, Hannah Montana is not the only musical act that they are having trouble marketing in mainstream radio.  "The Cheetah Girls" and "Aly and AJ" have managed to earn gold, platinum and multiplatinum CD sales, yet they have been continuously left out of Top 40.  The High School Musical soundtrack, which was the bestselling album of 2006, also did not make the popular radio format.

"We had the No. 1 album of the year and nobody seemed to pay attention in the mainstream radio world, they didn't care,'' Gary Marsh, Disney Channel’s worldwide president of entertainment, said.

According to Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas, radio is the only entertainment medium where Hannah Montana and similar musical acts are experiencing difficulty in gaining exposure.

''Disney has turned itself into something of a machine in terms of promoting these acts in a very integrated way in the marketplace,'' Lucas said.  “They have TV exposure, ads, [placement] in stores. It's almost like the lack of mainstream radio is the one area where the consumers aren't getting touched.”

That’s because mainstream radio, which caters to the adults 18-34 demographic, doesn’t want their older listeners to feel alienated.

''Radio has a stigma about playing these acts, considering them teen and preteen in their appeal,'' Guy Zapoleon, a radio consultant and former Top 40 programmer, explained.

Steve Greenberg, chairman of S-Curve Record, also weighed in on the matter, saying, "I think it's very hard for a very young artist with very clean lyrics to find a place on Top 40.  In a previous generation, the Disney artists would have found a home at Top 40.  Now there's no room for records that kids like but scare off adults.''

Nevertheless, Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus doesn’t have much to worry about. Aside from the success of her latest album, the show’s first soundtrack has continued to do well sales-wise and, to date, has sold more than 2.7 million copies.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Miami Herald
(Image Courtesy of Houston Chronicle)