[Jovian]

Originally Posted by shuggymac1

if the Target stores in the Usa have exclusive use of this cd, then the only way to get a copy outwith America would be on import. I imagine this is Bon Jovi selling out- nothing new there then.

I'm not sure I understand it completely what people mean when they say that a band is "selling out", at least when they're not talking about concerts where I would think a sell-out is a good thing. But I think that what's happening with Bon Jovi right now is that for the first time in over 10 years, they're concentrating on their home front and REALLY investing in the US market.

Us Europeans (and I suppose the Japanese & Aussies too) had the pleasure of having the guys almost completely to ourselves in the 1990s when the general public in the US was ignoring them, and now when they're doing to their US fans what they did for us around KTF and TD, we're feeling disappointed, left out and even betrayed. And understandably so. I don't like it myself anymore than the next European fan, you can count on that. But when I try to look at it from the band's point of view I can understand why they're doing it, why they're doing minimal tours and promotion outside the US. My guess is that even after all these years, Jon hasn't got completely over the fact that KTF and especially TD basically flopped in the US. So now when Crush and It's My Life in particular put them back in the spotlight in the US, he's doing everything he can to stay in that spotlight and re-gain at least some of Bon Jovi's 80's fame in their home front. And from the band's point of view, there's nothing really wrong with that, I guess... But from the fans' point of view and especially from the non-American fans' point of view it can easily seem like they're ignoring us and arrogantly taking us and our affection for them for granted. Which I think is what's happening with the low sales of Bounce -- had the band promoted Bounce in Europe with the same vigour and diligence they promoted Crush or even These Days, they might just have a few more gold/platinum awards from the Bounce sales hanging on their walls. Even if you exclude the effects of the general low sales trend in the music biz.