The Beatles were selling tons of reissues in 1985 when the Los Angeles Times first polled executives to determine pop's hottest properties, but the label heads were too bullish on contemporary acts to tie their fortunes to the past. Industry titans were equally forward-looking in 1993 and 1995 when two more Times polls found U2, Pearl Jam and R.E.M. to be the most prized properties. The assumption again was those stars were going to be turning out hits for years. The uncertainty about today's artists isn't so much a reflection of waning artistry as it is of changing marketing conditions and buying habits. Blaming the rapid turnover of pop stars in recent years on everything from Internet technology and media overexposure to declining fan loyalty, executives worry about artists being unable to deliver more than one or two hit albums before fans turn their attention elsewhere.
Nobody has real shelf-life anymore.
If you get past two hit albums, three at the outside, it doesn't matter how much integrity or credibility you have built up, your sales are going to fall. The latest survey supports this theory of diminishing returns. Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, Seal, George Michael and the Cranberries. And the news isn't good for acts hoping for a comeback, such as Jackson and Garth Brooks. They are the only ones who seem to some of the smartest minds in the industry safer bets than the Beatles, who finished third.