Official 2005 Calender Available soon

AVAILABLE HERE (CLAY'S OFFICIAL MERCHANDISING SITE) SOON.

Clay's Christmas Album Available on Amazon.ca! Currently #1!

#1 in Canada!
CLAY AIKEN CHRISTMAS ALBUM
CLICK FOR LARGER VERSION

Clayboard and Clay Aiken Fans raise enough for 2nd FUNCENTER!

From the Clayboard

Update 7:05 p.m

WE DID IT!!!!

The 2nd Funcenter has OFFICIALLY been purchased!! The phone call is being made RIGHT NOW!!!

We will let you know all the details as soon as we get the word!!!


THANK YOU isn't enough to ALL of you that have made this possible. It's true - Clay does have the BEST FANS IN THE WORLD!!!!


I've updated the official thread stickied at the top of this forum. Check it out!

STARLIGHT BAF FUN CENTERS DONATIONS - 9/24/04

Also a quick note, we are still waiting for a date to be set up for the presentation of the first Fun Center. Paperwork has caused the delay, but updates will be made when we get an official date!!
Great work guys! Remember that no donation is too small! Together, we can make it happen!!

Regis and Kelly Press Statement about Relly Awards 2004!

RELEASE HERE.
Darrell Hammond Upsets Regis Philbin in 'Best Regis' Category at Today's Relly Awards Ceremony

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa present the "Best Audience Award" at the 2nd Annual Relly Awards, which aired today on "Live with Regis and Kelly." (PRNewsFoto)[RV]

NEW YORK, NY USA 09/24/2004


Joan Rivers Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at Second Annual Ceremony on
'Live with Regis and Kelly'

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- In a stunning upset, comedian Darrell
Hammond captured the coveted Golden Stool for "Best Regis" at the second
annual Relly Awards, which aired on today's "Live with Regis and Kelly."
Hammond shut out host Regis Philbin in the category, in a surprise win for the
"Saturday Night Live" veteran.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040924/LAF038) In related Relly news, Philbin and fellow host Kelly Ripa were the biggest
winners on Friday, each taking home four Golden Stools. Young actor Daniel
Radcliffe of "Harry Potter" fame repeated in the "Best Junior Achiever"
category, and Relly red carpet host and comedy icon Joan Rivers received the
second Relly Lifetime Achievement Award. "American Idol" singer Clay Aiken
accepted his "Favorite Music Guest" award via satellite from North Carolina,
where he's working on his next album.

The complete list of winners:

Best Audience Winner: Bill Cogswell of New York, NY
Best Wild & Wacky: Regis Philbin, "The Babysitter Cometh"
Best Regis: Darrell Hammond
Favorite Music Guest: Clay Aiken
Best Dressed: Regis and Kelly as Kid Rock And Pamela Anderson
Best Junior Achiever: Daniel Radcliffe
Best Dance Performance: Kelly Does the Tango
Funniest Guest: Ben Affleck
Best Host Chat: Regis and Kelly, "April Fools Joke"
Most Touching Moment: Ashley the Cat
Best Reality Guest: Boston Rob, "Survivor"
Best Guest Co-Host: Mark Consuelos
Best Show: Live's Halloween Show



SOURCE Buena Vista Television
Photo Notes: NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040924/LAF038 AP
PhotoExpress Network: PRN11 PRN Photo Desk,
photodesk@prnewswire.com

Random House's 'About this Book' Up!

RANDOM HOUSE LISTING OF LTS

“My mother prophesied years ago that my voice would take me places. She was certain that there was a reason I was able to sing. I am still discovering what that reason is, what it is that God wants to happen.”
–CLAY AIKEN, from Learning to Sing

When he was a kid singing in his church choir, Clay Aiken never dreamed of becoming a pop music star. His ambition was to be a teacher, maybe even a high school principal. But Clay’s mother was right, and the music that was Clay’s joy in life was destined to lead him to unexpected triumphs.

In Learning to Sing, Clay details what his astonishing success has meant to him. He writes from the heart about his life before and since his instant stardom on American Idol, how he has changed, and how he struggles to adapt to life in the public eye. He speaks candidly about his lonely childhood: the father who abandoned him, the school bullies who tormented him, the mother who taught him to be strong, and the friends and teachers who–more than they ever knew–kept him going. He describes his new high-profile life in Los Angeles– the awards shows, the free clothes, the unfortunate presence of avocado on all the food. More significant, he reveals what he has discovered from diving into the white-hot center of pop culture: what it takes for him to stay true to himself and remember the lessons he learned growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Clay shares his struggle to remain a man his mother can be proud of, and writes about the faith that sustains him today just as it did when he was an awkward, unpopular outsider. “I believe God has a direction for me. He did not give me this life just so I could buy a big house and an SUV. My job is to give back and to be a decent human being no matter how many people cheer my name.”

Clay’s friends–the old ones from North Carolina and the millions of new ones who love his voice–will hold this inspiring memoir as close to their hearts as they do his music. Learning to Sing reminds you that anything is possible. Like a perfect song, it will send your spirit soaring.

Quote from LTS

Highlight to read:

>>>I am still surprised when people in the crowd sing along. Once on the last tour as we were playing "Measure of a Man," I had to stop singing for a second to clear my throat. I went quiet, but the whole audience kept singing the words. I stopped and listened to them. Then my eyes welled up. I was almost light-headed. I had to grab my backup singer's hand to steady myself because I thought, There are fifteen thousand people in this room and they all know this song! They're all singing my song. Which means they listen to my song in their cars. I'm in their cars! I'm in their houses! It was one of those times when my new life washed over me, when I felt the power of music. It was almost too much.<<<

Clay now on RCArecords.com

Nov. 16:
Clay Aiken - Holiday Album
Nov. 30:
Kelly Clarkson
Dec. 7:
Diana DeGarmo

Clay wins Musical Guest Category of the 2004 Regis and Kelly Live "RELLY" Awards!

Congratulations Clay!

Clay in Cosmo Magazine

From the Clayboard's bre0712
I was just skimming thru the Oct '04 Cosmo and found an article titled "10 Signs He's Loco In Love With You." #7 is "During a night out with the boys, he ducks into the urinal to text-message you the lyrics to Clay Aiken's 'This is the Night' just to let you know he's always thinking of you." Just a random spot to see Clay's name... thought I'd mention it.

Invisible Achieves Radio Landmark

KellyKellyK Reports Billboard certified Invisible with 10,000 spins!

LTS Spoliers

From GBB@theClackhouse

Highlight to see:

>>>
Lurking Publisher Buddy comes through yet again.

They have, in their hot little hands, a copy of LEARNING TO SING. (No, LPB doesn't have a split personality; I'm avoiding gender pronouns here *g*)

I've just spent the last hour or so listening to LPB read me portions of the book.

We'll be posting a few particularly interesting/touching/funny blurbs in the Chatter section later today -- far enough away so people can avoid being spoiled if they want, but not hidden in the Den, so non-members will still be able to read it.

For now, I'll just mention a few very cool (for me) things:

1) IT DOESN'T SUCK!!! From what I've heard, it's very much in Clay's voice -- it's funny, snarky, self-deprecating and, at times, very painful.

2) It is not overtly religious in tone. In fact, Clay makes it very clear that his faith works for him but that he doesn't expect everyone to share it or need to. He addresses YWT explicitly in a way that I think will make some here very happy.

3) It will surprise you. There are things about his life and family experiences that many of us, I think, believed to be different.

4) It will break your heart at times. I'm going to post a scene in Chatter that literally sent chills over my whole body. I'll never watch Solitaire again without crying.

5) You'll love Clay more than ever. (Okay, that's no surprise).

Non-spoilery mini-quote: "If I had a halo it would be crooked."<<<

Cover of LTS Audiobook/Exclusive Interview on Audio CD/Cassette

Another spoiler from LTS:

Highlight

>>>There's a 16 page photo insert<<<

"Aiken is a Role Model"

REFLECTIONS: Aiken is a positive role model

OCTOBER 2004

Already you have read the headline and proclaimed me insane.

It’s true. I, Nick Powills, endorse Clay Aiken as a positive role model for America’s increasingly disenfranchised youth.

By now, you’re probably expecting a witty punchline to accompany my joke. Well, you aren’t going to get one.

Clay Aiken is a role model for many reasons, but most importantly for his nerd status. "Ah, there it is. There’s his bash," you say. But hear me out. Aiken wasn’t the best looking guy, and probably never had a good-looking girlfriend. He had the glasses and the Urkel pants. But he had a dream. He had a dream to not only be successful, but to get the ladies and be loved.

I am sure Aiken had to put up with a lot of garbage growing up. "Hey nerd," was probably the nicest of the many epithets he encountered. But he never gave up. He never lowered his head and put his dream to sleep. Not once. And look where he is today. He's at the top of the charts and has one of the biggest fan followings in the world. Pretty impressive for a nerd, wouldn’t you say?

Now, Aiken’s become something straight out of the Avril Lavigne song "Sk8er Boi" - albeit a bizarro world example - and I am sure all those people who made fun of him are kicking themselves for being so mean when they could have helped him pick up his books when a jock knocked them down, or invited him to eat lunch with them. Some of the world’s biggest nerds turn into the most popular studs in the end – just ask Bill Gates.

Props to Clay Aiken, and props to the people who never picked on him, but instead offered friendship and support.

Unfortunately, I cannot include myself in that category. I know I made fun of nerds growing up. I even created a comic book based on a nerd in my sixth-grade class. Even worse, a local comic shop bought it and sold copies of it on its shelves. I now feel bad, as I have realized how right my great-grandma really was. "If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all."

So, to Lumino's readers, try being nice to the nerdy guy at work or at school, because you never know, he just might be famous one day and you will want that nerd covering your back.

Another Tenative Christmas CD Track List

From the Clayboard's Faxy:

The following is from a very reliable source which I have experienced first-hand. My access to the source is through a third party and, therefore, I cannot provide a link or anything else -- but at least one mod is aware of the information and has "green-lighted" the posting of it.

TENTATIVE Track Listings for Clay's Christmas CD (title to be determined):
• Sleigh Ride
• Mary Did You Know?
• The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
• What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
• Winter Wonderland
• Silent Night
• Joy To The World
• Hark The Herald Angels Sing/O Come, All Ye Faithful
• O Holy Night
• Merry Christmas With Love

New LTS Ad for 9/21. The real push starts now!

I am temporarily making ads free of all those logos and stuff, so everyone, please post it at other boards, send it to your friends. Do anything.. Just promote CLAY!

Watch the {Proud of Your Boy} video

posted on AOL Music

CLICK HERE

Clay mention on MTV-TRL.

From the Clayboard/ChocolateMalt

During one of the videos there was a little blurb on the side where someone asked 'What's new with Clay Aiken?' And they mentioned Clay's new Christmas album coming out in November.

Amazon.com's list of future releases

From Amazon.com

November 2 -

Avril Lavigne ~ My Happy Ending [EP] [IMPORT] Our Price: $19.99

David Bowie ~ Diamond Dogs 30th Anniversary Edition (Spkg) [LIMITED EDITION] [IMPORT] Our Price: $65.99

Depeche Mode ~ Enjoy the Silence 2004 2 [CD-SINGLE] [IMPORT] Our Price: $12.99

Twista ~ Kamikaze (Clean) (Rmx) [REMIXES INCLUDED] [CLEAN] Our Price: $18.98
Twista ~ Kamikaze (Rmx) [REMIXES INCLUDED] Our Price: $18.98

Duran Duran ~ Reach for the Sunrise 1 [CD-SINGLE] [IMPORT]Our Price: $12.99
Duran Duran ~ Singles Box Set Vol. 2 (1986 - 1995) Our Price: $46.98

Ramsey Lewis ~ Sound Of Christmas Our Price: $9.98

Various Artists ~ Very Best of Sk8er Rock [IMPORT] Our Price: $49.49

Velvet Revolver ~ Fall to Pieces [EP] [IMPORT] Our Price: $19.99

November 9 -

Britney Spears ~ Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (Limited Edition with Bonus DVD) Our Price: $18.98

Shania Twain ~ Greatest Hits Our Price: $13.98

Vanessa Carlton ~ Harmonium [ENHANCED] Our Price: $13.98

Brian Mcknight ~ Gemini Our Price: $13.98

The Art Of Romance ~ Bennett, Tony Our Price: $18.98

November 16 -

Clay Aiken ~ Christmas Album Our Price: $18.98

Chingy ~ Powerballin Our Price: $18.98
Chingy ~ Powerballin (Clean) [CLEAN] Our Price: $18.98

Various Artists ~ Blue Christmas Our Price: $10.98

Lil Jon & East Side Boyz ~ Crunk Juice Our Price: $17.98
Lil Jon & East Side Boyz ~ Crunk Juice Clean) [CLEAN] Our Price: $17.98

DJ Jazzy Jeff ~ In the House [BOX SET] Our Price: $27.98

Various Artists ~ Most Rated (Bonus Dvd) [BOX SET] Our Price: $27.98

Collective Soul ~ Youth Our Price: $15.98

November 23 -

Jessica Simpson ~ Rejoice Our Price: $18.98

Ashlee Simpson ~ Autobiography (+3 Bonus Tracks) IMPORT] Our Price: $39.99

General Promo for S'Way/MOAM/LTS/SFH 9/20

Clay Takes Amazon #1, Canadian Idol takes Amazon.ca #1.

Very interesting earnings ESTIMATE from Clayboard

From the Clayboard/Clackhouse

Here it is.... my post from the Clackhouse on Clay-related revenue.... I've been mentioning that I was working on this, and I hope you all enjoy it. I'm open to answering any questions!

-----------------------

Well, as you guys know, I just like to play with numbers. Can't help it. I was a baseball statistician for many many years... from 6th grade all the way through college. I've done fantasy baseball and fantasy hockey. During hockey season I stare at hockey stats on a daily basis. Well, since there's no hockey season (*CRIES!!!* MY OTHER BOYFRIEND PETER FORSBERG IS BACK IN SWEDEN.... POSSIBLY FOR GOOD!), I needed something to occupy myself.

A few weeks back I posted a back-of-the-envelope calculation on the revenue that has been generated that can be attributed to Clay for the 2003 and 2004 calendar years. I'm often one to do informal calculations, but on this one, I felt the need to formalize it. So now I have a pretty little spreadsheet that goes through the categories of revenue generation and calculations for each one.

So why do I do this? I don't know. Because it is fun to know? Because there are fans out there that like to know this information but don't just calculate things in their head like I do? Because I want fans to see and understand from the perspective of the almighty $$$ how well Clay is doing? Because I'm a numbers geek? Pick and choose any combination of above. Take exception with whatever you will. These are in some cases just MY projections (although I believe they are reasonably accurate, well within 10% of the total)

DISCLAIMER!!! THESE ARE MY CALCULATIONS AND PROJECTIONS! IF YOU DISAGREE, FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS WHY. JUST DON'T ASSUME THIS IS ALL FACT. I THINK IT IS PRETTY ACCURATE, WITHIN 10% OF THE TOTAL. BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY INSIDER INFORMATION THAT MAKES THIS ANYTHING MORE THAN WHAT I CAN GLEAN FROM PUBLIC SOURCES.

Category 1: CD Sales.

This is the biggest revenue generator. What I did is I look at all the CDs Clay has had a signficant part of, and assign a percentage of its revenue to Clay. I have as up-to-date sales numbers that I can find. For AI2 related CDs, Clay gets somewhere between 15-20% of the credit for the revenue. Obviously, he gets 100% of the credit for his own CDs. I used $13 average retail price for full-length CDs and $3.50 for singles. This also includes projections for the Christmas CD (I'm using 1.5 million as a projection. Who knows. It could be a million, it could be 2 million. But I chose 1.5 million as a reasonably possible number.) Also, this only includes domestic sales.

AI-related CDs: (Clay gets credit for 15-20% of these sales)
Singles: ~400K sold
Full-length: ~970K sold
Clay Revenue: $2.2 million

Clay CDs:
Singles: ~1.3 million
Full-length: 4.1 million
Clay Revenue: $58 million.

CD-sales GROSS Revenue: $60.2 million

Category 2: Touring - Ticket Sales

4 Concert Tours... AI2 Tour, Independent, Summer, Christmas. For the AI2 tour, I give Clay credit for 30% of the ticket sales. This is probably very very conservative, but there were 10 people on the tour. Yes, we know it was probably more like 50% or more, but I think it is fair to use 30%. For the Independent Tour, I give Clay credit for 70% of the ticket revenue. From all reports, that seems like a reasonably accurate number. Not overly obnoxious, not overly conservative. For the Summer and Christmas Tour, he gets 100% (obviously). My projections for the Christmas tour are 15-20 shows with approx 2000-3000 seat venues, for a total attendance of 40,000, with $75 ticket prices (and no, I don't actually have a lot of real data to back this up, but it's my projection, for better or worse. I think it is reasonable). Note that for the AI2 tour and Independent, all data is from Billboard/Pollstar. For the Summer tour, it is a combination of reported data and projections, as I posted the other day. For Christmas, it is 100% projection.

Tour.............attendance......GROSS.........Clay %.....Clay Revenue
AI2...............407,404.......$15,586,762.....30%.........$4,676,029
Independent..249,790.......$11,203,887.....70%.........$7,842,721
Summer........236,359.......$8,251,242.......100%.......$8,251,242
Christmas........40,000.......$3,000,000.......100%.......$3,000,000

Touring - Ticket Sales Gross Revenue: $23.8 million


Category 3: Touring - Merchandise

Using the attendance and percentages from above, I apply a different $ per attendee for each tour. For the AI2 tour, there wasn't a lot of merch for purchase, so I use a number well below industry average. For Independent, I use industry average. For Summer, I use slightly above average (Clay's sales are unlike anything I've seen at other concerts I've been to, so above average seems right to me.) For Christmas, I was conservative because I have no idea what will be available.

Touring - Merchandise - Gross Revenue: $5.8 million


Category 4: Miscellaneous Revenue

Ok, here things get less structured. I included things like the tickets sales for Dover (it was revenue), projected book sales (being very conservative), and some estimates for other sources, like website merch sales, and other things Clay has had his name on. This is not as "scientific", so I was very conservative. You could argue this number is way higher. I'm not including the thousands of dollars we've all spent on hard drives, upgrading computers, plane tickets, hotels, etc, because that is very difficult to quantify.

Miscellaneous Revenue: $2.4 million

GRAND TOTAL PROJECTED TOTAL 2003/2004 GROSS REVENUE: $92 million

So there it is. By the end of this year, Clay will have caused the spending of over $90 million!!! (Deducting the Christmas projections - book and CD, he's at about $67 million right now!). Now remember this is gross revenue, not earnings. This doesn't indicate how much the store makes off the CD, or how much the wholesale cost of the CD is. It doesn't indicate recording expenses, tour expenses, management expenses. It just shows how much money the general public has shelled out on Clay-related goods. Guess what? ITS.NOT.JUST.US. Sure, I know I spent a lot, but even if 10,000 internet fans spent an average of $500 each, that's $5 million. As time goes on, the industry at large will recognize this, and like it or not, money buys respect.

Next thing y'all will want to know is how much of this is in Clay's pocket. Well, the calculations are still back-of-the envelope, but I think this year Clay will make $8-10 million, and he probably pocketed $2-3 million last year, maybe more. One thing you can see is that while CDs generate the most revenue, they generate the lowest percentage of money that goes to Clay. Merchandise generates the highest percentage, and touring the next highest. Of the $60 million in CD sales, Clay probably sees maybe $3 million (ballpark guess - we've gone through the standard calculations on this before...). Of $5.8 million in merch sales, Clay probably pockets in the area of $2.2-2.5 million. MUCH higher percentage. Some smaller artists/ bands make their whole living off of merch sales (because they don't sell enough CDs to earn their advances, and they barely sell enough tickets to cover expenses when they tour).