lord brazle Wrote:The main thing I'm trying to get across is; why do some people think that the Hip are more known in Canada as opposed to the States? And if, in fact, they actually are, then why? Due to they themselves being Canadian? Or is it something Canadians can only understand? That doesn't make sense because Americans listen to them also. I don't listen to the Hip just because they're Canadian. I listen to them because I think they are the greatest band on the face of the planet and it's really bewilders me that some people don't like them as much as I do or haven't even heard of them. We need statistics.
This has intrigued me enough that I did a little research on the subject. This will be a little short on the actual statistics you called for, but the logic should hold up.....
I initially began looking for album sales figures for the Hip in the U.S. and Canada, but to no avail. However, I would bet anything that figures representing total Tragically Hip album sales are greater in Canada than they are in the United States. If accurate, this alone should dictate that the band is “more known” in Canada, but if that should be construed as a generalization, then consider some of these population figures which perhaps will paint a better picture of this band’s popularity:
Total Population of Canada, October 2003:
31,752,842
Total Population of the Province of Ontario (12,280,731)
and Quebec (7,503,502):
19,784,233
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Population of the United States (current US Census Bureau estimate):
293,956,804
Total Population of States Bordering the Great Lakes: 81,332,037 (Illinois - 12,419,293; Indiana - 6,080,485; Michigan - 9,938,444; Minnesota - 4,919,479; New York - 18,976,457; Ohio - 11,353,140; Pennsylvania - 12,281,054; Wisconsin - 5,363,675
The figures show that a vast majority (62%) of Canada’s population live in Ontario & Quebec, which, might I add, is the region from whence the Hip hail. In contrast, 28% of the U.S. population lives in the 7 Great Lakes states,
yet this figure accounts for well over four times the total combined population of Quebec and Ontario. In fact, the population of those seven states
are more than double that of the entire Canadian nation.
So what?
Well, if the Hip are as “well known” in only these seven states as they are in Canada as a whole, then stateside album sales should
at the very least double that of Canada. As I said, I do not know if this is actually the case, but I highly doubt it. What I can provide as a point of reference, however, is concert attendance. The Hip play to large, sold-out venues in Canada to this day with regularity, from Vancouver to Calgary to Winnipeg to Montreal to Toronto to Halifax . If there were as many Hip fans per capita in the Great Lakes states, they would certainly be selling major venues in large cities like Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and Minneapolis, etc.. Do they? Well, no. At least not anymore.
If the market (popularity) was comparable here, then the Hip could easily sell shows at Gund Arena in Cleveland, which is less than 300 miles driving distance from the Hip stronghold of Toronto, Ontario. Instead, the Hip book the Agora (capacity 2,000), Nautica Stage (capacity 5,000), and the Odeon (capacity 1,000). Circa 1995, the Hip did book several large northern U.S. venues like the Fleet Center (Boston), Madison Square Gardens (NYC), the Spectrum (Philadelphia), the Target Center (Minneapolis), and the Bradley Center (Milwaukee), presumably in hopes that these cities would draw a voluminous mix of American fans and touring Canadians, though these large venues never seemed to get booked a second time. Recently, the chosen U.S. venues, even in big tourist-draw cities, have been clubs and theatres which typically seat a couple-thousand.
There have been some exceptions - for example, the February1999 show in Auburn Hills, MI virtually filled the venue (concert capacity: over 23,000).
But keep in mind, the show three months later at the Newport Music Hall (capacity: 1,700), located only 230 miles away in Columbus, Ohio, did not even sell out. I don’t think there is any argument that this constitutes an adequate geographical representation of the Hip’s popularity. A significant number of loyal Canadian fans will travel a moderate distance to see them, as seen in 1999 at the Palace at Auburn Hills, whose close proximity to Windsor figures to be a major reason for booking and selling such a large venue . The extra 230 miles to Columbus saw a drastically smaller number of allegiant road-trippers, and still, the bulk of those attendees were just that - traveling Canadians.
So why aren’t the Hip as popular south of the border than north? Beats me. My only guess is that people of a particular ideology tend to embrace the things, including art, that embody the characteristics of that ideology. The Hip are distinctly Canadian, and their material intertwines a great deal of Canadian lore, culture, geography, and experience. The familiarity of content cultivates interest, and a surge in interest breeds pride. I think we all agree that the Hip's music must be slowly digested, and given time to "grow on" a listener. If this band were not Canadian, and thereby did not incorporate the Canadian experience into their wares, would they ever have "made it"? Would everyday listeners have been as patient? I dunno. I think this particular aspect is responsible for Hip's overall obscurity here in the States. When people didn't "get it", POOF! It was gone. Nothing would bring it back around for a second chance, and no one was rubbing it under the collective nose of the American consumer.
And regardless of what you may think, there is simply no question that the amount media exposure for the Hip in Canada dwarfs that of the U.S. And in that industry, exposure really is everything.
hock: I know we are close to the border and everything, but I never expected to see this many on here. Cheers and welcome!
