Thanks for your post. It definitely sums things up.
I never will quite understand. There are plenty of bands out there, who are more popular in their home country than outside of it. Yet they still tour away from home. There are bands who have limited popularity outside their primary country, yet there are 1 or 2 other countries where they also have a great number of fans. With the exception of Garth, they will play in those other countries, and usually combine with additional countries for at least a several week tour of perhaps 10-20 shows.
You say that Garth is not that popular outside the U.S. But he does have fans in various countries, enough to sell out plenty of shows if he wanted to work out an itinerary. And guess why other acts tour extensively? IT'S TO MAINTAIN & GAIN MORE FANS along the way. It's no different than in the U.S., where someone takes a friend to see Garth, and they end up being hooked, and maybe buying some albums/downloads. If anyone should know, it's Garth, that with concerts, comes free media exposure, which now includes social media via tweets, Instagram, etc. On the other hand, avoid even a single show, and guess what he gets. NADA.
Garth has the big ego, and prides his Sales totals. Yet he's willing to maintain more or less invisibility outside the confines of the U.S. That's fine, but DO NOT put him in the same class as Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Springsteen, U2, Billy Joel, James Taylor, all of whom are apparently more well known around the world than he will ever be. What's sad, is that with his talent, he could be much more popular worldwide, and increase his sales significantly, with a little bit of effort. Clearly there is a/are reason(s) he won't do it, and money/sales certainly has nothing to do with it.
And the fact it takes up such a small part of his Anthology, shows where his feelings lie, and what a minor role shows outside the U.S. played in his history. Sad.
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