RICK SPRINGS ETERNAL August 16, 2008 Billboard Magazine It's The '80s All Over Again For Veteran Springfield JONATHAN COHEN It may have been 20 years since his last big hit, but Rick Springfield is turning back the clock this week with his New Door debut, "Venus in Overdrive." The set enters at No. 28 on the Billboard 200, the best mark of his career, and with 16,000 units, constitutes Springfield's best sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. Although best-remembered for '80s pop smashes like "Jessie's Girl," "Don't Talk to Strangers" and "Love Somebody," Springfield has been recording and touring worldwide with regularity since breaking a decade-long quiet period in 1997. But his albums have barely dented the chart: 1999's "Karma" peaked at No. 189 on the Billboard 200, while 2005's "The Day After Yesterday" topped out at No. 197. So, New Door and parent company Universal Music Enterprises went right to work targeting his core, largely female fan base in the run-up to "Venus," booking Springfield on "Good Morning America," CBS' "Early Show," "Live With Regis and Kelly" and "Fox and Friends" during release week. In addition, his February appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" re-aired July 21, which UMe VP of marketing Jeff Moskow says "really goosed" album pre-orders at Amazon. "The way we describe it is, he's been hitting the center of the bull's-eye with his last couple albums," Moskow says. "We want to get to those outer rings and be hitting those people who haven't bought one of his records in 20 years." While some labels would shy away from Internet promotions for an artist who is nearly 60, UMe went the opposite route, sending out e-mail blasts via Springfield's Web site and using Push technology to unlock extra content once the new CD was inserted into a computer. Bonus tracks were also available via Best Buy and iTunes, and Amazon hosted a listening party and a track-by-track video from Springfield. Further, fans were asked to submit photos of themselves with the artist, which were then included in the CD booklet. "We believe that helped drive some early interest," Moskow says. "They wanted to see themselves in the packaging. "At New Door, what we try to do is sign artists with a catalog to exploit or an artist who has very active touring and fan bases," he continues. "We don't have Rick's catalog, but he's so connected with his fans that it seemed like a great opportunity." Indeed, Springfield's base is so tuned in that, according to manager Rob Kos, tickets for his inaugural Rick Springfield & Friends cruise sold out "with no advertising whatsoever—we just let the fans know about it via our e-mail list, fan club and web site." The cruise sails from Miami Nov. 14 and will feature performances (one of which will be an all-request show) and numerous opportunities to get up close and personal with Springfield. The artist has tour dates booked through mid-October in support of "Venus." Kos says, "We do about 80 shows per year [but] we just do weekends. This way everyone can keep a semblance of a normal life and go home to their families." For Moskow, it's all proof that consumers for Springfield's type of music haven't gone anywhere—they just needed a little reminder. "Rick made a great record, and the account base really supported him," he says. "That's a great thing to have happen. He worked his butt off."