A recent article asserted that, from 2002 to 2006, Band 1 generated

Question

A recent article asserted that, from 2002 to 2006, Band 1 generated the most revenue of any band in the world. The article based this claim on the fact that in each of those years, Band 1 sold the most albums, and Band 1's highly anticipated first concert tour was the highest grossing concert tour in the industry in 2006.

Which of the following, if true, weakens the article's assertion?

(A) The band with the highest grossing tour in the industry in 2002 did not tour again in the next four years.

(B) Band 1 typically puts on extraordinarily expensive concerts with elaborate staging, video displays and light shows.

(C) From 2002 to 2006, other bands released concert film and video anthology DVDs that were extremely lucrative.

(D) All of Band 1's albums released from 2002 to 2006 were poorly received by the music industry.

(E) Internet piracy of music resulted in depressed album sales for the period 2002 to 2006 relative to earlier years.

abannore · Answer

Answer: C

(A) The band with the highest grossing tour in the industry in 2002 did not tour again in the next four years.:  Incorrect. Irrelevant

(B) Band 1 typically puts on extraordinarily expensive concerts with elaborate staging, video displays and light shows.  Incorrect. It doesn't tell us how comparable are the expenses to the band's revenue.

(C) From 2002 to 2006, other bands released concert film and video anthology DVDs that were extremely lucrative:  Correct. This shows that though the other bands didn't sell highest number of records or had big concerts, their film and video anthology provided them with high revenue.

(D) All of Band 1's albums released from 2002 to 2006 were poorly received by the music industry:  Incorrect. Opinion of music industry is irrelevant here.

(E) Internet piracy of music resulted in depressed album sales for the period 2002 to 2006 relative to earlier years:  Incorrect. Comparison of sales from 2002 to 2006 with those in earlier years is irrelevant here

ravigupta2912 · Answer

I don't understand how answer C weakens the argument? Other band sales could be lucrative but Band 1 could have still earned the most revenue of them all.

PhantomAY · Answer

note the "extremely lucrative" which indicates those bands might very well challenge the author's assertion that Band 1 earned the most revenue. Plus the fact that all other answer choices did nothing to attack the argument.

For a weakening answer, as long as it poses risks to author's reasoning it can be right. And for GMAT to make the question hard (e.g. the difficulty for this answer is 85%), you will expect some answers contain indirect meanings for the purpose.

anshulvnd5 · Answer

Hi GMATNinja,

Can you please tell why option D is wrong .
as per choice C it is said that other Band songs were to lubricative for which some are saying that price for same is high. How can albums being lubricative will mean that albums price is more,
In this way Option D can also be right , by saying their album prize was less

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi Anshul

Let me try to answer your question.

1) Option (D) states: "All of Band 1's albums released from 2002 to 2006 were poorly received by the music industry".

This appears to be in direct contradiction to the stimulus which states: "...in each of those years, Band 1 sold the most albums". Since the facts given in the stimulus can not be modified or questioned in any way, we must find a way for both to be true. One explanation could be that the option (D) talks about music industry insiders (such as critics) whereas the stimulus talks about the general public ("sold the most albums"). Whatever be the case, the revenue is driven by album sales and we  know  that to be the highest. So option (D) does not weaken the argument (since, to do so, it would have to be interpreted in a way that contradicts the stimulus, which is not possible).

2) You are right that option (C) does not weaken the argument  with certainty  since we don't know the relative "lucrative"ness of Band 1 and others. However, you would agree that option (C) provides  the possibility  for weakening the argument. Any question on the GMAT requires you to pick the  best  option available, and since none of the other answer options even allow for this possibility, (C) is the best answer for this question.

Hope this helps.

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

karishma  Is C really right? I can see no reason for selecting C over A.

Sujithz001 · Answer

KarishmaB   chetan2u   bb

Can anyone pls explain this question & help me understand if C is the best option (over A)?

Thanks!

laborumplaceat · Answer

C is correct. We have to weaken the assertion that Band 1 generated most revenue in the world in the years from 2002 to 2006. 
A: It is already said that the highest grossing tour was in 2006 by Band 1 itself.
B: We are concerned with revenue and not profits
C: Correct
D: It could have been received nicely by other industries
E: Out of Scope

A recent article asserted that, from 2002 to 2006, Band 1 generated

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A recent article asserted that, from 2002 to 2006, Band 1 generated

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