What does new Friday release day mean for music? - USA TODAY
"If an album leaked the Thursday or Friday before" a Tuesday U. S. release, says Universal Music Group Nashville senior vice president Tom Becci, "you could see the piracy ramp up dramatically over the weekend. Before this week's change, artists had almost a full week to promote an album globally. "They could appear in Australia, then fly to Asia or Europe, then head to the U. S. to maximize their visibility throughout the week, as the album was released," Caulfield says. That'll be a challenge for artists and labels used to a staggered release week. Now, it will track both albums and individual tracks on a Friday-to-Thursday sales week, as opposed to the Monday-through-Sunday cycle it has used since 1991. The final charts under the old system will publish this Thursday. "Having a release date on a Tuesday would give you enough time to sell through a record that was really hot early in the week and still get more in time for the weekend," says Mike Turner, manager at Wuxtry Records in Athens, Ga. "Now, you'll have... Last week, Nielsen Entertainment released its mid-year music report, showing a 14% year-over-year increase in music consumption, thanks largely to the growth of on-demand streaming and music sales. Source: www.usatoday.com
