New Albums to Hit Shelves on Fridays, Starting this Summer
Starting this summer, the majority of music releases will take place on Fridays, rather than Tuesdays, thanks to a plan announced Thursday by an international music group. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), sort of a United Nations for the music business, suggested the change will increase sales, as most consumers get paid on Fridays. Why not put out music when everybody gets paid?, is the rationale behind the decision from the British organization. The group has been considering making the change since last summer, and has been gathering input from artists, label executives and retailers for months. In a statement, IFPI cited consumer research that suggests people are most interested in buying new music on Fridays and Saturdays.
Support for moving global release day to Friday has been overwhelming, coming from record stores, music fans, recording artists, labels and even Internet radio services like Spotify and Pandora. About the only opponents of the change have been independent record labels, who fear it will make it even harder to garner attention for their artists.
