In the past, new music was released in the U.S. on Tuesdays, in the U.K. and France on Mondays, and on Fridays in Germany and Australia. One holdout, Japan, will keep Wednesday as its release day.
“It was a global change. I think the reason they did it is because they want to encourage more people to come into record stores on the weekend,” said Whitney Pope, buying manager for Omega Music in Dayton’s Oregon District, where over half of total sales are vinyl albums. “It’s when most people get paid, and having something new is more of an incentive to come into the stores.”
Music lovers in the U.S. bought more than 9 million vinyl albums last year, a 260 percent jump since 2009, according to Nielsen research.
“The switch to New Music Fridays is about getting new music to fans at the time they most want to enjoy it, whether that be in physical stores or online,” said Frances Moore, chief executive for IFPI, in a news release. “The global release day also helps artists, labels and retailers by limiting the time between releases in different countries and thus narrowing the gap on piracy.”
American music fans have been at a disadvantage until now, according to Kara Duckworth, vice president of communications with the Recording Industry of America.
“They had to suffer to wait for that music. New Music Friday helps to clear up a lot of confusion and frustration,” Duckworth said, adding that the switch will be a great boost for vinyl.
It’s younger buyers who are behind vinyl’s reignited popularity, according to local experts.
“Fifteen to 30-year-olds, they are the ones buying all of it up,” said Joshua Castleberry, owner of Toxic Beauty Records in Yellow Springs. “Fifteen-year-olds have only had mp3s their entire listening life, and when they try an album they are blown away by the sound quality.
“The Boomer age, they’ve been there, done that. They are happy with the convenience of an mp3.”
The trend shows purchasers prefer vinyl audio quality, having a physical album, and the bonus digital download that comes with them, according to Pope.
“With all the new vinyl releases coming out, the younger crowd is coming in a lot more. It’s always a struggle to compete with online music sources. They can offer things at a lower price, generally, but the fact that people still want to have that physical copy of music really helps us stay in the business,” said Pope, adding the big vinyl sellers are alternative/Indie albums, and new hip hop releases.
A Friday release date is a good idea, according to Daniel Madero of Dayton, who said he prefers vinyl for the audio quality.
“Most people get paid on Friday. I typically buy on the weekends,” he said. “When they come out on Tuesday they are gone by Friday, sometimes even Thursday, so I think it’s helpful.”
Pope said Omega Music uses social media to spread the word about New Music Fridays.
“We’ve tried to let people know via Instagram and Facebook that things are changing and moving the release date to Friday, so people were pretty supportive of it,” Pope said.
For those who prefer to purchase re-releases of older tunes and albums, some will still come out on Tuesdays, Pope said.
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