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Labels should close the window, but can we force them? MusicTank Think Tank round-up

By | Published on Thursday 11 March 2010

There was a lot of agreement last night, at the latest MusicTank Think Tank debate, with the opinion of keynote speaker Joe Taylor that the record industry should look to narrow or even axe the pre-release window whereby songs are serviced to radio stations and journalists, and are therefore in the public domain, some weeks before they go on sale via digital music stores like iTunes.

Though there was probably less support for Taylor’s proposal for this be achieved by forcing labels to comply with a change to chart rules, so that in order to be chart eligible, songs would have to go on sale the same day they arrive on radio.

As previously reported, the pre-release window traditionally exists so that record labels can build a profile for a new track through radio play and other promotional activity over a number of weeks, with the aim of maximising first week sales so that the single enters the chart in a high position. The high chart ranking then brings further exposure on radio and in the mainstream print media, normally securing further single sales and, it’s hoped, building wider interest in the album release that will normally follow.

The problem is that in the digital age as soon as a track appears on radio, many music fans want immediate ownership of it. It’s argued that because these people cannot legitimately buy the song they go onto illegal file-sharing networks instead. As early as 2004, a piece of CMU and MusicTank research reported that this was one of the excuses used by file-sharers as to why they went the illegal route rather than buying tracks from the then fledgling iTunes Music Store.

An increasing number of people in the industry reckon that as soon as songs appear on radio they should be available via iTunes and other digital music services. The down side to this is that legit sales won’t be pushed into one seven-day window, meaning more mainstream acts looking for a week in the singles chart limelight to help plug an album wouldn’t be so assured that crucial Top 10 position.

One member of the audience last night pointed out that major record companies who support the pre-release window often say it exists at the request of the media, while key players at radio stations insist it’s a record industry requirement. Interestingly, the media representatives on the panel – Radio 1’s Head Of Music George Ergatoudis and NME’s Reviews Editor Emily Mackay – said they could both live without being serviced first single releases from new albums weeks in advance (as Ergatoudis pointed out, this only applies to first single releases, because once an album is out any subsequent single releases can be bought digitally as album tracks before the official single release date).

Ergatoudis added that at Radio 1 his music team rely more on digital stats – like those coming from YouTube, Shazam, file-sharing charts and their own research – rather than chart position when selecting what artists and tracks to playlist, so if the major record companies were to lose some control over the singles chart by abolishing the pre-release window, it wouldn’t have a huge impact on his station’s output. However, he admitted that his commercial rivals were often more influenced by the retail chart.

Official Charts Company chief Martin Talbot said that while he recognised the reasons behind the argument for closing the pre-release window, he wasn’t convinced it was something that could be achieved through a change in the chart rules, even if the major labels – shareholders in the chart via their BPI membership – would agree to such a thing. CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke added that he felt there was ultimately such a strong commercial case for closing the window, and that ultimately the record companies would do so voluntarily, though he added “it normally takes major record companies ten years to catch up on sound commercial arguments!”

Finally, for those of you wondering whether there’s any point worrying about the singles chart at all any more, Talbot pointed out that since the arrival of iTunes-style download stores the singles countdown is in rude health, and [PIAS] UK boss Peter Thompson added that, while for the vast majority of independent artists and labels he represents the singles chart is totally irrelevant, for those artists who have a chance of going Top 10 it does still have an important promotional role.



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