Australian retailers applaud IFPI’s choice of Friday as Global Release Day

Australian retailers have applauded the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)’s decision to for the global industry to release all its latest music on Fridays from mid-year. But others are concerned that it will mean that mainstream acts will totally overshadow indie acts, and erode diversity in music.

Only Australia and Germany have done so on Fridays but this would mean big changes for the world’s largest music market, the United States, which issues on Tuesdays, and the UK which currently releases on Mondays.

Ian Harvey, Executive Director of the Australian Music Retailers Association (AMRA) said, “Moving to a global release Friday is a good and sensible decision. The decision to move to a Friday release day in Australia was based on the belief that retailers had to meet the needs of their customers and that for those customers Friday, Saturday and Sunday are shopping days. Why wouldn’t you have your most attractive, most in demand product available in store when consumers are actually shopping?”

The IFPI explained that different global release dates caused frustrations for fans as other countries were accessing new music before them. It would also aid musicians who want to promote their music through social media.

“It also creates the opportunity to re-ignite excitement and a sense of occasion around the release of new music,” the IFPI continued. “The move to an aligned global release day will also reduce the risk of piracy by narrowing the gap between release days in different countries.”

Consumer research by TNS across seven markets found that 68% chose Friday or Saturday as their release date of choice.

The IFPI, which represents 1,300 record companies, made the decision to align the release date after consultation with artists, musicians unions, record companies and retailers (including AMRA) and download platforms.

Crispin Hunt of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) called a Global Release Day as “a great opportunity to re-engage the public with new music and re-ignite excitement around new releases. We are in a time when the general public’s involvement with music has become more fleeting and somehow less social – a global release day could help change that.”

Scott Cohen, founder and VP of distributor The Orchard argued, “Adhering to national release dates in a connected world makes no sense anymore.  But organising our business around the consumer makes perfect sense. The weekend should be about fun and discovering new music.  And since this is what consumers already do it feels great to give them just what they want.” 

Rdio’s CEO Anthony Bay pointed out, “A worldwide global release date creates more opportunities to promote new releases. We support the proposed transition to a Friday release date and look forward to helping artists reach more listeners with their new music in all 85 of our territories.”

But others like the Entertainment Retailers Association and Martin Mills of the UK’s indie Beggars Group argued that currently there are two spikes for sales –  early in the week, and during weekends.

Mills admitted, “I have concerns about the proposed global release day. Whilst I acknowledge the needs of a digital world for coordination, it seems to me to be crazy to throw away one of the trading week’s two peaks, and the ability to re-stock and rectify errors before the week’s second peak. And it astounds me that the major labels are not listening to their customers [the retailers], their interface with their artists’ fans.”

He called the IFPI’s consultation “a charade” and a way for major labels to take back control of access. The result would be that mainstream releases would overshadow those from indies – “and that that is exactly what it is intended to do”. It was important, he emphasized, for the market to recognize that different acts and audiences are partial to singles, and others to albums.

“Lack of diversity will strangle innovation and music will become moribund and uninteresting, and consumer interest will erode,” Mills warned.