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In a borderless business that has grown increasingly digital
as artists promote their music on social media platforms,
singers, record labels and retailers are aligning distribution,
with July 10 marking "New Music Fridays."
Music release days have varied across countries - Mondays in
Britain and France, Tuesdays in North America, Wednesdays in
Japan and Fridays in Australia, Germany and Ireland, according
to music trade body British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Now singles and albums will come out at 0001 local time on
Fridays in more than 45 countries.
"Fans don't understand why they have to wait to legally access
music that has already been released in other countries," BPI
and BRIT Awards Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said in a
statement.
"It makes sense to consider the time of the week when interest
in entertainment, digital activity and physical footfall is
building towards its peak."
The move is also aimed at fighting music piracy. Charts will
also likely change to take in a full week's sales and streaming
with Britain moving to Friday from Sunday.
Among the first albums released on Friday under the shift are
electronica trio Years & Years' debut album "Communion" and
"Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone" by various artists.
British all-girl band Little Mix release their single "Black
Magic" and Nick Jonas' single "Chains" also comes out.
Years & Years helped launch "New Music Fridays" at the London
entertainment retailer HMV, where long queues formed to make the
first purchases under the change.
"When we first started, there were a lot of people talking about
us on blogs in the USA, Germany, Indonesia," Emre Turkmen of
Years & Years told Reuters. "So it makes sense that record
releases follow that trend - the globe rather than nations."
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, additional reporting by
Francis Maguire; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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