While stories of how harmful piracy is in the music industry don’t get reported as much these days as when the internet first took over as the primary distribution channel for music, it still plagues the business, hurting sales of every artist, regardless of popularity or genre. Album leaks may accrue a lot of attention, but they aren’t the primary source of piracy these days. Instead, the majority of illegal sharing and buying starts with legitimately purchased music that then spreads around the world.
What often happens is that a certain song or album is released in one territory on one day, but won’t be available in most of the rest of the world for several days, letting those who bought it first to share the files with ease. It may sound like an easy fix, but the industry has been working on a way to fix this problem that will appease everybody, and though a decision is close to being made, the discussion continues.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the main trade body for the music industry, is working on creating a Global Weekly Release Day, one that all countries would abide by. The problem mostly lies with countries like Australia and certain European markets, where new releases go on sale on Fridays. Those same titles don’t hit shelves (digitally and physically) in the UK until the following Monday, and the US until Tuesday. Even if a certain label decides to move the order of which country comes first, most of the time the actual days stay the same, meaning someone will have a piece of music first, making pirating both easy and lucrative.
While setting one single day for everyone to release their music on sounds like common sense, everybody seems to have an opinion on what that day should be. Of course representatives from every region want to keep their own usual date, as changing consumer’s behaviors at this point could prove to be tricky. It seems right now that the consensus is that all countries should start offering new music on Fridays, but not everybody is happy with that.
Indie record stores in the US and Canada want Tuesday to remain the set day, as they say it allows hardcore fans to rush out on the first day (Tuesday) and purchase an album, while those waiting for the weekend can still have an impact on first-week sales figures. Of course there are many around the world—and even those in America—that still think Friday is the best option.
A change of the days new albums come out has far-reaching consequences, the effects of which are being considered before a final decision is made. First of all, charts across the globe would need to restructure their methodology, switching days to make sure a full week of sales are counted. On top of that, other media industries might also consider a similar change. The music industry created the idea that there should be one day a week where all new products are released, and since then both the movie and book industries have followed suit. A change in one could mean changes for other industries aren’t far behind.
For now, no official decision has been made, though a timeline for a change has been set down, if just to move things along. It will take quite some time for everyone involved in the music industry to adjust their practices, no matter what day is set. The new global release date is supposedly kicking off next July, but the longer this heated debate rages, the less time businesses have to work out the kinks and be prepared for what is sure to be a bumpy transition, at least in the beginning.
