The music industry makes Friday new global release date for music Change will go into effect

For many, the release of new music has
been a shining light for otherwise
insufferable Tuesdays. However, that’s
about to change.
According to Music Week , the music
industry is “on the verge of” making Friday
the global release date for new music. The
idea has been floated around since last
summer, but Frances Moore of the
International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry (IFPI) told Music
Week that the organization intends to make
a formal announcement soon.
Update – Thursday, February 26th: The
IFPI officially announced the global release
date, writing in a statement, “The
compelling logic of Friday is that it is the
day that best suits consumers … the
highest footfall in physical retail stores and
the highest levels of purchasing traffic
online. It’s also the time of greatest activity
on social media, helping amplify the buzz
around new releases everywhere. And the
weekend is a time for greater spontaneous
purchasing.” The change will go into effect
this summer.
“The good news has been the widespread
support we’ve seen around the world for
global release day — no one has seriously
questioned the concept, the only debate
has been about the day,” Moore said of the
IFPI’s ongoing conversations within the
industry, including retailers, labels, and
artists. “The artist organisations and many
retailers and record companies
internationally support Friday, and this is
backed by consumer research in many
countries.”
The IFPI believes the change would further
diminish music piracy. Many albums are
released in Australia and Germany the
Friday before their American and UK
release dates, leading to early leaks in
those regions.
However, there are some like Beggar’s
Group founder Martin Millis who worry how
the change will impact the independent
community. He criticized the notion of
getting rid of “one of the trading week’s two
peaks, and the ability to re-stock and
rectify errors before the week’s second
peak.” He also rose suspicion of the IFPI’s
consultations with the industry as being a
farce.
“I fear their consultation has been a
charade, and the market leaders were
always going to push this through,” Millis
told Music Week . “I fear this move will also
lead to a market in which the mainstream
dominates, and the niche, which can be
tomorrow’s mainstream, is further
marginalised. I fear it will further cement
the dominance of the few – and that that is
exactly what it is intended to do.”
Millis’ concerns are in line with the same
qualms that were brought up in August by
Billboard. Along with making it difficult for
artists to organize “high-profile”
appearances around their album’s release
date, it raises concerns around
restructuring scheduling for producing
physical releases and reorienting global
charts.
Furthermore, US retailers including Target
are threatening to stop selling music all
together.