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Early 2000's music

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mdh View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 08:51 PM Post #1
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 19 December 2015 Posts: 20,102 User: 22,776	I've a question or two about the music scene in the early 2000's, when it was notoriously quick and we saw 3-6 new entries in the top 10 nearly EVERY week. What was the release system? Was it with a set release date, a la 2010-mid 2015, or was it OA/OS? If the answer is indeed a scheduled release system, how did tracks gain traction prior to release for purchase? Was it via music channels and radio? AND finally, did music channels have an impact on the charts? Thanks


Gezza View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 08:59 PM Post #2
Ciao, 911? E 'Quagmire. Sì, è preso nella finestra di questo Joined: 25 March 2011 Posts: 17,947 User: 13,341	The Box etc really helped to break an act and helped especially with the Spice Girls (for example) in the mid 90s, but in the main singles were serviced to radio roughly 8-6 weeks prior to release so they were already well known when released hence the high debut to initial demand then a retreat down the charts. Radio 1's shift to "new music" from "chart music" happened in the mid 90s and really helped to accelerate the charts turnover wise. This was also helped with a lower price in the initial week of release and in the CD single often being available in two versions with different mixes/ b-sides available so fans would snap up both versions in the first week. Release dates were well publicised in advance with TV/ Promo aimed at the few weeks prior to release to concentrate on the debut position. Hope that helps.


Doctor Blind View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:02 PM Post #3
#38BBE0 otherwise known as 'sky blue' Joined: 27 October 2008 Posts: 16,170 User: 7,561	Releases were scheduled up to 6 weeks ahead with radio play starting almost immediately. The Box had quite a big impact on the chart at the time and being stocked in Woolworths was critical to a high (Top 20) chart placing in week 1 so we often had the Woolworths chart on a Monday to use as an early 'midweek' indicator. ^What Gezza said. Basically early January 2017 releases would be starting to be sent to radio now, often this meant that some people got sick of the singles before they even made the chart. This post has been edited by Doctor Blind: Nov 29 2016, 09:03 PM


Steve201 View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:04 PM Post #4
Shakin Stevens Joined: 29 December 2007 Posts: 46,140 User: 5,138	Yeh it was a bit farcical at times although exciting to see where your fav artist entered - but totally fixed in terms the way the tracks were released. I find it weird that people can't remember held back days - times have changed. Cani expand on this and ask how OAOS ended between 1992-96 and how tracks climbed in those days?


Doctor Blind View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:09 PM Post #5
#38BBE0 otherwise known as 'sky blue' Joined: 27 October 2008 Posts: 16,170 User: 7,561	A lot of the climbs of fanbase and less mainstream hits in the period 1992-1996 weren't genuine and were simply record labels holding back formats, e.g. U2 going 23-{7}-9 with “One” in March 1992. The majority of climbers came from less well known acts that had less presence upfront and built into genuine big hits slowly, e.g. Donna Lewis going 34-20-11-9-{5} with “I Love You Always Forever” in an era when nearly everything was debuting at its peak in week 1 and hardly anything climbed into the Top 10 from outside the Top 30.


BillyH View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:14 PM Post #6
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 10 July 2008 Posts: 2,146 User: 6,614	Ok, most of this has already been said by others as I've been writing the below, but here's my post on the subject anyway Music would first hit radio and TV weeks before the scheduled release date, gaining significant airplay and promotion until their eventual CD release. In the first week or two, CD singles would often be discounted - around 99p or £1.99 - before rising to around £2.99-£3.99 later on, and later still usually offered in a clearance sale for a pound or less once the songs had well and truly left the chart and stock needed to be cleared. Music channels played a huge role, particularly 'jukebox' channels such as The Box which used a then-novel model of calling up a telephone line (later also text messaging) to 'request' songs which would then be placed in a queue, playing any time from immediately after calling (off-peak times with few viewers, such as the middle of the night) or around half an hour to an hour(!) later (peak times such as the school holiday season). A fair few hits can owe their surprising UK success to major airplay by music channels, particularly Eurodance/pop tracks from the continent that UK radio would often ignore. Saturday morning kids television was a huge boost for artists at the time too, one of the biggest was a programme called CD:UK which aired on ITV in the mornings and featured a variety of musical acts, by now attracting a much better audience share for its timeslot than the more well-known Top of the Pops was managing on Friday evenings. Acts would appear on various kids shows, perform their new single, do phone-ins with viewers (in the pre-Twitter days the only way to contact your pop icons!) and announce competitions where viewers would win their new single or band merchandise etc. This all helped a lot towards promotion and building an audience for a hopefully high chart position when the single is released. The model could easily have carried on forever, but the early noughties saw a steadily growing boom in illegal mp3 downloads that by 2004 had become extremely widespread and led to a major slump in single sales compared to even just the start of the decade. From a personal point of view, I was first 'introduced' to mp3s by some tech-savvy friends around the summer of 2000, and gave up buying CD singles altogether around the end of 2002/early 2003 once our home internet speed was fast and reliable enough to download a good collection. Downloads were added to the UK Singles Chart in April 2005 and a whole new era of music purchasing and consumption began.


Gezza View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:16 PM Post #7
Ciao, 911? E 'Quagmire. Sì, è preso nella finestra di questo Joined: 25 March 2011 Posts: 17,947 User: 13,341	Historically until around the mid 90s new music was only really added to playlists on Radio 1 (for example) once it started to climb the charts (becoming a self fulfilling prophecy really) unless it was by an already known act. Acts got promotion on TV shows as there were more casual shows that incorporated a music act during their normal weekly shows etc. "Wogan" was a good example here of a chat show which normally had a musical act on, ""Des O'Connor Tonight" would be another example, so the casual viewer would get to know a record rather than actively seeking out new music. Nowadays we only really have maybe Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross who operate the same way but both are late at night. What we've lost are many of these outlets and music (as indeed most things are now) is much more segregated. I suppose with increased channels programes have to become more niche to keep their respective audience but the demise of the regular primetime weekly outlet for music has effected the industry and changed how we consume music.


Jester View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:19 PM Post #8
Right in front of my salad?! Pronouns: he/him Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 82,468 User: 12	Coco Jambo (mid 90s) was a hit down to the Box - plus Spice Girls Wannabe was all over the Box for about a month before it was released in 96. Channels like this had a huge impact.


BillyH View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:30 PM Post #9
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 10 July 2008 Posts: 2,146 User: 6,614	Wes - Alane was another Box-helped hit, think all these were too - Alizee - Moi Lolita, Scooter - The Logical Song, XTM - Fly On The Wings of Love, O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei, Dana Rayne - Object of My Desire. Anything radio would sneer at for being too 'cheesy' basically, early noughties radio seemed much more focused on indie-rock acts of the era. As mentioned you were often sick of the song by the time it first hit the charts, I remember Justin Timberlake's 'Rock Your Body' had airplay for weeks and weeks before it first charted to the point where it reminds me of the Easter holidays but it wasn't released until the end of May!


Steve201 View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:43 PM Post #10
Shakin Stevens Joined: 29 December 2007 Posts: 46,140 User: 5,138	QUOTE(Doctor Blind @ Nov 29 2016, 09:09 PM) A lot of the climbs of fanbase and less mainstream hits in the period 1992-1996 weren't genuine and were simply record labels holding back formats, e.g. U2 going 23-{7}-9 with “One” in March 1992. The majority of climbers came from less well known acts that had less presence upfront and built into genuine big hits slowly, e.g. Donna Lewis going 34-20-11-9-{5} with “I Love You Always Forever” in an era when nearly everything was debuting at its peak in week 1 and hardly anything climbed into the Top 10 from outside the Top 30. Yeh but it was still On Air at the time? Acts were just so big they jumped quickly - it happened in the 80s too with new tracks by Shaky/Wham/Adam Ant etc!


Doctor Blind View member profile	Nov 29 2016, 09:50 PM Post #11
#38BBE0 otherwise known as 'sky blue' Joined: 27 October 2008 Posts: 16,170 User: 7,561	QUOTE(Steve201 @ Nov 29 2016, 09:43 PM) Yeh but it was still On Air at the time? Acts were just so big they jumped quickly - it happened in the 80s too with new tracks by Shaky/Wham/Adam Ant etc! On Air/On Sale seemed to end around early 1995 - I think there is a huge step-change around the week that Livin’ Joy went to number 1 with “Dreamer” and I remember R1 going on and ON about that being number 1 in the midweeks and playing it endlessly weeks in advance.


TheSnake View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 01:33 AM Post #12
Say that hiss with your chest, and... Joined: 24 May 2016 Posts: 18,441 User: 23,308	QUOTE(BillyH @ Nov 29 2016, 09:30 PM) Wes - Alane was another Box-helped hit, think all these were too - Alizee - Moi Lolita, Scooter - The Logical Song, XTM - Fly On The Wings of Love, O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei, Dana Rayne - Object of My Desire. Anything radio would sneer at for being too 'cheesy' basically, early noughties radio seemed much more focused on indie-rock acts of the era. Would the 80s remixes like Falling Stars have been largely Box helped hits too? Also some of the disco sounding dance hits like M&S and the Girl Next Door -Salsoul Nugget or Soul Central - Stronger On My Own (Strings of Life) sound like they may have been shunned by Radio 1 for being too retro sounding. I always wondered about Object Of My Desire and Heartbeatz too, they look so out of place for the time (when house music was dominant in.the dance music that did make the charts)


TheSnake View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 01:38 AM Post #13
Say that hiss with your chest, and... Joined: 24 May 2016 Posts: 18,441 User: 23,308	QUOTE(Steve201 @ Nov 29 2016, 09:04 PM) Yeh it was a bit farcical at times although exciting to see where your fav artist entered - but totally fixed in terms the way the tracks were released. I find it weird that people can't remember held back days - times have changed. Cani expand on this and ask how OAOS ended between 1992-96 and how tracks climbed in those days? So much music making the charts though, for 2000 to 2007 there are literally loads of tracks from each year to choose as your favourite top 40 entry from the year.


richie View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 08:58 AM Post #14
Poet and Storyteller Joined: 11 March 2006 Posts: 6,753 User: 166	Exactly what has been said. I could be wrong, but the multi-CD trick started off with more "indie" bands (usually still distributed by major labels) looking for a way to get around the fact their fans all bought a release during the first week. This resulted in a single going in quite high but dropping sharply the next week (sometimes out of the chart altogether). Around 1991-1993, several bands would release gatefold CD versions one week with one CD included and fans could buy the second CD (same song with different B-sides) a week later to complete their pack. Mind you, one of the reasons the likes of Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood stuck around for so long was because they released a "new" mix on 12" every week and people bought it multiple times - so nothing new there.


vidcapper View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 11:09 AM Post #15
Paul Hyett Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 25,346 User: 364	Plus, almost invariably, where your song debuted would be where it peaked, so interest dropped off rapidly after that.


AcerBen View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 12:54 PM Post #16
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 3,628 User: 3,429	QUOTE(Doctor Blind @ Nov 29 2016, 09:50 PM) On Air/On Sale seemed to end around early 1995 - I think there is a huge step-change around the week that Livin’ Joy went to number 1 with “Dreamer” and I remember R1 going on and ON about that being number 1 in the midweeks and playing it endlessly weeks in advance. It was a very gradual thing leading up to that point I'd say. Records were serviced to radio a few weeks before being released earlier on in the 90s, but it just wasn't all about week 1. Most big hit records would still enter reasonably high before then, but just climb further as airplay increased following the release. This post has been edited by AcerBen: Nov 30 2016, 12:55 PM


The Hit Parade View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 01:34 PM Post #17
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 24 March 2013 Posts: 2,134 User: 18,521	QUOTE(The Emperor @ Nov 30 2016, 02:33 AM) Would the 80s remixes like Falling Stars have been largely Box helped hits too? Also some of the disco sounding dance hits like M&S and the Girl Next Door -Salsoul Nugget or Soul Central - Stronger On My Own (Strings of Life) sound like they may have been shunned by Radio 1 for being too retro sounding. I can very much assure you that M&S and Girl Next Door was very much not shunned by Radio 1. They played it to effing death, and I still associate that song with waiting for the H10 bus to work outside the HSS Hire Shop. I remember the Soul Central song too so they must have been playing that.


TheSnake View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 03:07 PM Post #18
Say that hiss with your chest, and... Joined: 24 May 2016 Posts: 18,441 User: 23,308	QUOTE(BillyH @ Nov 29 2016, 09:14 PM) A fair few hits can owe their surprising UK success to major airplay by music channels, particularly Eurodance/pop tracks from the continent that UK radio would often ignore. Now it's like Imany - Don't Be So Shy (Filatov and Karas Remix) this year (which radio 1 seemed to ignore iirc) Back then, I am guessing the Belgian eurotrance acts in 2002 - early 2003 would have benefited - Dee Dee, Kira, Ian van Dahl, Milk Inc. etc.


TheSnake View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 03:08 PM Post #19
Say that hiss with your chest, and... Joined: 24 May 2016 Posts: 18,441 User: 23,308	QUOTE(The Hit Parade @ Nov 30 2016, 01:34 PM) I can very much assure you that M&S and Girl Next Door was very much not shunned by Radio 1. They played it to effing death, and I still associate that song with waiting for the H10 bus to work outside the HSS Hire Shop. I remember the Soul Central song too so they must have been playing that. So what happened with Basshunter, Micky Modelle and Cascada later on the decade, did Radio 1 stop its aversion to slightly cheesy eurodance?


BillyH View member profile	Nov 30 2016, 03:59 PM Post #20
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 10 July 2008 Posts: 2,146 User: 6,614	'Everytime We Touch' was a massive hit in the States, which gave the track far more airplay and promo here than if it were just a random European hit. US success always makes the world take notice. Basshunter was more of a surprise, certainly when it stayed there for weeks and kept Adele's debut track from #1. There hadn't been a dance track that long at #1 for years (since Cher - Believe I think?), it just got randomly huge that winter and sold well for the time. But the 'tide' was slowly shifting from indie to dancepop by then anyway, Lady Gaga made her overseas debut later that year and by 09 the Guetta Revolution had begun.