Chart hits slip through the on air/on sale net

 

The early promise of a record industry commitment to on air/on sale appears to be coming under increasing pressure, as a number of high-profile releases are going to radio weeks before fans can buy them.

 

The issue is particularly highlighted in the new OCC UK singles chart where four of the top five sellers had not been subject to day and date.

 

They comprised Ministry of Sound act Example, whose Changed The Way You Kiss Me, which debuted at number one a week ago, and new entries from Sony act Calvin Harris, breakthrough Warner artist Ed Sheeran and a Universal/All Around The World pairing of Tinchy Stryder and Dappy.

 

 

The four tracks will be joined in the chart in the coming weeks by a number of other high-profile releases which have already been at radio for several weeks but are not yet available to buy. They include the new singles from Universal act The Wanted and Sony boy band JLS.

 

A previous in-depth study by Music Week (07.05.11 issue) of on air/on sale, which was publicly backed by Universal and Sony in January as a way of trying to tackle online piracy, revealed most brand new tracks were subject to the strategy.

 

However, Music Managers Forum chief executive Jon Webster, whose organisation has long championedday and date, suggested “cracks” were now appearing.

 

But Universal commercial division managing director Brian Rose dismissed these fears and said his company remained fully committed to on air/on sale.

 

 

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Cracks appear in the on air/on sale commitment

 

 

On air/on sale still appears a long way from becoming blanket policy for labels, with the top three of this week's OCC singles chart made up entirely of brand new tracks not subject to the strategy.

 

A week after Example debuted at number one with Changed The Way You Kiss Me, having already been at radio for more than a month, the Ministry of Sound track was set to be joined at the top end of the chart by new releases from Columbia’s Calvin Harris and Atlantic’s Ed Sheeran, both of which had weeks of upfront airplay support.

 

Island’s new Tinchy Stryder & Dappy single Spaceship, another Top 10 entry in yesterday’s chart, has itself not adhered to on air/on sale, while brand new tracks by Epic’s JLS and Island’s The Wanted have now been in the Top 50 of Nielsen Music’s weekly radio chart for three weeks even though consumers will not be able to buy them until July.

 

When Music Week took an in-depth look into on air/on sale at the beginning of May the signs appeared to be encouraging for supporters of the strategy, with the vast majority of new tracks going on sale almost as soon as stations started playing them.

 

However, Music Managers Forum chief executive Jon Webster, whose organisation was an early, leading advocate of day and date as a means of tackling online piracy, is frustrated at the number of tracks slipping through the policy.

 

“We are concerned that cracks are appearing,” he said. “It requires the industry to work together. It requires people to put the interests of the industry before the interests of an individual act. They are probably worried that tracks are not going to have as much of an impact, but the evidence is they still can if they are good enough.”

 

But his concerns have been played down by Universal commercial division managing director Brian Rose whose company, alongside Sony, publicly made a big fanfare back in January that it was throwing its support behind on air/on sale.

 

Warner, whose acts include Ed Sheeran, and EMI have veered towards using the policy on a case-by-case basis, while many independents adopt day and date.

 

New Sony tracks by Calvin Harris and JLS are not sticking to the policy, while music fans have not been able to buy new tracks by Universal acts Dionne Bromfield, Tinchy Stryder and The Wanted at the same time as hearing them on the radio, although in the case of The Wanted single Glad You Came it is understood management, rather than Universal, decided on an early radio date.

 

But Rose described these examples from Universal as “isolated cases” and said they needed to be put into the context of the vast number of new singles the major put out.

 

“There is a big shift in terms of how we do things, but, of course, there are going to be exceptions,” he said. “If all you are talking about is two or three exceptions that’s a huge success when you think of how many records we release.”

 

Rose stressed Universal was “completely on board” with on air/on sale, although there would continue to be exceptions.

 

However, Ministry of Sound Recordings managing director David Dollimore, whose company has been one of the leading supporters of continuing the tried-and-tested method of weeks of upfront radio play before commercial release to deliver the highest possible first-week sales and chart entry, reckoned the industry was firmly split on the issue.

 

“Our strategy is going to continue,” he added. “Media people talking to me look at the chart and when you look at the success of the Example and Calvin Harris singles why change that? It seems to be the model that’s working.”

 

In the case of Example, the long radio build-up helped to deliver Ministry an instant number one record and opening sales of 115,046 units, the highest total for a charttopper for 10 weeks.

 

The release had spent three weeks in Nielsen’s airplay Top 50 before it could be bought and followed fellowMoS release Unorthodox by Wretch 32 featuring Example entering at two in April after more than two months at radio.

 

“We wanted a number-one record,” said Dollimore about the new Example single. “There’s a real ring to it. It’s going to help us with the campaign and sell the album.”

 

While the key reason for introducing on air/on sale in the first place was to try to reduce online piracy, so music fans had the option of buying a track legally when they heard it on the radio rather than acquiring it by illegal means, Dollimore reckoned his company had not lost many sales to piracy by delaying the Example single’s release.

 

Another vocal opponent of on air/on sale as a blanket measure for the industry has been Nick Raphael who is due to leave his post as Epic Records managing director at Sony at the end of this month to take up a new role running a revived London Records at rival Universal.

 

Although Sony has publicly committed itself to the initiative, Epic’s single She Makes Me Wanna by JLS featuring Dev will not be available to buy until July 24, around two months after stations started playing it.

 

Raphael believed there should not be any “hard-and-fast rules” with regards to air/on sale because, in some cases, going on sale immediately with a brand new single benefited an artist, but other artists’ releases needed pent-up demand.

 

“Every artist is an individual and they should be treated with that individuality in mind. If an artist will benefit by being released immediately a label should do that, but if an artist needs pent-up demand then there is merit in holding back the track,” he said.

 

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EDITORIAL: Consistency is key when it comes to timing releases

 

 

Music Week has long argued the merits of allowing fans to buy tracks as soon as they hear them on the radio. And we remain convinced on air/on sale makes perfect sense in this instant-gratification world we live in.

 

However, there are signs that just five months after Universal and Sony threw their weight behind the strategy there are some disturbing wobbles coming from labels about how much they are committed to it.

 

For day-and-date to work effectively it needs the participation of everyone, otherwise all it does is create confusion among consumers.

 

There is no point in the industry sending out a message that tracks are now available to download when you hear them if it then has to add an asterisk to say this might not always be the case.

 

A look at the top end of this week's UK singles chart makes it almost feel like on air/on sale never existed.

 

Four of what was, at the end of last wee,k shaping up to be the top five had not been subject to day and date, having all been at radio for a month or more before you could legally acquire them.

 

And that is not the end of the lapses - there are other brand new singles from key acts that will come out in the next month having already been on air for several weeks and, in the case of JLS’s new track, nine weeks before anyone could buy it.

 

Those against on air/on sale as a blanket policy – and they include Ministry of Sound – will argue that you need several weeks of prerelease airplay to build up momentum and in the case of Example can point to that approach delivering a number one record. In many ways it is hard to argue against it, especially given his single sold a very healthy 115,046 copies first week.

 

But the problem comes if labels are able to steal a march on rivals who are adhering to day and date by going to radio a bit earlier than everyone else.

 

That is their prerogative, of course. But it is precisely this kind of thinking that got us into this mess in the first place, where virtually every new record went to radio weeks before consumers could buy them.

 

That started with one label and others then followed, going to radio two weeks before release, then three, then five, then seven, all to try to sneak an advantage over the competition.

 

Those non-day-and-date hits at the top end of this week’s singles chart are just a few exceptions to on air/on sale, as labels and managers look to get an advantage over their rivals.

 

But recent history tells us that if a few labels do this there is the risk that others will follow suit. We need to be very careful that the good early work of day and date is not cancelled out and we head down that slippery path once more of fans being unable to buy the tracks they hear.

 

What we are saying should be treated as a note of caution rather than a gloomy conclusion that on air/on sale is failing. We are, after all, as susceptible as anyone to a good chart story.

 

What is more, in the vast majority of cases brand new tracks are being made available to buy immediately.

 

But, while common sense tells us there always need to be a bit of flexibility with any policy, on air/on sale will ultimately not succeed when there are such significant discrepancies between some big releases going on sale instantly and consumers having to wait many weeks to buy others. And that would surely be a wasted opportunity.

 

 

 

Source: MW

It all boils down to what the record company wants from a release - many American acts are more used to being judged on sales than chart positions anyway so the record company release early to maximise sales (see "Party Rock Anthem" and "Give Me Everything") particularly when the act doesn't have much of a fanbase.

 

Releases by acts like JLS are more concerned with peak position so they're held back. Whether this affects overall sales remains to be seen, if "Notorious" ends up selling less than "Missing You" or "Forever Is Over" then the strategy has obviously backfired for The Saturdays. If it fails to repeak but ends up with sales well past 200k then you could say the record company has got away with it - more money earned from sales, and another top 10 record in the bag.

The problem is no one can prove one way or the other how well a single would've sold had the opposite strategy been used? Yes, 'Run The World' and 'Notorious' have flopped but what's to say they wouldn't have performed similarly if they'd been held back, with a higher peak but less longeivity. They are afterall, very poor songs no where near the artists best.

Quite. I'm no fan of The Saturdays or Beyonce but their current singles are atrocious. Let's see what happens if they release a decent song (and they are both capable of doing so) without prior airplay.

Well, I don't agree RTW is bad at all, it's just different. I like it.

Well, I don't agree RTW is bad at all, it's just different. I like it.

 

I agree. I know quite a few people that like Run the World too. And I'm a fan of Notorious aswell.

 

And then some of the songs that climb to #1 in the old-fashioned way I think are atrocious. Maybe the general public really do think Party Rock Anthem is one of the best songs from the past 6 months, but I think it's more than just how good the song is. Promotion is important aswell.

Edited June 20, 201114 yr by Eric_Blob

You may like them more but you can surely see it has far less hit potential? 'Diva' is one of my favourite Beyonce songs (the one I liked most off her last album) but I'm not going to argue that it's better than, or should be a hit more than, the likes of 'Sweet Dreams' or 'Halo', because it's clearly never going to appeal to the masses, much like 'Run the World'.

Yeah, that's true. I don't think Run the World fits into the current chart climate. It's too urban, and not enough pop for the current chart imo, so that does make sense, I don't think the public want that sort of thing at the moment.

MOS are the only label with any bloody sense. If they'd put that Example record out a month ago the absolute best they could have hoped for would be that it had sold 115,000 staggered over 4 weeks, and in the process not reached number 1.

 

The argument for OAOS made sense ten years ago when singles went in the top 10 one week and then left the top 40 two weeks later. Nowadays singles sell and sell for weeks and weeks. It's clear the average punter does not get bored of songs quickly. And the argument about "lost sales" is a fallacy when they fail to recognise that in the long run they "lose sales" by not allowing singles to gain a momentum. Some singles just won't get the media support if they don't sell from the off.

 

And it's no good blaming the media or talking about "the greater good" since they have still failed to prove that there is ANY benefit to having singles out from day one. The only record I can think of that's been an absolute smash because of it was Price Tag - and that doesn't even count because it had been floating about on the Internet for AGES and she had $h!tloads of hype and she'd probably already done 200k of Dude by then, so had a ready made fanbase waiting to buy the next single.

MOS are the only label with any bloody sense. If they'd put that Example record out a month ago the absolute best they could have hoped for would be that it had sold 115,000 staggered over 4 weeks, and in the process not reached number 1.

 

The argument for OAOS made sense ten years ago when singles went in the top 10 one week and then left the top 40 two weeks later. Nowadays singles sell and sell for weeks and weeks. It's clear the average punter does not get bored of songs quickly. And the argument about "lost sales" is a fallacy when they fail to recognise that in the long run they "lose sales" by not allowing singles to gain a momentum. Some singles just won't get the media support if they don't sell from the off.

 

And it's no good blaming the media or talking about "the greater good" since they have still failed to prove that there is ANY benefit to having singles out from day one. The only record I can think of that's been an absolute smash because of it was Price Tag - and that doesn't even count because it had been floating about on the Internet for AGES and she had $h!tloads of hype and she'd probably already done 200k of Dude by then, so had a ready made fanbase waiting to buy the next single.

What about LMFAO? Pitbull? Noah & The Whale? Aloe Blacc? David & Snoop? Born This Way? All of those are in the top 20 of the year so far and were released OA/OS, apart from N&TW but the 12 weeks in the top 40 were far more than they ever would've managed because its continued success meant it reached promo outlets that would never have touched it?

Price Tag wasn't even on air, on sale. It had been gettin airplay on Radio 1Xtra and Capital since late 2010. I heard it myself on the year-end Big Top 40 Show chart, which was aired on January 1st.

 

The week Price Tag was released was the week that record label decided to start doing on air, on sale for everything. But its radio premiere was months before that.

MOS are the only label with any bloody sense. If they'd put that Example record out a month ago the absolute best they could have hoped for would be that it had sold 115,000 staggered over 4 weeks, and in the process not reached number 1.

 

How can you know that for certain though?

 

An interesting article from Popjustice.

 

Is it time to scrap On Air On Sale?

 

http://www.popjustice.com/images/stories/j/officialchartjun212011.jpg

 

Some people say it is. We say: no of course it's f***ing not.

 

HOWEVER:

 

There needs to be complete understanding - across the media, through fanbases, with anyone who might start shrieking and shouting at a week one position outside the Top 20 - that a song's chart journey does not begin and end with the first week's sales.

 

Radio stations need to understand and co-operate with what is happening. We appreciate that certain stations (ie Radio 1) are sad about losing some of their supposed power but if you're telling labels you won't play their songs until they are hits you're not helping anybody.

 

It just doesn't work if only a few people are doing it. Yes, we know the charts have never been a level playing field - you can't really judge a single with a £300K marketing budget against a single with £15K behind it. And no, we are not suggesting that everyone gets the next tube to Elephant & Castle and stands outside Ministry shouting "SCAB" every time Example goes in for a label meeting. But if they (and Sony and whoever else is ignoring On Air On Sale whenever it suits them) keep 'cheating' and going for short term gains, the labels and artists who (largely through gritted teeth) are sticking to On Air On Sale are doing it for nothing. We therefore demand that the Official Charts Company disqualifies any single taken to radio before it goes on sale. Effective immediately.

 

Labels: it's pointless to wait until everyone's bored of a song until you release the video. Campaigns need to be flexible like they never were before. There has to be some sense of momentum; key assets like the video need to be ready to debut at a moment's notice. If interest tails off, unleash the video. Maybe bringing forward the video debut will mean that the single campaign is more compact, and ends earlier than you expected. Maybe the earlier appearance of the video will create a surge of interest that pushes the release to radio a-lists and extends the campaign. Plan for these eventualities. God only knows what you're going to do about that Graham Norton appearance you've got booked for six weeks from now. Maybe that could be the next single? DON'T PANIC.

 

We need to accept that there will be collateral damage until people know what is happening. Listen to her fans and you'll believe that the Nicola Roberts single - currently sitting somewhere in the lower reachers of the iTunes Top 100 - has not flopped because. True, it's still not 'properly' out for another FOUR WEEKS with various promotional activity scattered throughout that period, but it already feels like people are bailing on it. It may well be that she's one victim of The Change. It's not just her - Britney's UK comeback stalled too. (There's a BBC article about some of that here.) But we should put emotions (and they are strong emotions, readers) aside here. We don't feel happy about offering up a sacrificial Girls Aloud member to the gods of On Air On Sale, but maybe that's just what needs to happen. Maybe everything needs to go to $h!t for eight or ten months in order for the next eight or ten years to make any sort of sense.

 

There are still only 40 places in the Top 40, and slowing down a single's chart narrative will mean there's room for fewer Top 40 singles each year, so it must also be accepted that not all songs will benefit from On Air On Sale. Some releases may do better than they would have done before and some releases may not do as well, but one certainty is that labels won't suddenly see all their releases becoming hits. Most artists and singles will continue to fail, because most artists and singles always have failed and most artists and singles always will fail. Label bosses: your crap new band failing to be of any interest to anyone at all is your fault. Don't blame On Air On Sale. Don't claim On Air On Sale is a failure because you don't have anything in the Top 10.

 

Fans, meanwhile, have to be realistic. Yes we know it's hard. But just as we should hesitate to judge singles that haven't flopped yet, it is also important that we accept when singles do flop. If it's on air and it's on sale and nobody's buying it, it's not working and would never have worked. In fact, perhaps some fans should be grateful. Maybe fans who will spend the rest of their lives bleating on about how a release "would have been a hit if it weren't for On Air On Sale" have actually been spared the torment of seeing their favourite act with a bonafide actual flop on their hands. We will never know.

 

In summary: BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.

 

(What we would love to see, if anyone who knows about these matters can drop us an email or something, is a list of five singles that have definitely benefitted from On Air On Sale, and five singles that have definitely lost out.)

Just scrap On Air/On Sale, it's a bad tactic imo.

How is it a bad tactic? The only way it can ever be bad is if it's not marketed correctly. Has On air on sale been bad for any of the following five songs?

 

Snoop Dogg & David Guetta 'Sweat'

Pitbull et al 'Give Me Everything'

LMFAO 'Party Rock Anthem'

Aloe Blacc 'I Need a Dollar'

Noah & The Whale 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.'

 

Was it bad in 2008 for the likes of Ne-Yo 'Closer' or Madonna '4 Minutes?' Does it hurt post album singles such as 'Someone Like You', 'The Lazy Song', 'Just Can't Get Enough', 'All of the Lights' to be available as soon as they're promoted.

 

The reason why the songs that have fallen foul of it have done is because of how they've been badly marketed. You can't just expect to release a song and it sell. The point of on air on sale is that you can buy songs as you hear them, it's no good releasing them but they not going to radio or having a video as people aren't going to be aware of them. It's now only being challenged because a few hits have come which haven't used the method. I think it was about three weeks ago where only one song of the top 10 was a held back release, which was 'On the Floor'. OA/OS was working then....

I agree Mark, it's hardly a bad tactic as borne out by your examples above.

 

Alexandra Stan's "Mr. Saxobeat" is another recent example: 31-18-14-5-{3}-4 (6 weeks)

 

It was C-listed on Radio 1, then debuted at #31 on 8th May.. had it been held back Radio 1 may not have brought it up to A-list and it may have had a Top 30 debut and rapid fall (there's no way to tell obviously), however because it was available to buy it promptly rose on the chart, which caused R1 to up the tracks rotation and that made it increase in sales further. An OA/OS success?

Edited June 21, 201114 yr by Doctor Blind

I think the key to both held back releases and OA/OS is good marketing: if you're holding it back, build interest, release a video, do promotional appearances, Changed the Way You Kissed Me was handled brilliantly, and look where it charted

 

this has already been mentioned, but with OA/OS, once its in the chart, it needs promotion - a video needs to be released immediately (take note, Mr Guetta -_- ) and promo appearances

 

although I do agree that widespread appeal of the song is important too, Run The World (Girls) was so polarising with even her fanbase so was never really gonna do that well

 

Not sure if Aloe Blacc's 'I Need a Dollar' was OA/OS - they'd been playing it on the radio since at least January 2011 - and the album has been available for months; so sales were trickling - until finally R1 added it to the playlist.

 

Snoop Dogg, LMFAO and Pitbull are all perfect examples though of OA/OS working. It's obviously just hit and miss though, as the likes of Chipmunk, Jodie Connor, Beyonce and The Saturdays all probably did worse than they would've had it been built up for a few weeks - but that's what the music business is all about - taking risks.

There are good for and against arguments for each release however i do think the record companies are right in some cases in holding back releases especially for dance acts such as Example that need a build up to release.

 

Willow Smith followed up her #2 debut single "Whip My Hair" with the on air/on sale "21st Century Girl" which peaked at #91 with a chart run of: 93-91, Had they held this back and tried for some pre-release build up they probably could have got the chart run looking something like: 46-74-93..So in both cases neither strategy would have resulted in a bit hit. In this day and age if the track ain't good enough then it won't sell regardless of on air/on sale or not.

I don't mind On Air/On Sale, I just think it's early days. Radios have got to come to terms with that they can't drop singles out of their playlists just because they're dropping down the chart as a result of on air/on sale, and labels/managers have got to come to terms with that they can't leave the promo 4-5 weeks post-release.

How is it a bad tactic? The only way it can ever be bad is if it's not marketed correctly. Has On air on sale been bad for any of the following five songs?

 

Snoop Dogg & David Guetta 'Sweat'

Pitbull et al 'Give Me Everything'

LMFAO 'Party Rock Anthem'

Aloe Blacc 'I Need a Dollar'

Noah & The Whale 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.'

 

Was it bad in 2008 for the likes of Ne-Yo 'Closer' or Madonna '4 Minutes?' Does it hurt post album singles such as 'Someone Like You', 'The Lazy Song', 'Just Can't Get Enough', 'All of the Lights' to be available as soon as they're promoted.

 

The reason why the songs that have fallen foul of it have done is because of how they've been badly marketed. You can't just expect to release a song and it sell. The point of on air on sale is that you can buy songs as you hear them, it's no good releasing them but they not going to radio or having a video as people aren't going to be aware of them. It's now only being challenged because a few hits have come which haven't used the method. I think it was about three weeks ago where only one song of the top 10 was a held back release, which was 'On the Floor'. OA/OS was working then....

 

It tends to work in favour towards the not as established acts or medicore popular acts. Artists such as Britney/Lady Gaga/The Saturdays usually suffer from it.