I've said before but Price Tag was and wasn't On Air/On Sale. It wasn't because the full version was already out there, but it was because it was moved forward to co-incide with the launch of the strategy, and was released on the same week the video was first on TV and it first started making radio playlists in any kind of significant number. It was far from being a held back release, and it wasn't possible for it to be any more OA/OS.

 

I see your point. It's similar to songs like Bass Down Low, I'm Into You, etc. aswell, where the occasional pre-release play they had is practically negligible, but Price Tag could've been more on air, on sale, if it was released in November 2010 (or sometime around then) when it got its radio premiere. Do It Like a Dude was much closer to on air, on sale than Price Tag was.

 

And even for those of us that support on air, on sale, there are about 30 other big successes from this year to use as examples anyway.

I'm actually very glad that it's on hold, it's good news for some artists but bad news for fans I guess

 

the reason I hated it is because - like chipmunk said - it only works in favour of international stars and fails for unknown singers as they only gradually climb as awareness rises and finally enter Top.40 but then it's been too long on top 100 and they lose sales and all the music tv channels kind of wasted their money on really picking up on it like they did with Bring it by Jodie Connor (took it like 6 weeks to enter the top40 which was only for a week). air play timing gets messed up.

 

So I think it should only be an option for the artist but I think it's a bad idea, most of the songs climb rapidly (What The Water Gave Me, Body And Soul) but then drop a lot and fast

But most of its successes were for less known singers, Aloe Blacc, Christina Perri, Delilah, Noah & The Whale, LMFAO and Alexandra Stan just off the top of my head.

 

The Chipmunk and Jodie Connor singles I never heard once on either radio or TV yet both of their previous singles were all over TV, I saw the videos loads. They flopped because they weren't promoted very well at all. As I said, people buy what they like, they can't like something if they don't hear it! When On Air/On Sale is done RIGHT it's a success, I honestly don't think I've ever seen an example of an On Air/On Sale failure where it had everything OA/OS successes have had, they've all either lacked promotion or airplay or have simply been a far inferior product from what the artist usually releases. You have to ask why someone like Chipmunk or The Saturdays struggled to get any airplay with an On Air/On Sale release yet someone like Noah & The Whale got it in abundance. Is it down to radio stations looking at them flopping and moving on whilst lesser known acts know they need to be built up? If so, then some common sense needs to be injected into radio bosses!

People moan about songs from Beyonce/Britney/Saturdays flopping with OA/OS but isn't the reality that these songs just weren't that great and didn't connect with the public despite the release strategy?

It does work in favour of some artists but if you've noticed its those songs are UK debuts or comebacks, it's all complicated but for a UK act (Noah & The Whale and Delilah are the only british ones off that list) it doesn't really work in their favour unless it's a perfectly times follow up from a hit single.

It's hard for only rising acts who haven't established themselves fully or haven't released in a while

It does work in favour of some artists but if you've noticed its those songs are UK debuts or comebacks,

 

That's the point I was making. You said it doesn't help new acts, I just listed four who it helped with their first single and two others who'd only had one hit previously.

 

Really, I think we can come to these conclusions with OA/OS.

 

1 - when done right, it works far more often than it doesn't

2 - when not done right, songs perform below what they'd been previously expected to

3 - radio don't really understand it, and drop songs from playlists as soon as they see it fall more than a few places in one week, usually with established acts whose large fanbases see it rise quickly, but the majority of the public haven't heard it enough to yet be buying it in large quantities

4 - most acts who have flopped, have not done substantially better with follow-up singles which they've held back

5 - unless the strategy becomes like it does in the USA where the majority of releases are OA/OS, there will always be some acts/record companies that take advantage of getting a number one single that the songs popularity doesn't merit, as such it won't work whilst OA/OS releases make up the minority

real shame this is being abandoned just because of the desire to 'fix' a brief period at number 1 for a track with little support outside a core base.

 

to repeat a point I made on another thread earlier on, perhaps the OCC should review the way the weekly chart is put together. A simple tweak to how sales are registered (such as 50% sales made this week count towards chart, 30% counting to next week and 20% the week after), would prevent the ability to snatch a number 1 with low support.

 

this, combined with on air, on chart could make the charts a bit more reflective of what's really going on in the market

I think the rule needs changing regarding pre orders.

If someone pre orders a song of Itunes, that purchase should not be allowed to be "banked" for say 4 weeks. The purchase should count that very week, regardless of if it is still 4 weeks off release date. Something has to be done to prevent this frontloading that is destroying any credibility the charts had left.

I think the rule needs changing regarding pre orders.

If someone pre orders a song of Itunes, that purchase should not be allowed to be "banked" for say 4 weeks. The purchase should count that very week, regardless of if it is still 4 weeks off release date. Something has to be done to prevent this frontloading that is destroying any credibility the charts had left.

 

'This frontloading' has been going for well over a decade. The only sensible way to stop it is encouraging labels to release OA/OS.