I don't know if this has something to do with the whole 'On Air On Sale' marlarkey they tried to make happen a couple of years ago but for my own sanity I need to know the difference between them and indeed, the logic. Both Little Mix 'Change Your Life' and Olly Murs 'Army of Two' had supposed 'release dates' of 3rd February and this week respectively.

 

But Sony in fact didn't release an EP for 'Change Your Life' until two weeks after it's supposed release date and that the original date was the 'impact date' for the download from the album, by which point it was falling down the chart and thus had little effect. Same principle likewise for Olly with 'Army of Two', the EP's out on 24th March and this week is the 'impact date' for the download from the album.

 

Is this just something Sony are doing or is it label wide? And if it's just them, why aren't they being more clear about release dates?

I always presumed 'impact date' was when the track was available to the public or when it started receiving airplay.

Impact date: when the song is sent to radio.

Release date: when the song is available as an official release physically and / or digitally outside of being available as an album track.

Normally impact date is when the label expects the song to reach it's commercial/radio peak. Radio stations normally get sent the material well in advance of its impact date.

Normally impact date is when the label expects the song to reach it's commercial/radio peak. Radio stations normally get sent the material well in advance of its impact date.

 

This is what I always thought as well. But they should really release the EP on the same week if that's the case, that would help ensure the song DOES peak on the expected week.

I always thought there was no difference between impact date and release date. Impact date is definitely not the same as the date it's sent to radio, as that normally happens a few weeks earlier. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think:

 

For a song that's not available on an album (e.g. the lead single off an upcoming album) - e.g. Suit & Tie:

- Release date = Impact date = the date the song becomes available to download/buy

 

For a song that's already available on an album but is being released as an EP or bundle with mixes or whatever - e.g. Drinking From The Bottle:

- Release date = Impact date = the date the EP becomes available to download/buy

 

For a song that's already available on an album but no other version is planned apart from the album version - e.g. When I Was Your Man:

- Release date / impact date are a bit meaningless but I guess it's simply a date when the record company expect it to peak. I guess it could be used for radio stations to decide how early to start playlisting it or music channels to start playing the video.

 

Those are my observations anyway, feel free to challenge them!

Edited March 12, 201312 yr by mango

I thought the distinction was just 'release date' is for pre-album singles and 'impact date' for post-album singles? 'Release date' is an extremely inaccurate term for post-album releases as the songs are already available and usually for significant ones already charting highly by the time they're 'released'. The exception to that being single versions that add an artist or a big remix of course as they might as well be pre-album releases.

I agree in the way that release dates are only really for not currently available tracks (or pre-album) but I think that the release dates and impact dates sort of get combined for when a post-album single is due to have its digital EP released. Impact dates are still important for songs that are only ever going to have the version from the album to buy, as others have said, this gives a good indication on where the peak of the airplay and sales are likely to be.

 

There have been a few examples where this has been different though. I can remember 'Gravity' by Pixie Lott had its given 'impact date' but the remix EP was released onto iTunes a couple of months after the intended impact date IIRC (which doesn't really make much sense,!!)

As Bre & Mango said....suppose impact date for post album releases are important for pop acts to promote a song and get it to the top 40!

In the US they talk about songs "impacting" radio, which happens on their radio add date(s). But it doesn't seem to happen like that here.

 

And there's various songs like Airplanes, What's My Name? and Domino which reached #1 over a month before their "release" date.

Edited March 13, 201312 yr by Eric_Blob

I've always thought Impact Date is when the labels focus all their promo and hope the song has reached it's peak on radio and TV. For example, Olly has been doing all his promo for Army of Two in the last week like This Morning, Live Lounge, Alan Titchmarsh etc. I believe this is when the label hope that the single reaches its highest potential chart position.

 

The release date is the date when the track officially gets released on iTunes in the form of an EP. Why they are didn't ill never know because the release of the EP during impact week would surely get a few more hundred/thousand sales and hopefully help increase the position.

Why they are didn't ill never know because the release of the EP during impact week would surely get a few more hundred/thousand sales and hopefully help increase the position.

 

I agree. Especially if artists released EPs with the single version, a B-side, an acoustic version, some dance remixes, a rap remix, the radio edit and the instrumental, and it was quite cheap, I'm sure the EP could sell a lot, especially with artists who have a large fanbase and will actually care about all those extra features. Not to mention the individual tracks that get cherry-picked could also probably total thousands of extra sales.

Impact dates are (for the most part) for those songs which are not getting a "single " release, and as others have said the date that record companies gear the promotion towards

 

In the digital age its what makes compiling the New Release Schedule more difficult as although a song may only have an impact date (i.e no specific single release) it is usually announced as a release date - leading to confusion amongst fans

Just thought of another thing on this subject. Does every post-album single actually have an impact date? Cos often on the release schedule songs are still listed as 'Coming Soon', even though they're clearly singles and already doing well in the charts. Current examples: Pink - Just Give Me A Reason, The Script – If You Could See Me Now, Maroon 5 - Daylight.

 

So is it that these singles have official impact dates but we just don't know what those dates are? Or could it be that some of these singles have just been announced as singles and sent to radio but the record company hasn't bothered with an actual impact date?

Edited March 17, 201312 yr by mango

The only reason they still bother with these impact dates is because some in the media have an old fashioned way of going about things. If a single is on an album, it's already available, but it's not something they can get their head around.

Just thought of another thing on this subject. Does every post-album single actually have an impact date? Cos often on the release schedule songs are still listed as 'Coming Soon', even though they're clearly singles and already doing well in the charts. Current examples: Pink - Just Give Me A Reason, The Script – If You Could See Me Now, Maroon 5 - Daylight.

 

So is it that these singles have official impact dates but we just don't know what those dates are? Or could it be that some of these singles have just been announced as singles and sent to radio but the record company hasn't bothered with an actual impact date?

 

i always thought they were put in the coming soon section if no ep was released to itunes on the impact date? #unsure

That is correct Steve. If no single is released on the expected date then (unless we know that it has been cancelled) it will be moved to the coming soon section for a few weeks in case it has just been postponed - as recently happened with little mix and olly murs.

So is it fair to say that the Little Mix and Olly Murs singles didn't have an actual impact date even though they were promoted as singles?