Posted October 22, 201311 yr What are the pros and cons of pre-ordering singles, are they good or bad. There hasn't been a topic on the subject I thought it make an interesting discussion, I've never pre-ordered a single, the benefits from it are higher sales for the act in some cases. discuss....
October 22, 201311 yr Pre-Orders are obviously good for artists as it provided bigger sales. I'm almost certain that ' Wrecking Ball ' would have sold much more had the single had pre-orders. I don't really pre-order songs that much, I just usually wait until it's released as you get it at the same time.
October 22, 201311 yr What are the pros and cons of pre-ordering singles, are they good or bad. discuss.... I've never seen the point of pre-ordering downloads - it's not like they're gonna run out of stock. :lol: Back in the days of all-physical formats, it made more sense though.
October 22, 201311 yr Benefits: - less chance for fakes, more visibibility for the actual song - bigger sales in the first week (so a better place in the official chart) - extra promotion Disadvantage - bigger second week plummet in sales - Too early pre-order release could cause a backlash I've never seen the point of pre-ordering downloads - it's not like they're gonna run out of stock. :lol: Back in the days of all-physical formats, it made more sense though. This is a marketing tool. If you don't work in marketing/advertising/sales, it looks like you will not understand the meaning of digital pre-orders ever. If you work there, than shame on you :P ;)
October 22, 201311 yr pre-orders are definitely beneficial in my opinion. average joe may hear a song on the radio and decide he wants to buy it, he then looks for it on itunes and its up for preorder. so he gets the preorder which means he cant forget about it on release week! plus having your song in the itunes top 100 before its released is not a bad thing at all as im sure people check there for new releases.
October 22, 201311 yr They're definitely a good thing. Take Austin Mahone's song What About Love, it had its pre-order up for ages and never really got too high but when it was released, it entered right in the top 40, and despite it plummeting down, it still achieved top 100 despite the little hype it had vanishing. If it didn't have a pre-order, I doubt it would've got top 100.
October 22, 201311 yr I think my views are well documented. :P If you're prepared to put up a pre-order with a digital download - why not let people buy it now? Anyway, despite my reservations I can see the benefits in terms of getting a track or artist more visibility when the pre-order sales are added in, and preventing the rise of opportunist fake versions. Perhaps it also may stop those who are tempted to illegally download, though I think that is pretty unlikely.
October 22, 201311 yr As doctor blind said my views on preorders are the same. I can see the benefits but any rational thinking person will ignore a preorder and move to the illegal market where they may never return. Its record companies reacting against the new digital era we are in even if preorders have been around for ages!!
October 22, 201311 yr No, Steve. Any *thief* will move to the illegal market. Any rational thinking person will follow the law.
October 22, 201311 yr I disagree I think people aren't as black & white as that they try to do the right thing but if something as silly as a preorder stands in their way they will be frustrated and find other routes. They aren't all thieves either some will go to streaming & you tube etc so it just also leads people away from the purchase market which makes the charts we love so much!
October 23, 201311 yr i pre order songs because some times i forget when it comes out and i get an email as a reminder to download it.
October 24, 201311 yr No, Steve. Any *thief* will move to the illegal market. Any rational thinking person will follow the law. If only it was that cut and dried - many people quite rationally 'exploit' the benefits system...
April 17, 201411 yr Author Another problem with pre-ordering lark I see, is when a track is out for a month on pre-orders, and when the single is finally released all the sales are allocated to the week its officially released hence high sales. So... in a way its not the popular song of the week. Sorry for bumping this topic up, I just wanted to add something. :P
April 17, 201411 yr Another problem with pre-ordering lark I see, is when a track is out for a month on pre-orders, and when the single is finally released all the sales are allocated to the week its officially released hence high sales. So... in a way its not the popular song of the week. Sorry for bumping this topic up, I just wanted to add something. :P It tends to produce odd-looking chart runs, too.
April 17, 201411 yr I think digital preorders exist for the benefit of the label/artist possibly, but don't benefit the consumer at all, beyond combating forgetfulness of the release schedule. Preorders in the physical era were beneficial to the consumer because it guaranteed you got a copy of a hotly anticipated release, even if the shop sold out due to demand, so the marketing benefit was sort of hidden behind the facade of a consumer service. With digital preorders all you are doing is a open marketing excercise, manipulating consumers, probably annoying many of them, and probably helping to decrease the number of people prepared to legally download in future. And the big problem with the legal vs illegal download is that they are basically impossible to tell apart, so no one will no if they look at your music files, whereas in the physicals era a fake was usually obvious and therefore embarrassing to show other people, so that helped to ensure people wanted the real deal.
April 17, 201411 yr Bring back the days of E.P's I say! The climb from #1421 to #1 in the same day was amazing.
April 17, 201411 yr I've pre-ordered songs and have since become tired of (or even ended up hating: Sam Smith - Money On My Mind)- and then on release week - like 5 weeks later I'm like 'sh!t, it's automatically just downloaded and I've paid for it! URGH' - they certainly help.
April 17, 201411 yr When / if streaming is included in the Singles chart I wonder if record labels and iTunes will move to allowing the track to be streamed in full from the moment the track is pre-ordered? iTunes is on the verge of introducing a streaming service so it wouldn't take much to allow pre-purchased tracks to be streamed in full. In this way the track would be eligible for the chart from day one and then the track would then count as a sale when it is officially available to purchase. The OCC would need to be able to properly track streams / sales of such tracks though. Does anyone have any thoughts on this idea?
April 17, 201411 yr Another problem with pre-ordering lark I see, is when a track is out for a month on pre-orders, and when the single is finally released all the sales are allocated to the week its officially released hence high sales. So... in a way its not the popular song of the week. Sorry for bumping this topic up, I just wanted to add something. :P Don't be sorry unfortunately it's very relevant with the way the chart has turned in 2014!
April 18, 201411 yr Author In a way it was a good idea to bump the topic, as you can see Kiezsa has decreased in the week and Sigma is coming up fast now, she should have released the damn track early and losing sales in the process. I think pre-ordering is getting to a point where its not necessary, you might as well wait until the single is available or release the damn track early. That's my stand on it.
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