Part 259: New Release Twos-days

A sequel to Part 97:  New Release Tuesdays.

Part 259:  New Release Twos-days

New releases were almost always Tuesdays.   There are only so many Tuesdays in a year, and many music stars avoid releasing their albums on the same day as a rival’s.  Others like to go head to head, or try to beat other artists to the punch by releasing their albums early.  Record labels plan release strategies around these Tuesdays like generals going to war.  Advertising blitzes are ordered, interview campaigns co-ordinated, and personnel rallied.

Most often, bands didn’t want to compete with rival bands over limited consumer dollars.  On June 14, 2005, the three big releases we stocked that day weren’t fighting over the same customers.  Foo Fighters’ In Your Honor was the album I had been waiting for, but my good buddy Dan Slessor from Kerrang! magazine sent me a UK copy with the bonus track “The Sign” so I was going to keep waiting until  it arrived.  In Your Honor and its single “Best Of You” remain highlights of the Foo œuvre.  I expected steady sales.

On the same day, the Backstreet Boys returned from a lengthy hiatus.  Extending that hiatus was the release date of their comeback CD Never Gone (ha ha) which was pushed back almost a year.  I didn’t expect much mileage out of this album.  Then in the rap section, we had Fat Joe.  All Or Nothing was the name of his album.  Rap was usually a quiet but reliable seller.  Although some rap albums were sluggish and often died quickly, if you ordered in conservative quantities we could usually do well with rap.  You just had to know when to drop the title before people stopped buying it.  This is the kind of argument I would get into with our Head Office people all the time.  Sometimes they were right, sometimes they were wrong and I was right.  However I felt that they often used my well-known love of Heavy Metal music against my arguments, any time I was in favour of dropping a rap or dance title.  “You just want to get rid of it because you don’t like it,” they would say.  There’s just nothing you can say when somebody has that set in their minds already.

Anyway, on this Tuesday I proved to be wrong about first-day sales predictions.  I dug up my journal from that day.  And the winner is…

A tie!

Date: 2005/06/14 17:35

I have sold just as many Backstreet Boys as Foo Fighters today.

But nobody bought Fat Joe.

For the record, I’m also the one who predicted that Nick Carter’s solo album would outsell Justin Timberlake’s.  It really didn’t turn out at all like that!

20 comments

      1. And if it does become a viral hit, I can say I heard it here first!
        Speaking of somewhat inaccurate predictions, it’s no simpsons, but the big bang theory had a good example a few years ago:

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        1. That was a great episode. I do like that show too. I also like the time that Sheldon was explaining that because he is a physicist, he knows everything you can know about the universe? Then she stymied him with “Oh yeah? Who’s Radiohead?”

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        2. Haha – I’ve quoted that one at school!

          I always start lessons with a ‘name that tune’ (such as the chorus of livin’ on a prayer if we’re working with fractions, etc.) and one day the song was by radiohead, can’t remember which one.
          So I said as a clue, it’s the group Penny asked Sheldon, what’s ________? And sure enough, someone got it right away!

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        3. Very nice! Good to know the kids get that kind of humour. I’ve been enjoying the show for about 3 years now, and I haven’t gotten sick of it yet.

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  2. Yeah u gotta love New Release Tuesdays. Back around 1991 I was 23 at the time and my younger brother was 13 so the deal was since I was working I would give him $ to buy me the new release on cd and also give him $ as well to buy it on cassette for himself as a bonus for going and getting the new release ie. Metallica/Halen/Gunners as I worked 11-7 pm back than,he would drop it off at work for me…
    It was a great system for a few yrs!
    I also think Mike and u would know better but I think a few things back than would get released on the odd Fridays …I remember buying Jeff Healys Feel This when it was released on a Friday back in 92 and of course some record stores here in Tbay would open at midnight to release the Tragically Hips albums I think it was Fully Completely and Day For Night. I know that cuz I was down there both times with countless others….
    Kinda miss those days….

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    1. Deke you are 100% correct. I was saving that for a future RST but the Hip released their albums on Fridays back then. When Day For Night came out, I was working the Saturday. I opened and was shocked that I had like 2 copies left and that was it. I was sold out right after opening and the boss had to drive down to Scarborough to the distributor on the Sunday to get another box of ’em. I remember him coming in Sunday afternoon, finally with some Hip.

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  3. I think when me and some buddies went to buy the Hips Fully Completely at midnight I think I picked up Maidens Live at Donnington double disc which in turn just became another good reason to blow high dough (no pun..ha) on more music.
    The stores both those times were just crammed with Hip fans and ironically enough after Day For Night is when I lost interest in em as well…I bought Trouble In The Henhouse and Phantom Power but sumthin was missing for me….still though just to go out and buy music at midnight that was cool and I’m sure stores made some good cash….

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    1. Deke I just want you to know that I am listening to QR III right now, in preparation for my review :)

      Yeah I miss those midnight madness things! I really wanted to do one for Trouble at the Henhouse. There was such a buzz for the album, and T-Rev and myself were willing to do it for free, but for security reasons we weren’t able to. Nobody wanted to take the chance I guess.

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    1. I assumed that was the thing here because most retailers ordered their stock on Mondays, after the weekend rush. The Monday orders would arrive on Tuesdays, so any new releases arrived with them.

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  5. Man, I still live for New Release Tuesdays. Us old fogeys from back in the days before everything was a click away, we understand. I remember lining up for the Hip in Windsor, so that woulda been Day For night. I also bought Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy on vinyl at midnight on a Tuesday. Gave it away as a gift to a guy (not our HMO) in Scotland when I was over there.

    But even now I still get excited about checking out the new releases… and am almost always let down by our half-assed HMV’s selection at our pathetic little mall. I can’t imagine who buys that crap. But every once in a while…

    Also, remember that time Sam The Record Man scooped everybody by selling the first Beatles Anthology on the Monday when everyone else had held theirs back until the Tuesday? I miss Sam. Hell, I miss Sam’s. Anyway. I’m a first-day buyer for several bands, and Tuesdays are the days I can scratch that itch.

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    1. There was some store in Vancouver that did that with U2 “Pop”. Started selling it a few days early. Well they were punished by Polygram, who refused to let them sell any of their artists in the future!

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