Subscribe
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE

The digital age has changed it all. It gave birth to a computerized economy, thusly reshaping the way we consume music. But a new solution is currently being pushed to counteract piracy and the dramatic decline in album sales.

Its been reported that the recording industry has agreed to adopt Friday as the official global release date for new albums, although not without complications.

Via Billboard:

“This global streetdate is necessary for the industry but unfortunately it will be awkward for the physical retailers to change their ways of doing business,” says one label executive. “Now, they could have two-thirds of their sales in one day,” which would impact retail operation.

But Trans World Entertainment chairman and CEO Robert J. Higgins says he is all for moving the street date to Friday. In fact, he thinks all of the product lines he carries should move to Friday. “Its a smart move,” he tells Billboard. “When we have a music or video title come out on a Friday, we have done better sales over the two week-period that we would do with a Tuesday street date.”

Meanwhile, preparing for a universal street date is not without issues for all parties, which is why there is so much lead time ahead of the contemplated shift.

Among the issues that have to be addressed to accommodate the shift is that physical pipeline scheduling will have to be revamped, and discussions on whether and how to change the various music charts around the world. Beyond the music industry — which created the notion of an industry streetdate for new releases and established Tuesday as that day in the U.S. — other entertainment software industries have adopted Tuesday as well, first the home video industry and then the book industry.

Considering the aforementioned, will all the other sectors of entertainment follow suit and adapt with the music industry? Sound off in the comments.

Photo: YouTube