Why Music Releases on Friday?
Since 2015, the «New Music Friday» has been adopted globally.
In the earliest days of the singles chart, the dominant format was the 10-inch vinyl single.
Since those days, the 10-inch has been superseded over the years – 7 inch, 12-inch, cassingles, 8-track, Digital Compact Cassette, MiniDisc, Compact Disc, USBs, UMD, DVD, Blu-ray, downloads up today’s most popular format: streams.
The practice of releasing music on Fridays, known as «New Music Friday» officially began on July 10, 2015 - an initiative led by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The organisation represents the global music industry records, with operators working across 70 countries represented by some 8,000 members across the world.
IFPI's principal missions are:
- Promoting the value of recorded music
- Campaigning for the rights of record producers
- Expanding the commercial use of recorded music
Why Fridays though? Here are some explanations.
Global marketplace and digital consumption
In the 1950s, the process of collecting data was much simpler: you’d pick up the phone, call a few retailers, jot down their sales figures, and voilà, the first sales charts for a country is born. Fast forward to today, in our globalized economy, the task of collecting sales data and promoting new songs has undergone a revolutionary transformation.
Right now, there are multiple retailers and service operators in the music industry like Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, HMV, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Google Play, Deezer, Napster, Bandcamp, Bleep, Juno, Musicglue, Sandbag, Townsend and hundreds of independent record shops like Rough Trade, Banquet Records, Piccadilly Records, and video retailers.
With the rise of digital music and streaming platforms, the music industry recognized the need for a unified release day working synchronously with all the distribution actors — and providing real-time consumption charts, across markets and genres.
Major actors of the musical distribution industry, like Believe, help artists to develop their careers digitally and protect their rights globally, regrouping marketing efforts and easing the promotion and distribution processes for artists on multiple platforms, via customed integrations.
Consumer Behavior
Nowadays, we listen to music on the go, and on the move. There is something particular about Fridays though. We get into the groove of the weekend. Whether people are about to hop onto a plane, commute to go home, exercise at the gym, or prepare this weekend DIY over work time, most indoor and outdoor activities are now combined with music playing in the background, on AirPods or speakers. The main reason why:
“Music makes a powerful contribution to wellbeing, providing comfort and healing to many — especially younger people — in challenging times.” IFPI — Engaging with Music.
“New Friday Music” consequently aligns with consumer behaviour, as people often have more free time on weekends to discover and enjoy new music. By releasing music on a Friday, artists and record labels aim to capture the weekend audience, leading to increased streaming and sales.
Fridays provide a natural opportunity for promotional efforts leading up to the weekend. Marketing-wise, Artists can build anticipation throughout the week, with music videos, social media campaigns, and other marketing activities culminating in the release.
Chart Reset and Press Release
Many music charts and streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, reset their weekly charts and algorithms on Fridays, making it advantageous for artists to release music on this day. This gives new opportunities to gain visibility on these platforms.
Other influential web magazines also relay a compiled list of musical productions— just like OfficialCharts.com, recognised for providing the entertainment industry with the fastest and most accurate charts in the world, thanks to data fed by Kantar weekly.
“When the very first charts were compiled by the New Musical Express more than 70 years ago, the process was a simple one — pick up the phone, call a few retailers and note down their sales to create the first sales charts in UK history. Today, several decades later and in a completely new millennium, the process could not be more different.” OfficialCharts.com
While Friday is the day-release standard, some artists and labels may choose to release music on other days for strategic reasons or to stand out from the crowd.
Musically yours,
