The ‘Now That’s What I Call Music…‘ compilation series, which has become a staple of any young music fan’s record collection in the UK, could end this year following the confirmation of EMI’s takeover by Universal Music.
Launched in 1983, ‘Now..’ was the first compilation edition to work with major labels to bring together cross-genre chart hits, and has gone on to sell over 100 million copies of its many releases during subsequent years.
More recently, and despite the shifting focus to the digital market and single purchase downloads, the compilations have continued to sell strongly, with the most recent ‘Now 82’ currently the UK’s biggest selling album of 2012.
However, with Universal now agreeing to sell-off a variety of EMI branches in order to comply with EU competition laws, the upcoming Now 83 could prove to be the last.
“Everyone has at least one Now album in their record and CD collection – they’re a total guilty pleasure and an essential part of growing up,” Top of the Pops magazine editor Peter Hart has told The Independent.
“But at the same time, these song collections are nearly as an important part of British pop heritage as Top of the Pops itself, and it would be devastating to see them disappear for good.”