Independent labels are pressing ahead with their campaign for the music industry to adopt a global release day, and have proposed Monday as the day of the week when all albums should be simultaneously released worldwide.
Most albums are released on that day in the UK, and generally follow a day later in the US. However, Friday appears to be the favoured day among the majors, something indies and retailers are against.
“A move to a Friday would unfortunately entail additional costs for many in the industry,” a joint statement from groups including Rough Trade, Amoeba Music and the Association of Independent Music explains. “We believe that while these costs are easily calculable, tangible costs, the forecasted beneficial revenue effects of a Global Release Day are inconclusive and subject to a range of opinions.”
“More and more global releases have been coming out on a Monday and the industry has proven that it can handle these with no additional cost.”
As it stands, a global release day is likely to come into force by July 2015.
