Radio airplay - CD in stores gap

[U2girl]

Does anyone know how long the breaks between radio airplay and the CD single in stores have been in the past for U2?

Could it hurt U2 to have such a long time in between this time around - will the potential buyers be put off and not buy the single because they won't be prepared to wait till Nov 8?

 

[AussieU2fanman]

yeh I've been wondering this myself, it doesn't make sense to me. I've been told that cd singles are negligable for record companies becuase they sell so little, but that still doesn't explain why the single goes on sale 6-8 weeks after the radio release.

 

[EvolutionMonkey]

Yeah it's silly.

 

[Lo-Fi]

It's usually a month after you hear it on the radio 'til it's in the stores.

If I remember right, we started to hear BD in August/September, and the single came out around October.

The rumour is they'll put it on itunes on the 27th of September for downloading. But you'll be able to buy the single in stores in November. It's kinda cool, you get the single on download, and they know you'll still buy the singles as well for the b-sides, very clever indeed.

I'm just happy we're gonna hear it real soon, it's been so long with out something new.

Diggin' the new 'windy clip' as well, sounds very cool.

 

[TheFirstBigW]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the single/video for Vertigo was due in early October, not early November...

 

[Lo-Fi]

Nov 8th is getting kicked about as the release date for Vertigo hitting the shops, so I've heard.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Beautiful Day was officially aired August 31st, 2000 (the date of my daughter's birth, so I'd never forget that! ). The cd single release was October 10th, 2000 (October 9th in Europe). A month and a half apart. That would make Vertigo a tad longer if all holds true. A September 24th airing and a November 8th single release.

 

[Salome]

I think it's a strategy that makes sense

you want to get an early start on hyping the album
and you want to have the main/first single to still be in people's mind when this album is released

so you release it for radio airplay and the hype will definitely start
when you release it as single the avarage music fan will pick it up
and finally you release the album

something like that

 

[Rafiennes]

Also, too, I think that record companies have deals with radio stations, "We'll give you one whole month for single airtime, thus increasing your listenership (if the band is relevant and their music is in heavy demand) and then after 1 month, we release the single"

I bet there's a serious drop in U2 radio listeners as soon as the single is released.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I think it's so that they can have a second single playing on some stations by the time the record lands....then casual fans will have twice the incentive to buy the album.