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14.09.12 Music Week 25
PLASTIC FANTASTIC’S DEDICATED AUDIENCE
The fourth quarter isn’t the be-all-and-end-all for any labels, but some record companies are certainly more relaxed about it than others. Plastic Head is best known for distributing heavy rock and metal music. It says that serving a dedicated genre audience takes the pressure off the mainstream Christmas sales frenzy.
“We don’t do a huge amount of mass-consumption music, so our audience tends to be far more dedicated,” explains director Steve Beatty (pictured). “There used to be a common perception that this time or that time of year was a bad one to put out a record, so everything got bumped into Q4. But I don’t think it would matter to their fans if the new Cannibal Corpse album came out in September, December or March.”
Sylosis
Top-line releases from Plastic Head label partners in Q4 include new albums from Cradle Of Filth, Jeff Lynne, Focus and UK metallers Sylosis (above), but Beatty says his firm’s quarterly slate won’t be too out of the ordinary: “Every month of the year has to be strong and we plan the spread carefully. Record availability is better than ever. The arcane days of desperately fighting for High Street retail space in Q4 are over.” Beatty says new consignment terms with HMV have helped increase
stock levels going into the national chain’s stores, and offers his own theory on why overall album sales are down in the industry: “I would say this to the big labels: stop releasing crap. There’s been so much bubblegum pop put out recently that’s absolutely dreadful.”
“Q4 is always vital for the ongoing health of the business but particularly so this year as we have had a relatively quiet first half,” observes Sony Music UK EVP Nicola Tuer. “A lot of companies, Sony included, anticipated
this. In a summer that had the Diamond Jubilee, the European Championships and the two Olympics it was always going to be difficult to compete for consumers’ disposable income and attention.” Digital innovation has always opened up sales
opportunities and Q4 2012 should be no different. Universal Music UK commercial MD Brian Rose predicts that Christmas Day should be “huge for digital sales” due to sales of music, mobile and tablet devices over Yuletide. He believes that the majority of Q4 sales will come down to a handful of titles, making impactful marketing crucial. He adds: “We are targeting to sell more deluxe versions of albums this Q4 – physical and digital. Mobile will continue to drive digital growth – immediacy and portability are what consumers want.” The biggest-selling artist album of 2012 so far is
Emeli Sandé’s Our Version Of Events on Virgin/EMI, which arrived in February and recently tipped the 680,000 UK sales mark. Meanwhile, EMI’s Now That’s What I Call Music 81! has sold 709,680 copies in 2012 according to Official Chart Company data, making it the best-selling album overall. EMI UK and Ireland CEO Andria Vidler says:
“We’re expecting a good Q4. EMI compilations have been outperforming the market all year and we expect that to continue. Digital growth has also been very positive throughout the year, but as ever physical sales will increase in the gifting period in the run up to Christmas, followed as always by a big digital bounce-back after Christmas.”
It is perhaps fitting that EMI plans to re-release an expanded version of Sandé’s album in late October, bringing fresh stimulus to an industry- leading sales title at a crucial time of year. Elsewhere, albums have hit shelves on the cusp of
Q4 and are already reaping the benefits. Sony has recently scored two No.1 LPs with Rita Ora’s debut – now at just under 60,000 UK sales – and The
Vaccines’ second LP, Come Of Age, which shifted 44,000 copies last week.
“Q4 is shaping up to be to be an exciting quarter
as there is no clear favourite for the No.1 spot,” says Sony’s Tuer, adding that she believes her label has “our strongest release schedule going into Christmas that I can ever recall.”
And yet, as with every year, focusing too
myopically on the final three months of 2012 could prove to be a mistake. Despite the rambunctious, hotly contested trade scrap that Q4 always provides, it would take a short-sighted exec to think ultimate victory in the ongoing battle for consumer spending could be claimed on December 25; particularly at a time when prophetic long-term trends are emerging. Posits Universal’s Rose: “Will this Q4’s key
releases continue to sell into the start of 2013? Will device and tablet sales this Christmas give a boost to digital sales? “This Q4 will certainly be very important - but
January 2013 will also be a key indicator as to how next year will unfold.”
CAN WE BEAT 2011? INDUSTRY EXECS ON WHETHER THEY CAN BUCK TREND
The total album sales of Q4 2011 stood at 40.9 million, around three million down on the same quarter in 2010. Can Q4 2012 buck the trend? We asked some of the British record industry’s most important execs…
Andria Vidler, EMI Yes I think it could. There’s a very good schedule across the industry and at EMI we’ve got strong releases going into Q4 from Emeli Sandé,
Coldplay, David Guetta, Kylie and Pet Shop Boys. As ever the Now! brand will hopefully play a major part in a successful quarter.
NICOLA TUER, SONY We are confident that market volume will be close to that of 2011 and expect a bumper last weekend leading into Christmas as Christmas Day falls on a Tuesday.
BRIAN ROSE, UNIVERSAL MUSIC I think the release schedule from the industry looks as strong as last Q4, and possibly stronger in September with records that can carry on selling in Q4.
CHRISTIAN TATTERSFIELD, WARNER I wouldn’t want to make a prediction but what I would say is that it has great potential – there is a strong mix of new releases spanning a wide
variety of genres as well as plenty of records already out that are still going strong and can be reworked for the gifting period.
See pages 26–37 for a complete rundown of labels’ key releases in the forthcoming fourth-quarter period
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