Legacy Recordings

You know we’re missing the writers when ABC’s first coming attraction for the new season of Lost sends us into a frenzy of excitement – like kids counting down to Christmas. I have been thinking about this all week and making my plans to launch another addictive season of improbable intrigue and patchy acting.

Television series, films, and concerts have “event” status – and it got me wondering about recorded music. When was the last time you counted down to release day for something? Are we still psyched? I am not talking about merely buying an album the first week it is out, I am talking about feverishly waiting for that new release to hit the shelves - or the internet.  (Coincidentally, I have just this moment spotted a new Michael Jackson widget on the Legacy home page that counts down to the 25^th Anniversary Edition of Thriller)  First week sales of number one chart albums have been on the decline. Is it the caliber of artists? Is it a more diversified fan base – the Long Tail?

It’s not really about mass sales, it’s about individual thrill – is that consumer waiting for the album all the way at the end of the tail eagerly waiting for the Tuesday his or her niche record out? I hope so.