Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/03/2001
At the same time that
Epic Records released the sixth volume of the American edition of the various artists hits series,
Now That's What I Call Music!,
Billboard was reporting that sales of singles were down 42.8 from the previous year. Sales of the previous releases in the
Now series were increasing, according to the press release accompanying the album:
Now 1 had sold nearly two million copies;
Now 2 and
Now 3 were double platinum;
Now 4 had entered the charts at number one; and
Now 5, less than five months old, was quadruple platinum. These facts are not unrelated, of course. Music fans, especially young ones, may be as interested as ever in individual tracks instead of albums, but the major record labels continue to try to drive them toward albums, with their higher prices. The labels have cut back on singles releases and limited the availability of the singles they have released. But the
Now series, a rare instance of record company cooperation (this one features tracks from
Sony,
Universal,
EMI, and
the Zomba Group, which includes
Jive and thus
Britney Spears,
'N Sync, and
the Backstreet Boys), satisfies the desire for the hit songs and results in album sales. Most important, the albums do not cannibalize sales of the acts' albums: "According to consumer research," reads the press release, "more than 50 of those who purchase a
Now album will subsequently purchase an album by one of the participating artists." In this wondrous marketing environment, one can only note that
Now 6 is a schizophrenic compilation beginning with
dance-pop, followed by
rhythm ballads, modern
rock, and mainstream
rock, most of it mediocre at best. Putting the CD player on repeat is recommended, so that
Everclear's comment "never liked disco" can be followed by
dance-happy
Britney Spears.
~William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
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