Global Release Day (alternatively known as New Music Fridays) internationally sets a day of the week for releasing new music singles and albums. The new global release day went into effect on 10 July 2015 in more than 45 major recorded music markets worldwide, with new music being released on Friday as part of "New Music Fridays".
The need to set a universal release date mainly stemmed from issues with music piracy, with the change from Tuesday to Friday releases arising as a result of a trend of Friday releases that started with Beyoncé's 2013 surprise drop self-titled album. [1]
The official announcement was made on 11 June 2015 by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the worldwide recording industry. [2] The move means that new music will be available on the same day worldwide rather than on varying national release days, being Mondays for releases in France and the United Kingdom, Tuesdays in United States and Canada and Fridays, for example in Germany and Australia.
Music releases are now uniformly available around the world on Fridays at 00:01 local time in all 45 signatory countries. Of these, 11 countries already had their release music on Fridays, while the remaining markets had to switch their day of release when the new albums and singles would become available. This move effectively ends the earlier phenomenon where new music was unavailable in one country when it was legally available elsewhere. [3]
However, in some markets, in particular, Asia, music intended for local markets will continue to be released on other days. For example, domestic artists in Japan will continue to release new music on Wednesdays, two days earlier than music from international markets. [2]
The move has changed earlier traditional days where charts were being published as the official country charts try to adapt to the new "global day" for releases such that they capture a full week's sales and streaming from Friday mornings to Thursday nights. The UK Top 100, for example, published by The Official Charts moved from being published on a Sunday to a Friday with the BBC moving its new Top 40 charts program from Sundays at 4 p.m. local time to Fridays at 4 p.m. local time.
Many publications have argued that 24 September 1991 was the greatest day for album releases of all time. [4] [5] [6] [7] The date saw the releases of albums such as Nevermind by Nirvana, Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest, and Trompe le Monde by the Pixies. In addition, Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden was originally scheduled to come out on the date but got delayed to 8 October, and Screamadelica by Primal Scream came out the same week as 24 September. [4]
Similarly, many publications have argued that 29 September 1998 was the best ever day for hip hop album releases. [8] [9] [10] On this day, Jay-Z's Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life , Black Star's Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star , Outkast's Aquemini , A Tribe Called Quest's The Love Movement , and Brand Nubian's Foundation all released simultaneously. [10]
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop and merging jazz with hip hop, influencing numerous hip hop and R&B musicians.
Midnight Marauders is the third studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album occurred at Battery Studios, Platinum Island Studios and Scorcerer Sound in New York City. Its production was mainly handled by Q-Tip, with contributions from Skeff Anselm, Large Professor and the group's DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A culmination of the group's two previous albums, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory, it features an eclectic, gritty sound based on jazz, funk, soul and R&B samples, in addition to socially conscious, positively-minded, and humorous lyrics.
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the fifth studio album by the American duo Outkast. It was released on September 23, 2003, by Arista Records. Issued as a double album, its length of over two hours is spread across solo records by Big Boi and André 3000.
André Lauren Benjamin, known professionally as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and flutist. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he was one half of the Southern hip hop duo Outkast along with rapper Big Boi, which the two formed in 1992. Benjamin is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time.
Cameo is an American funk band that formed in 1974. Cameo was initially a 14-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo.
"Hey Ya!" is a song by American hip hop duo Outkast, performed by its member André 3000, who wrote and produced the song. Along with "The Way You Move", recorded by Outkast's other member Big Boi, "Hey Ya!" was released by Arista Records as one of the two lead singles from the duo's fifth album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, on September 9, 2003. The track became a commercial success, reaching number one in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Sweden. "Hey Ya!" received critical acclaim upon release, and is consistently ranked as one of the greatest songs of the 2000s. The song was ranked number 10 in Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"Ms. Jackson" is a song by the American hip hop duo Outkast, consisting of André 3000 and Big Boi. It was released on October 24, 2000, as the second single from Outkast's fourth album, Stankonia. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week on February 17, 2001, and reached number one in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Rolling Stone ranked it 55th on its "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" list in June 2011 and at number 145 on its "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2021. On October 2011, NME placed it at number 81 on its list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Dexter Raymond Mills Jr., better known by his stage name Consequence, is an American rapper from New York City. He is best known for his collaborative work with A Tribe Called Quest and Kanye West.
The Carters are an American musical superduo consisting of singer and songwriter Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z, who have been married since 2008. Outside of The Carters, the couple has also frequently collaborated in recordings and songwriting. Their first album and single under the moniker, Everything Is Love and "Apeshit", were released on June 16, 2018. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The Carters have performed on two co-headlining concert tours, On the Run Tour (2014) and On the Run II Tour (2018).
"Rosa Parks" is a song by the hip hop duo Outkast. It was released as the second single from their album Aquemini (1998), and was that album's most successful single. The song's title comes from the civil rights movement activist Rosa Parks.
"Da Art of Storytellin' " is the third and final single from hip-hop duo Outkast's third studio album Aquemini. The song was released as a single on May 25, 1999, but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Only the single version of the song features Slick Rick, with his verse completely absent from the album version. This song is not to be confused with Slick Rick's album The Art of Storytelling, released on the same day. This song was sampled in J. Cole's song "Land of the Snakes" from his studio album Born Sinner.
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group, formed in 1985. They released six studio albums, five compilations, sixteen singles and two extended plays. The group was made up of rapper/main producer Q-Tip, the late rapper Phife Dawg and DJ/co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Phife Dawg was only persuaded to join when a fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, joined the group. In 1989 they signed a demo deal with Geffen Records, but not given a full-fledged recording contract. After receiving many offers, they opted for the Jive Records label, an independent rap label. In under a year, they managed to produce People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm to critical acclaim, but lukewarm sales, reaching #91 on the Billboard 200, though it did eventually achieve gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Alternative hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres drawing equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk."
Outkast was an American hip hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi and André 3000. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop acts of all time, the duo achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes, while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
The discography of American rapper and singer André 3000 consists of one studio album, one extended play (EP), two singles as a lead artist, and eleven singles as a featured artist, including one promotional single.
"B.O.B" is a song by the American rap duo Outkast from their fourth studio album Stankonia (2000). It was released as the album's lead single on September 18, 2000, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. Produced by Earthtone III, the song has a high-speed tempo beat consisting of drum and bass rhythms, guitars, organs and gospel vocals. Although not a huge commercial success, the song has been cited as one of the greatest songs of all time by publications such as Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Blender and Complex. The song became popular during the Iraq War.
Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music pioneered by Atlanta rappers T.I., Jeezy, and Gucci Mane, which originated in the Southern United States, with lyrical references to trap starting in 1991 but the modern sound of trap appearing in 1999. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang term "trap house", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music is known for its simple, rhythmic, minimalistic productions that uses synthesized drums, and is characterized by complex hi-hat patterns, snare drums, bass drums, some tuned with a long decay to emit a bass frequency, and lyrical content that often focuses on drug use and urban violence.
Majid Jordan is a Canadian-Bahraini R&B duo, composed of vocalist Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman, both of whom originate from Toronto, Ontario. Formed in 2011, the duo signed with fellow Toronto native Drake's record label OVO Sound, an imprint of Warner Records, to release their debut extended play (EP), A Place Like This (2014). The duo is best known for their guest appearance on Drake's 2013 single "Hold On, We're Going Home", which peaked within the top five of both the Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Hot 100.
Shady XV is a hip hop compilation album performed by various artists of Shady Records. The double disc album was released on November 24, 2014, by Shady Records and Interscope Records. The album was released in honor of the label's 15th anniversary and as its 15th project. The compilation consists of two discs, the first featuring new material from Shady Records artists such as Slaughterhouse, Bad Meets Evil, D12 and Yelawolf, as well as the label's founder Eminem. The second disc includes the label's greatest hits, also featuring former Shady Records members. All previous and current members of the label are represented on the album.
"7/11" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé for the reissue of her fifth studio album Beyoncé (2013), subtitled Platinum Edition (2014). It was released on November 25, 2014, by Columbia Records as the second single from the reissue. The song was written by Beyoncé, Bobby Johnson, and Alonzo Holt. "7/11" is a trap song with elements of hip hop present in its composition. It features rap-singing vocals by Beyoncé over a warped up-tempo beat.