Now That's What I Call Music!
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- This article refers to the "Now That's What I Call Music!" series as a whole. For other uses (including the first albums in various series with the same or similar names), see "Now That's What I Call Music! (disambiguation)".
Now That's What I Call Music! (often shortened to Now!)Template:Ref is a long-running series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom by Polygram/EMI/Virgin Records; spinoff series were later started in the United States and elsewhere.
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Original United Kingdom series
Devised by Ashley Abram of Box Records (a consultancy specialising in producing compilations), the series took its name from an advertising poster for Danish meat products which showed a pig listening to a whistling cockerel. The pig became the Now! series' mascot for a while, making its last appearance on Now! 5.
The first Now! compilation appeared in 1983 and collected thirty UK hit singles from that year on a double vinyl LP or cassette. The concept of a compilation of recent hit singles was not new (Ronco and K-tel had been issuing single-disc collections since the early 1970s), but by spreading tracks across two discs instead of one, the Now! series was able to achieve better sound quality, and since the albums were a collaboration between major record companies a greater number of major hits could be included (the first album in the series boasted of "11 number ones" on its sleeve, something previously unheard-of). The album went to number one and soon had a major rival in CBS/WEA's The Hits Album which adopted a similar format to Now! The two series co-existed for the rest of the 1980s.
The sheer longevity and ubiquity of the Now! series in the UK has led to its becoming something of a cultural icon. Many people now collect the albums as a series, something made easier by the fact that the series was a hit from the start, so even the long-deleted early albums are easy to find second-hand.
Although the rate of release varied in the early days, it has now settled down to three per year; one release around Easter, another during the summer break (to pick up all the dance hits), and a third around November (in time for the Christmas market). Now That's What I Call Music! 63 was released on April 10, 2006. The UK series continues to follow the double-album format, now exploiting the capacity of the CD to include forty or more songs over its two discs.
The most successful has been Now That's What I Call Music! 57, which sold 350,000 units in the first week of sales. At the time of release it was the fastest selling record of the 21st century, only outsold by Dido's "Life For Rent".
Spin-offs
In addition to the main "Now That's What I Call Music" series, there have been a number spin-off compilations in the UK using the name, including:
- Now Dance - a series in its own right, these compilations originally consisted of 12" mixes of current hits. They now focus on 7" mixes of recent dance hits, and a "Very Best of Now Dance" compilation has been released.
- At least two different series of year-by-year "retrospective" compilations, covering 1983 to 1995, and 1980 to 1999 respectively (the latter known as Now! - The Millennium Editions)
- At least two "best-of" compilations covering the entire "Now!" series.
- A late 1980s tie-up with Smash Hits Magazine resulted in the best of the 1980s release Now Smash Hits on LP and VHS.
- Several Christmas and summer-themed compilations.
- Video releases, including video cassette editions of many early 'Now!' compilations, and (more recently) yearly DVD video releases.
- Other releases include "Now Karaoke" and the interactive DVD "Now That's What I Call A Music Quiz."
A more complete list can be found at the list of Now That's What I Call Music! albums.
Now! series in other countries
More recently, there have been numerous different versions of the brand in other parts of the world, including:
- Arabia (under the name "Now That's What I Call Arabia")
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- Japan
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- South America
- Spain
- United States
Although there is some overlap in content between current releases in different markets, there are also differences such as the inclusion of local hits, and (for example) the single-CD format of the U.S. releases, in contrast with the traditional double-album UK format.
United States
The U.S. series of Now! albums began in 1998. The 21st volume was released on April 4, 2006. Now That's What I Call Music! Number 1's was released on January 24 2006.
Denmark
Now Music is a Danish record label set up especially to release Now That's What I Call Music! albums in Denmark. As well as the regular series (as of February 2006 up to the 14th release), there have also been spin-offs including Now Clubbing and Now Dance.
Czech Republic (Now Hity)
Now Hity is the Czech version of the Now That's What I Call Music! series. Originally branded under the main family name, it was changed to Now Hity later in the run.
Canada
The Canadian "Now!" CDs were first released in 1996, and have been released annually since then, usually in the summer.
Australia
The Australian series is a single disc edition and began in 2002, as a replacement for the long-running 100% Hits brand. The series is a joint venture between EMI Music Australia and Warner Music Australia.
Now 01 appeared in July of that year, followed by Now 02 in time for Christmas 2002. 2003's Now 03 came with a bonus DVD; the first standalone DVD release (Now Vision 2004) appeared the following year.
There are no plans to release double disc editions.
Rival compilations
The competing Hits series is currently run by Sony Music and BMG. In 2002, it was cheekily rebranded to Hits 51 and timed for release very shortly after Now! 50. Hits 60 was released on the same day as Now! 59.
Footnotes
- Template:Note There was no exclamation mark in the titles of the original UK series until Now! That's What I Call Music 18 in 1990. With Now That's What I Call Music! 20, the exclamation mark was moved to follow the word "music", where it has remained since. This is also the most common form of the name to appear on albums in the subsequent foreign Now! series.