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The original edition went platinum just a couple of months after release.
edition, along with a two-disc compilation of some of the biggest hits of the series first two decades.
The U.K. series had been running for 15 years beforeNowcame to America.
I think it was somewhat maverick, to be honest with you.
But then there was genuinely some concern that it wasnt the right market for it.
First of all, physical retail didnt really have the sections for multi-artists compilation-pop in releases.
Second of all, the labels didnt really work together in as friendly a fashion.
There were lots of labels back then and they were somewhat antagonistic, not just competitive with each other.
How do the songs for aNowcompilation get selected?
Has it changed over the 20 years?Jeff Moskow: Initially, it was very straightforward.
It was, What are the biggest radio hits?
If the song is big on the radio, thats the bang out of song we want onNow.
And radio is still a very big piece.
You want the songs that are embedded into popular culture.
You want that songs that people have heard.
And that means we go to lots of different places to look for that.
Is that where the Whats Next?
We put on 5 Seconds of Summers Youngblood.
The perfect record is a blend of all those types of songs.
Britney Spears has been featured on the compilation 19 times, and Taylor Swift has been on 18.
Were not going to exclude country or exclude hip-hop because we dont think it represents pop music.
Its all pop music.
If a hip-hop song has a cultural moment, we want it.
There are certain songs that … one example was the Childish Gambino song This Is America.
Maybe it isnt the right fit.
And we were like, Youre right.
Thats a great point.
Its not our decision, its their decision, but we just backed off because we respect that.
But generally, if its a big song we want it, we dont care.
I dont have to like every song on it.
Generally, I do, but I dont have to.
Consumers already voted for that.
We still have a lot of tweens again and some teens, kids that experience music from their parents.
What we also have is those parents.
We havent lost that audience.
Its become somewhat more of a stretch demo.
It really goes anywhere up to late 40s in that respect.
So, broader is how I would describe it.
And that means that all of those cars have CD players.
Now, is that to say all of them dont have an interface with streaming?
No, of course, a lot of them do.
Is that to say that new cars all have CD players?
No, thats not true at all, a lot of new cars dont have CD players.
Is that for everyone?
No, but it is still for a very significant chunk of people who grew up with this brand.
This brand has been around in the U.S. for 20 years.
Theyve literally gone from being teens and tweens to being young adults.
This is an experience of theirs.
They started as a kid and now they have their own families.
When you listen to aNowcompilation its not a bunch of songs thrown together.
Its got a very specific, deliberate feel.
So we have curator profiles on Apple Music, we have a curator profile on Spotify.
Theres so many playlisters.
Its a very competitive field.
Right now, we can live the best of both worlds, and work with either one.
Two different discussions were combined and condensed to create this interview.
