Now 100?

Is Now still relevant?

The legendary compilation album series ‘Now, or Now that’s I call music’ has hit the magic 100! Even though this is a great achievement is it a hollow one? With the drastically changing way we consume music the once convenient way of buying this quarters must have music seems somewhat redundant.

People now have access to all the music they ever want via streaming and with physical media forever decreasing in sales does anyone really need a compilation album?  You will always want and should support your favourite artist’s by buying their albums, but is a double cd of tracks that you only like a few tracks on worth your hard earnt cash? You can buy a digital single for less than a pound so if you simply buy a track you like at the time you hear it you will soon develop a full library of music filled with all killer, no filler.

The argument is that the Now albums have always been a gateway into liking new artists and music that you might not usually listen to. However this latest edition only has a single cd dedicated to new music, the second cd is a ‘best of’ compilation. The music on the second cd is fantastic, however I wonder how many of the tracks you might already own on different compilations or albums? It feels like a bit of a cheat to me and makes me wonder if the producers of Now have sensed the change in the market and have given up on trying to fill 2 cd’s of new music. With such choice and range of music available in so many easily accessible way they might know that a one size fits all compilation doesn’t work anymore.

I have always bought every Now album when they came out, but with this latest offering I feel let down and has made me wonder if it belongs in my music library anymore?

Who knows what the future holds for this series of completion albums? I hope we get to see a Now 101 but if I buy it is another question all together!