Are ‘Now That’s What I Call Music!’ CDs still going?
Anyone who grew up between the 1980s and 2000s is bound to have come across a CD, cassette tape or vinyl record with the word ‘NOW’ stamped on it in bright, bold letters, but do they even exist anymore?
In the era of abundance and an endless slew of shitty content, it’s easy to lose track of the products and practices that were normal to us as kids. While CD ports in laptops and Facebook were the norm for those now in their 30s, the generation currently in charge of dictating culture knows nothing about such a life. Things are changing more rapidly today than ever before, and it can be quite intimidating to take a step back and soak in all that has gone extinct as the conveniences brought about by technology continue to multiply.
Compilation albums, for example, don’t really serve any practical purpose anymore. As streaming has become the dominant medium for consuming music, playlists are the easier and more accessible alternative to the ‘Greatest Hits’ and ‘Best Of’ packages that used to do numbers not that long ago. Whereas labels still occasionally put out hard copies of such bundles, it’s easier to check out the most played songs on artists’ Spotify or Apple Music profiles.
Once upon a time, however, discovering new music looked a lot different. In addition to putting tons of effort into finding something that appealed to your senses, you would also have to take financial risks by buying CDs, cassettes or records that came with no guarantee of enjoyment. That being the case, a lot of people would play it safe by purchasing collections that featured massive hits by an array of artists, which would then allow them to choose who they wanted to further invest in.
Of these blockbuster anthologies, Now That’s What I Call Music! was among the most popular due to its prolific output, global reach and overall stacked lineup. Since Sony and Universal Music published the first edition in 1983, the series has expanded far beyond its initial jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition to its countless iterations and subcategories that now typically inspire listicles, NOW ultimately found its way to every corner of the world. From countries like Argentina to broader regions like Arabia, it was impossible to avoid for two whole decades.
As the business surrounding physical copies slowed down, so did NOW‘s production. Whereas most of its international branches have sputtered and died, the brand remains alive and active. In fact, Now That’s What I Call Music! 121 was released as a 2CD package in the UK over the summer, featuring artists such as Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, while its sequel is scheduled to drop in November.
Additionally, a Christmas series, special edition bundles with different themes, 4CD albums and multiple vinyl releases under the NOW brand continue to hit the shelves and streaming platforms. A spin-off titled Now That’s What I Call K-POP was released in the United States last year, with its follow-up expected to arrive sometime this year.
While those who take music seriously might not take kindly to the concept of label-curated compilations, these albums were central to the domain for a really long time. Even as a self-proclaimed music enthusiast, I had a few of these CDs and cassettes at home myself — that’s actually how I first heard OutKast, so they weren’t all that bad either.
