Retailers Foresee a Sweet Week for Music

02/06/2004 9:04 PM, Reuters
Margo Whitmire

Cupid is taking aim at music lovers.

For the past three years, music sales during the week of Valentine's Day have been second only to the boffo weeks leading up to Christmas. Last year, 13.9 million albums were sold during Valentine's Day week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2002, the tally was 14.5 million; in 2001, 15.5 million.

With the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards preceding the holiday for the first time this year -- and Presidents Day falling two days after Valentine's Day -- the industry is predicting that holiday sales will be bigger than ever.

"The traffic coming in to find Grammy winners could easily translate to shoppers asking themselves what they can buy for other people," says Richie Gallo, senior VP of sales and marketing for Universal Music Enterprises. "So it's a wonderful opportunity that becomes even more important this year."

Last year's Grammy darling Norah Jones is expected to be the top seller of the week with her Feb. 10 sophomore effort, "Feels Like Home" (Blue Note).

"It's the perfect record for that week," says Carl Mello, music buyer for Boston-based Newbury Comics. He expects to see a lot of couples coming in to buy the album.

Jones' project is just one of many albums from multi-platinum performers in stores that day. In a heavy release slate that shows the importance of the day as a sales peg, new records from Kylie Minogue , Courtney Love and Melissa Etheridge are also arriving Feb. 10.

"It was an intentional decision to release Courtney around Valentine's Day. Especially with an album named 'America's Sweetheart,"' says Randy Miller, executive VP of marketing for Virgin Records.

It's a good week for new releases, Trans World executive VP/CFO John Sullivan notes, because "everyone's got to buy something for their sweetheart, and is an ideal gift for Valentine's Day."

Trans World will act as cupid for shoppers with a "Gifts From the Heart" display in its stores, with Jones as the key feature.

Labels also recognize the holiday week as a big selling point for relevant catalog reissues and romantic compilations.

Universal's Gallo says it has special promotions running with Trans World, Tower and Best Buy that will highlight collections by Quincy Jones , Isaac Hayes , Donny & Marie Osmond , Vanessa Williams , the Temptations and Engelbert Humperdinck .

Inviting couples to get in the mood, Universal also released "Let's Get It On," a compilation of favorites such as the Marvin Gaye classic of the same name.

EMI Music has new collections by Teddy Pendergrass and Al Green in stores, as well as "Midnight Soul," which features songs by romantic soul crooners like Barry White , Gaye and Freddie Jackson.

Sony Music will release its annual "Love Songs" collection -- which started in 1996 with Billie Holiday -- featuring Andy Williams ; Rosemary Clooney ; Earth, Wind & Fire and country duo George Jones and Tammy Wynette .

Virgin Entertainment Group senior VP of product and marketing Dave Alder says that adding an edge to the merchandise has helped bring Valentine's Day awareness to its stores. "We're featuring everything from Josh Groban and Norah Jones to Kama Sutra massage cream and a strip chocolate board game," he says. "The straight, cliched approach doesn't work at Virgin. We've added a twist, and that's what has worked for us."

Also putting a spin on the holiday, Shout Factory's Jan. 20 "Wonderland" series features romantic compilations with pulp-romance-novel covers from the '50s. The three-volume set features classic pop and jazz love songs by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald , Sarah Vaughan , Peter Cincotti and Carly Simon .

Humperdinck, who has made a career of romancing his fans, is confident that music will always be an important part of the holiday. "Romance makes the world go 'round," he says. "So many people tell me they've made babies to my music. It's quite a compliment to hear that somebody has brought a new life to this world while listening to your music."

Reuters/Billboard