The makers of seminal compilation album Now! That's What I Call Music have given the franchise a bit of a digital makeover, allowing users to choose their own tracks from an official website.
Now in its 78th iteration, Now! That's What I Call Music has been going since 1983 and has always been a best seller, with Now! That's What I Call Music 44 selling a whopping 2.3 million copies, putting it in the top 50 of the biggest albums ever sold in the UK.
Now! choose your own songs
With around 40 tracks per compilation, you were always guaranteed a number of duds, but now EMI and Universal, which own the series, have come up with a cunning plan to entice the digital crowd to Now! and banish filler tracks.
The website www.nowmusic.com, allows you to create your own Now! playlist and then burn or syncit to iTunes.
All you have to do is select a theme – we went for Power Ballads – and you will be given some tracks to choose from.
A five-track compilation will cost £2.99, while you can get the full 40 tracks for £14.99.
For those who aren't fussy, the website generates an album for you and you can swap out the tracks you don't want.
It's an interesting idea for a franchise that's trying to re-establish itself in the download world.
We're just glad its name hasn't been changed to Now! That's What I Call MP3.
Via the Guardian
