Stacked racks bode well for 2005: balanced release schedules are reflecting the risks of launching into the Christmas market.(Editorial)

So, Christmas is past and a new year is upon us. For most in the business, the scale of New Year optimism will depend on how well they fared over the holiday season.

In retail particularly--long with other sectors of the industry--most will be hopeful that some of the Christmas boom carries through into this New Year. As we all know too well, however good January turns out to be, it never matches up to the massive December which comes before it.

But it does look like a promising month ahead, with quality records coming from a range of sources, from Clara, Athlete and Jennifer Lopez, with Coldplay, Doves and plenty of others set to follow.

That can only be good news. It suggests there may be a continuation of the trend which appeared to be in evidence through much of last spring and early summer, as the industry showed signs of moving to a more evenly distributed release schedule.

It could have been better of course, but plenty of record companies will have noticed the success in 2004 of albums by acts such as Keane, Maroon 5, Scissor Sisters, Anastacia, Usher, Franz Ferdinand and others, which achieved splendid sales volumes, despite being released outside of the festive season. Many such titles ...