by Tomo on Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:55 am
This feels a lot like what's become known as the Wedding Present Effect. You trail something, like a CD single, for about 6 weeks, building up expectation and familiarity, and letting everyone know about it without being able to buy it. In release week, everyone clamours to get it, and it shoots to number one. Cynical, isn't it. It's named after the Band The Wedding Present, who in the early 1990s released one single a month and asked their fan base to all buy each one in the week it was released, thereby getting their favourite band on Top of the Pops every month.