Greatest Hits

CNN.com had this story up yesterday about the conflicts that artists and labels have surrounding greatest hits compilations. I’m a little torn on this issue but I ultimately side with the artists on this. Hits compilations are certainly a money grab by the labels. They do make money. I have a lot of them (although a lot of my collection I’ve gotten as used discs). Because for me it’s “about the songs”, for many bands I’m mainly interested in just a few songs (usually their better known songs, since I occasionally DJ parties and these tend to get requested).

The main point of the article is that labels are pressuring newer artists to release GH compilations early, which is pretty ridiculous. A number of both newer and classic artists have resisted the GH pressure. AC/DC is the most interesting band in this list. The artists correctly hold that albums have integrity (and sometimes, songs that are big hits for a band are not that band’s favorite songs, e.g. Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds)(Their 1985 Live Aid performance of this song is posted above. I don’t remember them playing this when I saw them in Buffalo in early ’86.). iTunes has changed things quite a bit, for those artists whose material is available there (coverage is still pretty spotty or completely absent for many, which I would guess is probably mostly attributable to artists and labels not liking the terms[?]).

The CNN.com story also amusingly calls out Aerosmith and U2 for releasing egregious numbers of hits compilations.