New York - The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), a trade group that includes U.S. brick-and-mortar music retailers, this week issued a statement urging parity in physical and digital album release dates. "If not, the Board feels we are opening the door for chaos in the marketplace as the significance of street date becomes meaningless and its competitive benefits are lost," the group said. "Over the past few months, there have been instances where release dates for physical and digital versions of albums did not coincide, creating unnecessary and unwelcome marketing obstacles, consumer confusion and, most importantly, missed sales opportunities."

Related Links:
http://www.narm.com/PDf/RD-paritystatement.pdf (PDF)