The shock of the new year ... Franz Ferdinand on stage. Photograph: Jo Hale/Getty Images
I went to see a friend's band the other day and, to my surprise, there were lots of other people there, too. This isn't a dig at the band - the rather excellent Murder in Monochrome - whose simmering intensity and influential, yet easily bribed contacts in the media, are quite possibly going to propel them to big things this year. It's just that last time I saw them they were being watched by a crowd who would have regarded three men and a cocker spaniel as an intimidating mob.
The difference was this latest gig's date - January 4 - when people who've escaped the loving embrace of their families, and had their alcoholism ratcheted up a few notches by Christmas drinking, are desperately keen to go out, only to find that, absurdly, there's far less than usual to do. Murder in Monochrome not only got people to come and see them, they also got more national press than they had for the whole of last year.
In January there's simply not very much going on and so good bands who don't have PR muscle behind them suddenly get their share of the limelight. In fact it's not just good bands. It's quite possible that if I went to the NME car park this week and rhythmically thwacked a hedgehog against the windscreen of Conor McNicholas's motor, security would be asked to review the noise before dragging me away.
It's the same at the other end of the economic scale where Radiohead's new album went straight to number one, despite the fact that the majority of their fans already own it. And releasing records in a soft week for the charts is far from a new trick. Although record sales overall may be lower at this time of year, bands who prize publicity above immediate unit shifting - whether that's Iron Maiden going for a morale-boosting number one with Bring Your Daughter ... to the Slaughter in 1991, or Franz Ferdinand launching their career with Take Me Out in 2004 - have always chosen a January release date.
Unfortunately this may not be the case for much longer. The inclusion of downloads in the singles chart has meant that this week's top 40 is clogged with hits that have hung around for months. The era when January was all about the new seems to be over.
But maybe it shouldn't be. Wouldn't it be better if we could have a formal clearance sale at the turn of the year? The idea of the bloated music industry taking a bit of a nap during January and leaving the field to new young talent should still be highly appealing for both sides. It would add a bit of spice to the Christmas singles bun fight, too, if the big labels could warn fans that everything from 2008 will be formally deleted on December 31.
Small labels and unsigned bands could then take the opportunity to strut their stuff throughout January without competition. In the meantime any band that wants to make it big in 2009 should already start thinking about booking that coveted January 4 slot.
