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''Now That's What I Call Music!'' (1983–present) (often shortened to ''Now!'') is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by EMI (as EMI TV/Virgin Records/Universal/Sony Music). Spinoff series were later introduced in South Africa (1984) and many other countries worldwide, including the United States in 1998, and expanding into Asia in 1995. Since its launch in the UK in 1983, the series has amassed over 100 million album sales worldwide.〔(Billboard.biz 'Now' Compilation Celebrates Silver Anniversary )〕 ==Original United Kingdom and Ireland series== The idea for ''Now That’s What I Call Music!'' was born in the office of Virgin Records in Vernon Yard, just off Portobello Road. It was the brain child of the head of Licensing and Business Affairs at Virgin records (1979–1990) – Stephen Navin, and General Manager (1983–1988) – Jon Webster.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Now That's What I Call Music - 25 Years Album Review )〕 The concept was taken to Simon Draper (Managing Director at Virgin Records) and then Peter Jamieson (Managing Director of EMI Records (1983–1986)). Jamieson had similar plans to launch such a compilation but was so impressed with Virgin's ideas, music and enthusiasm that he immediately agreed to the partnership. The deal was negotiated and finalised on Richard Branson's boat moored in Little Venice.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About NOW That's What I Call Music )〕 The series took its name from a 1920s advertising poster for Danish bacon featuring a pig saying "Now. That's What I Call Music" as it listened to a chicken singing. Richard Branson had bought the poster for his cousin, Simon Draper, to hang behind Draper's desk at the Virgin Records office. "He was notoriously grumpy before breakfast and loved his eggs in the morning, so I bought him the poster, framed it and had it hung behind his desk!" – Richard Branson.〔 The pig became the mascot for the series', making its last appearance on ''Now That's What I Call Music 5''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=NOW That's What I Call Music! 5 )〕 The first ''Now'' was released on 28 November 1983〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nowmusic.com/now/now-thats-what-i-call-music-1/ )〕 and featured 30 UK hit singles from that year on a double vinyl LP or cassette. Although the compilation of recent hit songs into a single release was not a new concept (K-tel and Ronco, for example, had been issuing various artists' compilations for some years), this was the first time that two major record labels had collaborated on such a venture. Virgin agreed to a deal with EMI, which allowed a greater number of major hits to be included (the first album in the series boasted a total of "eleven number ones" on its sleeve). The album went to number one and soon had a major rival in CBS/WEA's ''The Hits Album'', which adopted a similar format to ''Now!''. The two series co-existed for the rest of the 1980s, but when Universal joined the collaboration the ''Now!'' series dominated commercially. The ''Out Now'' series by MCA and Chrysalis was also established as a rival to the series, but was short lived. By 1989, ''Now'', ''Hits'', and other various-artist compilation albums were occupying such a high fraction of the UK Albums Chart that a separate UK Compilation Chart was created to restrict the Albums Chart to releases by a single act. The rate of release settled very quickly to three per year: one release around late March/early April, another around late July and a third around late November. Over ninety "main series" (not including spin-off and special edition) albums have been released to date. The newest album in the series, ''Now 91'', was released on 24th July 2015. The UK series has followed a double-album format throughout the series (many other foreign franchises of the ''Now!'' series are only released on one disc), now exploiting the capacity of the CD to include between 40 to 46 tracks over two discs. Since July 2006 (Now 64), the ''Now!'' series have only been released on CD and digital download formats. Previously, the series had been available on vinyl, audio cassette and MiniDisc. As these formats declined in popularity, ''Now'' releases are no longer issued on them. Peter Duckworth and Steve Pritchard, Managing Directors of Now Music, have been managing the Now! brand since ''NOW 17''. Mark Goodier has been the voice of ''Now!'' adverts since ''Now 21'' in 1992, going back to his days with BBC Radio 1. Ashley Abram of Box Music compiled every album from ''Now 2'' in 1984 through to ''Now 81'' in 2012.〔http://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/aug/09/popandrock.nowthatswhaticallmusic〕 Jenny Fisher took over as the compiler beginning with ''Now 82''. In October 2013, the NOW Music television channel was launched in the UK. Targeting everyone from teens to grandparents, the channel plays current popular music in the daytime and hits from its 30-year back catalog in the evenings. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Now That's What I Call Music!」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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