The Ministry Of Sound label and club empire built a lucrative niche for itself on the back of hugely popular compilation albums. If you wanted an album of dancefloor hits or chill-out classics, MoS had it down. In the good times when people bought these on CD or were even paying for downloads, the label sold 70 million or so compilations.
But the company's competitive advantage in this field has been eroded. The Financial Times reported during the week that the company saw turnover decline in the years to 2014 due to a drop in album prices, though the company's overall operating profit increased.
However, music fans’ move to streaming will mean less cash for a company specialising in compilations because the royalty payments go to the copyright owners and not to those who curated and compiled the tracks.
While Ministry has begun to sign and develop new acts, including Example and London Grammar, and its club business continues to flourish, there’s no doubt that it will feel the pinch as those who used to buy compilations continue to migrate to streaming.
Those of us who made many impulse compilation purchases and ended up with great introductions to jazz, blues, soul and funk as a result will miss them. But we won’t miss Whopper House Bangers 2016.
