Between The Bullets

'NOW' MORE THAN EVER: Once regarded as a scary idea, the multi-label, multi-artist hits compilation series called Now has quickly found favor with consumers. The latest installment, Now 6, becomes the second in the batch to reach No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and the first of the half-dozen to top the half-million mark in its opening week (525,000 units). The only one in the line to see a bigger week was Now 5, which surpassed 688,000 units during Christmas week 2000.

Now 5 is also the one that had the series' previous first-week high, ringing up 444,500 pieces when it bowed at No. 2 in the Dec. 2 issue. Now 4 became the first to top the chart in last summer's Aug. 5 issue, starting its three-week run at No. 1 with 320,500 units.

To be certain, Now has achieved significant brand recognition in less than three years, upholding the reputation of Gene Rumsey, executive VP of sales and marketing for EMI Music Distribution, who promised "this isn't The Luv Collection" when the Now line was introduced at a 1998 National Assn. of Recording Merchandisers conference. Rumsey's reference was to an ill-fated U.S. series of four compilations that EMI launched in 1996 in the wake of Now's success in the U.K. Despite a pricey campaign, two Luv titles combined saw just 11 weeks on The Billboard 200, with Movie Luv getting the series' peak at No. 155. A third title notched 12 weeks on Top Country Albums.

By contrast, the six Now albums have achieved a combined 159 weeks on the big chart, including 35 weeks in the top 10. In its 21st chart week, Now 5 stands at No. 55, while at No. 193, Now 4 has logged 38 weeks on The Billboard 200. The Now line has also far exceeded the two attempts in the Totally Hits series assembled by Arista and the WEA labels. Neither of the Totally sets have reached the top 10, with the second volume peaking last year at No. 13. Combined, the pair has spent seven weeks in the top 20.

One wonders, though, if the success of Now exacts a cost. Reminiscent of the ripples that followed the splashdown of Now 5, only one of the 19 albums represented on Now 6 sells more this issue than it did last, and that one exception, by Samantha Mumba, represents a unique circumstance. Further, eight of the 18 albums that do decline have larger evaporation this issue than they did the issue before. ATC, for example, sinks 20 places to No. 133, drooping from a 16.5% decline last issue to a 25% drop this issue. Others whose fades accelerate: 3LW, which slides from a 7% drop to a 14% decline (No. 50, down six places); Creed, which sees its evaporation accelerate from 2% to 11.6% (No. 41, down seven places); and, beneath The Billboard 200, Evan & Jaron, who go from a 9% drop last issue to a 26% free fall.

I'm told that some of the labels that resist releasing singles to retail are lured by hefty