Recently there’s been a lot of discussion online about whether the On Air/On Sale method of releasing singles is a better approach than the traditional way of the single being played on air and then going on sale at a later date. It’s definitely a good way to reduce illegal downloads of singles and reduce the chances of singles leaking weeks before release. However, while it can increase single sales in the long run, the chart run and peak position for singles is greatly effected. This has been demonstrated most recently with smaller artists such as The Saturdays and Nicola Roberts.

The Saturdays’ latest single Notorious, while peaking at number 8, has been dropping down the chart since its On Air/On Sale release in May, but it’s starting to rise now that it has reached the physical CD release this week. At the moment Notorious is sitting at number 21 on the UK singles chart but by Sunday it will be clear whether On Air/On Sale worked in The Saturdays’ favour.