How Did The British ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ Album Become A Bestselling Empire Of Pop Music Anthologies?

First come the songs, usually on memory sticks. Then the number crunching, via iPad and a lot of data. Then the vague predictions – and voilà! A child of 9 or 10 years old gets her first “Now,” as they’re known in Britain, and an addiction is born. “Nows tend to land at a particular moment in your young listening life. Some time after the realisation that the pop playing on the radio and out of Chinese restaurant speakers isn’t all indistinguishable mulch, but some time before you learn what albums really are and turn obsessive about track arrangement and liner notes.”