Viewpoint—Christmas CDs may be catchy, but have shelf life of egg nog

By Erin Bury

Deck your halls and jingle your bells. Halloween is over, and now it’s time to think about the next major Canadian holiday: Christmas.

Although it is still six weeks away, evidence of the holiday season is popping up everywhere from decorations in malls to displays of wrapping paper and greeting cards in stores.

This all equates to one thing: Christmas may be a religious holiday, but retailers across the country are more concerned with the commercial aspect of Christmas. While children may see Santa Claus, store owners and executives see one thing: dollar signs.

And who can blame them? Every year Canadians head to the malls in droves searching for the right gift for a friend or loved one. So it only makes sense that companies cater to this insatiable demand for gifts, and anything to do with Christmas.

“The Holiday Store” opens its doors every season to cater to those looking for ornaments that will complete their perfect tree. Movies like Elf and The Santa Clause enjoy box office success. But the easiest place to spot people capitalizing on the Christmas season is at the music stores, where Christmas CDs dominate the holiday season selections.

Christmas music is a huge element of the holiday season. It’s in the background while you are making cookies or wrapping presents, and playing in the malls while you are out buying your last-minute gifts.

Artists of every genre release their take on Christmas classics every year, hoping theirs will be the most successful offerings of the season.

In the past there have been holiday CDs from teenyboppers like N’Sync and Hanson, who put a pop and dance twist on their selections.

There have been the divas, like Mariah Carey adding her powerful voice to classics like “All I want for Christmas is you” and Céline Dion singing “These are the special times.” And this year is no exception, with the Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan already releasing her album, Wintersong.

So why do the stars feel the need to put out a holiday CD to add to the many that already crowd record store shelves?

Along with the obvious commercial successes these albums enjoy, there is another major perk: it doesn’t involve much effort on the part of the artist or the record label. All the singer has to do is go into the recording booth and put their twist on an existing song, and voila! A Christmas CD is born.

They often have one or two original songs, just so the public knows they put some amount of thought into the process. But by and large these CDs are just a way for an artist to make a buck at a time when they don’t have enough new material to release a CD of original music.

So what happens to all these CDs when they are released? Some enjoy commercial success and receive huge airplay. They might have a hit or two, and the artists appear on holiday specials to show off their renditions.

But once Santa has gone back to the north pole, the CDs disappear as well from music stores and CD players. And when the holiday season comes, last year’s offerings are forgotten. Honestly, is anyone really going to buy Jessica Simpson’s Christmas CD this year? Did anyone even buy it last year?

So it seems that although the CDs are easy to produce and catchy, they don’t have the staying power of a truly great album. On the 13th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a dusty shelf to put away my Christmas CDs.