Garth Brooks. Whitney Houston. Jewel. For music lovers, Christmas would seem to have arrived early: more than 10 major pop acts are issuing new CDs on the single day of Nov. 17, making it the heaviest release date ever. Music-industry folks have dubbed it Super Tuesday.
The music business could use the lift. Album sales in 1998 are up only 4.3% over 1997, so record companies are praying for a flashy fourth quarter (the holiday season accounts for 40% to 60% of annual record sales). DreamWorks, for example, is releasing not one but three sound tracks (pop, country and inspirational)...