Volume 124 of Now That's What I Call Music! quietly appeared in the UK this summer, extending a 43-year run for a series that once dominated the charts but now survives in diminished form. Its longevity is notable given that from 2019 onwards sales began sliding sharply, with commentators repeatedly predicting the franchise's demise, particularly during the Covid pandemic, yet it has persisted with three new editions expected again in 2026.

Between 1983 and 2019, all 101 editions had at least gone platinum (over 300,000 sales), with 51 reaching triple-platinum status, but Now 102 managed only gold status at around 100,000 copies despite featuring hits from Ariana Grande and Lewis Capaldi, and subsequent volumes failed to reverse the decline. The article also traces the series' origins to 1983, when Virgin Records and EMI launched it partly in response to rival label Ronco's chart-topping compilation Raiders of the Pop Charts, building on a compilation-album trend that had grown throughout the 1970s from labels like Ronco and K-Tel.