Ah, yes! This is another of the great recording industry tricks. Ever been amazed at how a new release by a big artist has gone straight in at number 1 in the charts?

"Gosh, people must really have flocked to the record store on the first day!", you may think.

Well yes, but no. the big labels often buy up a couple of million copies of their own records before the official release so that they start well in the charts. At the top level it's assumed as part of the promotion costs. Sad but true!