All About One Direction

Up All Night Details Part IV: Promotion and Release

      Up All Night was made available on CD and digital download in two editions: the deluxe edition, in hard form shape of a yearbook, features a book-sized collection of photos, quotes, and lyrics from the five members of One Direction, and two extra songs: "Stand Up" and "Moments".

    The album was released by Syco Records in Ireland and the UK on 18 November 2011 and 21 November 2011 respectively. The album was released on 25 November 2011 and 28 November 2011 in Australia and New Zealand respectively.

      The album was fully released in Europe in early 2012. The album was initially set for release in North America on 23 March 2012 through Columbia Records; however, it was rescheduled for a one-week earlier release on 13 March 2012 with Columbia Records releasing a statement: "due to overwhelming fan demand, their debut album will be released one week early on 13 March 2012."

      For the North American release on 13 March 2012, Columbia Records executives used social media to shape its marketing campaign. Columbia Records co-chairman Steve Barnett and his team decided to reverse the usual pattern of releasing a single on radio. Instead the label mounted a four-month marketing campaign aimed at building a fan base through social media before a single was ever released or played on the radio.

     The social media campaign asked fans to sign petitions and to enter video competitions to win a concert in their town. The campaign was a success as One Direction's Facebook followers in the United States rose from 40,000 to 400,000. "What Makes You Beautiful" sold more than 131,000 copies in its first week, even though it had yet to be played on the radio. Radio programmers were flooded with calls from fans.

     Johnny Wright, who managed New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, said: "Now they are calling the radio station, and the radio station is scratching its head, saying, ‘We don't even have that record yet,’. It's almost like the return of The Beatles. I call it hype, but it's positive hype because it's all real. It's not manufactured. No one paid these kids."