Street date

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Street date is a business term that refers to the date a particular product is to be released for sale to the general public.

Typically, retailers receive shipments of stock prior to its street date release, so that the product can be placed on display shelves for store opening that day. Shipments come marked very clearly with a "do not sell before release date" label designating a street date mandated by the distributor. Shipments may sometimes arrive up to three weeks in advance.

In the U.S., street dates for music and video releases usually fall on Tuesdays.

Retail outlets can be severely punished by manufacturers for releasing a product even a day before the street date. Violations include fines, lawsuits and commonly the loss of privileges to distribute future product from that manufacturer. At least one bookstore^{[citation needed]} was forbidden from selling any future Harry Potter books after they began selling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire one day before the street date. In 1999, a movie theatre^{[citation needed]} lost its rights to show Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace after showing a trailer for it one day earlier than they were supposed to. However, there is no documentation of a retail chain or store being fined or any action taken against them.