Good news for record labels: compilations are still selling. A case in point is the MT-USA CD and DVfrom last year.

The Very Best of MT-USAfeatured tracks from such 1980s fixtures as ZZ Top, Men Without Hats and The Bangles as well as a selection of videos from that era.

The compilation has sold a healthy 35,000 copies in Ireland to date, so it's no surprise that the record label, Sony-BMG, are going back to that particular well this Christmas.

The Very Best of MT-USA, Volume 2goes on sale today with tracks from Alphaville, A-Ha, Hall & Oates, Thompson Twins, The Jets, Cutting Crew and other giants of the decade that taste overlooked.

For the labels with significant back catalogues, such compilations are easy pickings. Whether these are rounding up current hits (the Now That's What I Call Music!albums are in rude health at number 71 in the series) or raiding the archives once again ­ ( Larry Gogan's 101 Hits of The 80s and 90sis a recent homegrown release sure to feature under many Christmas trees this year), the compilation continues to exert a commercial appeal.

For certain sectors of the industry, compilations have helped to take up some of the slack caused by falling singles sales.

At the recent NI Music: The Way Forward music conference in Belfast, Andy McKirdy from Skint Records pointed out that many dance labels now rely heavily on the fees obtained from licensing tracks to regular collections such as The Annualor Floorfillers Clubmix.

Up to five years ago, such fees were seen as profit; now, they're vital to pay the bills. However, chart returns indicate that the vast majority of compilation sales are on CDs, with only a tiny proportion of these albums purchased as digital downloads.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the face of more and more people making the switch to digital and starting to put together bespoke compilations of their own.

Irish jazz explosion

Some music fans may think that Irish jazz festivals begin and end with Cork in October, but a wealth of exciting jazz events happen all over the country every year.

Next week, the Galway Jazz Festival kicks into action. Acts heading west from November 20th to 23rd include Amsterdam's excellent Eric Vloeimans Gatecrash Quartet, New York pianist Kenny Werner and The Thing with Japanese sonic pioneer Otomo Yoshihide. More info at www.galwayjazzfestival.com

Back in the capital, the Made On Mondays series highlighting new Dublin jazz projects returns to JJ Smyth's.

Over two weeks, six new projects will be strutting their stuff, with Colm O'Hara & The Troupe, Morla and the Nick Roth Sephardic Project appearing on November 24th.

Beyond The Pale

The Pale's run continues. Next year, the veteran Dublin band release a new album, Proper Order, and there are two tracks from it, Chocolate Factoryand Lady Gregory, now available as free downloads from the band's website, www.thepale.ie

Live, they play The Quays, Galway (November 21st), Academy, Dublin (with Sultans of Ping, December 20th) and Sky, Portlaoise (with The Stunning, December 21st).

ETC

• The first Letterkenny Rhythm and Blues Festival has Big Boy Bloater, Lee Headley Band, The Mudskippers and many more playing from November 28th to 30th.

• Get some pre-Xmas vibes with Roy Ayers at Dublin's Button Factory on December 22nd. Stee Downes supports.

• This year's Choice Music Prize winners Super Extra Bonus Party bounce into 2009 with a bash at Whelan's, Dublin on New Year's Eve.

"I'm not a recluse. I like people, but sometimes I can't wait to get away and be on my own again." - Now you know. Don't call Scott Walker a recluse