Gennaro Castaldo Watch: Now, thrill to the visuals

Something novel for Watch, as Gennaro appears on video. He's talking about the upswing in sales of Amy Winehouse's back catalogue, trying to not look too delighted at selling records in such circumstances. Well done to the BBC crew who shot this for finding an angle which makes HMV look like a record shop.

Gennaro also popped up on CNN, from where a fact-hungry New Zealand Herald took down his words:

Spokesperson Gennaro Castaldo, from British music retailer HMV, told CNN: "There was an initial spike in downloads on Saturday evening as people heard the news, and then on Sunday when stores were open, we had a lot of people coming in.

"It repeats a pattern seen when other artists have died," he said. "Time and again, when someone passes away, you see a huge surge of interest in their current album, and also in other items in their catalogue.

"People want a tangible connection to the artist - they want their own little piece of Amy to hold on to."

"Their current album and also in other items in their catalogue" - he means "their records", or, if you must "all their records".

I'm not entirely sure this is true - when a high-profile artist dies a high-profile death, like Amy Winehouse or Michael Jackson, there's a surge, which is fed in part by characters like Castaldo turning up to talk about the spike. But surely when most musicians die, there's barely any noticeable change to sales levels?