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Posted by: Ryan. 15th September 2016, 04:01 PM

So there is always a lot of discussion regarding single elements that have changing regarding the music industry in the last year or so, but overall do we prefer the state of things today or would we prefer to rewind a couple of years?

Things to consider...

Friday vs Sunday: Do you have a preference for the day of release, do you like having new songs ready for the weekend or was release day a highlight of the weekend in itself?

On Air/On Sale: New Music Fridays led to a new push for OA/OS in the UK which this time was successful. Do you prefer this and the fact that releases tend to now get announced just days before release, or did you like the build-up of weeks until you could finally get your own copy?

Chart impact: This of course leads onto the fact that the charts have changed with songs entering low and picking up steam as airplay increases. Do you prefer to see these climbs, or did you enjoy the high peaks in week 1?

Chart show day: This has been discussed before but of course the move from Sunday to Friday for the chart show was a key impact of the move to New Music Fridays.

There's probably so many more elements to think of as well - I love the feeling that all the music industries around the world are now perfectly in sync! - but the question is taking into account all the changes... Do you prefer the way things are now to the way they were before the change in the middle of 2015?

Posted by: gooddelta 15th September 2016, 04:05 PM

I far prefer everything coming out on a Friday and being on air on sale, as it means I can come into the weekend with loads of new music to buy/add to playlists etc...

It was always a bit of a rush to find what I wanted on Sundays before having to go straight back to work on Mon and trying to find time to look at the music I wanted (if I'd been busy Sun) and finding time to read the sales reports/chart threads etc...

I do however think the chart show on a Friday is utterly useless and pointless. I think it should always be on a weekend, so that the majority of people at least have a chance to listen to it. Who cares if the data reflects a period that ended a couple of days before?

Posted by: John-James 15th September 2016, 04:06 PM

I prefer Fridays, it's much easier to get to the shops and also albums get a full week of sales rather than the 6 days they used to get

Posted by: cqmerqn 15th September 2016, 04:07 PM

Friday: I prefer this day due to the fact it's nice to have new music ready for the weekend.

I think I prefer OA/OS, yet I can dislike it at times as it can be difficult for new artists or even sometimes, big artists such Gaga and Katy Perry (for example) to get big hits.

Chart impact: I much prefer the old format. I loved having several new entries to the Top 40 every week! There were a lot more number ones during that period too...

Chart show day: Either works for me, but if I had the choice then I'd choose Sunday.

Posted by: JosephStyles 15th September 2016, 04:09 PM

Summary of my thoughts:

New Music Friday
- LOVE OA/OS, it's really exciting to stay up til midnight and listen to loads of new songs for the first time.
- Slow climbs are good and it's nice to see songs earning their peak, but things hang around way too long. That's streaming's fault instead though.
- I like the chart on Fridays although I wish there was a better format in place to promote the new entries.

New Music Sunday
- I liked the faster chart runs, a song debuting high and falling, but then again that's hindered by streaming anyway these days so I guess it wouldn't be too different.
- Despite the above, I grew tired of held-back releases and I was often bored of a song by its release.
- The 3 hour chart show was MUCH better but the chart is so slow these days I'm not sure it'd be worth it...

In conclusion, I think I prefer Fridays mainly for the excitement of OA/OS releases that have come with this global release day. Sundays were fun back then but things have moved on and in general things are better as they are. Just wish they'd tweak the chart show a little bit.

Posted by: Ðøßßø 15th September 2016, 04:23 PM

No preference at all on the release day. The majority of songs I discover/listen to bear no relation to the day of the week they are released. The only thing that ever bothered me was Ireland getting the Now Albums before us which doesn't happen anymore

OA/OS is FAR preferable, holding back a song was just asinine & gave the chart a false reflection of its true popularity. But again, I never buy singles so it didn't bother me particularly, holding back on streaming though is just mind-boggling.

Chart was better on a Sunday just because I could listen to live, can seldom do that anymore. I prefer songs entering lo & then gradually climbing, back in the old days you knew a track's peak 99% of time the week it entered, now if a songs enters at say, 36 it's interesting to see its ultimate peak.

Posted by: T Boy 15th September 2016, 04:25 PM

I rarely purchase anything on day of release so I care not what day it's released.

Sunday was better for the chart though. I barely follow it now. Sometimes I forget to check on here until the Saturday.

Posted by: danG 15th September 2016, 04:42 PM

Friday vs Sunday: Friday definitely, it's great to have new music in time for the weekend.

On Air/On Sale: I prefer this in terms of being able to stream something on Spotify as soon as it's released and songs being able to chart as soon as they start building popularity. The only downside is OA/OS has led to a lot less dance songs becoming chart hits.

Chart impact: Songs climbing to their peak is very much preferable to songs just peaking on week 1 after 6 weeks of pre-release airplay. What I don't like is songs taking forever to fall back down the chart (and not just the really popular ones too, the minor hits seem to spend ages in the chart too)

Chart show day: The chart show was better on Sunday, but the chart show now is quite boring and it being on Sunday probably wouldn't help that especially as playing the entire top 40 would mean the ridiculously long runners would still get full plays.

Posted by: AcerBen 15th September 2016, 04:57 PM

Friday vs Sunday: Quite like songs coming out Thursday/Friday

On Air/On Sale: I like that I don't have to wait, but I think it's having a negative impact on the industry because it's making it harder for new artists to break through.

Chart impact: I don't like either extreme but I did prefer it how it was.

Chart show day: I think moving the chart show day had to happen - though I am nostalgic for the Sunday afternoon show. I rarely listen to the show now, but that's due to the slowness of the chart more than anything else.

Posted by: Chez Wombat 15th September 2016, 05:16 PM

I have no preference for date of release, I buy anything whenever, date doesn't affect it. OA/OS is good for making things available immediately and preventing manipulated releases, BUT it doesn't work for everyone and that, coupled of course with the streaming onslaught, has made for a bit of a less interesting chart I just miss when less popular dance tracks and lesser known indie bands can go top 40 (one that springs to mind is Saint Motel - My Type a few years back) after a few weeks hype made everyone more aware of them, I know they never sold well but it was still refreshing but OA/OS just doesn't seem to work for these so we get saturated by the same old acts. I find it's partly contributed to making the chart less diverse and overall an interesting place to find new music (streaming has also done that).

As for the chart date, I think I've said all I need about that. I did like the chart on Sundays for nostalgia purposes obvs, but these days it's so slow, it's better as just a condensed show on Fridays.

Posted by: Taylor Jago 15th September 2016, 05:31 PM

Friday vs Sunday: Yeah, I prefer all new music on Friday

On Air/On Sale: Not a bad idea in principle, but it's slowed down the chart to such an extent it's not necessarily worth it.

Chart impact: Actually, high peaks in week 1 were better. Perhaps not a true representation of popularity, but it was a lot more interesting, and seeing songs build up during two months was actually a nice experience. Seeing a song you liked progress up the iTunes as release day approached, and for the songs by new artists which made it big, the increasing probability of them making it to the top was a lot better than watching a song slowly climb up the chart before inevitably stalling and falling back down.

Chart show day: Really the change hasn't made that much of a difference, I mean yes the fact I get back from High School at 6:20pm means I miss most of the chart but I don't even listen anymore.

Posted by: mdh 15th September 2016, 05:52 PM

I far prefer Friday - I feel as though the unpredictability of how well a song is going to do is far more exciting than being able to pin down the fact a song'll spend a week in the top 10 and fall, and besides, it's always good to have new music for the weekend. I never felt as though there was much point talking in the iTunes thread back when songs were guaranteed to get to #1, like wow it's at #1, we've known that for the last 6 weeks?!

Posted by: Jaÿ 17th September 2016, 09:46 AM

As a music consumer I far prefer Friday release dates & OA/OS. These days I add new songs of interest to my Spotify playlist, and then go on to legally download the songs I love enough to want on my iTunes (while keeping the songs I merely like on Spotify). I rarely download new music illegally nowadays, which I certainly did in the days of waiting 6 weeks or so for their commercial availability.

In terms of the chart, I blame official Spotify playlists for how slow moving the official chart has become, rather than the rise of OA/OS & the shift of day the official chart is revealed on. So I'm fine with the chart being on Friday over Sunday. It's been years since I was a religious listener of the chart show anyway!

Posted by: Doctor Blind 17th September 2016, 10:00 AM

I far prefer to have new music released on a Friday, it definitely makes more sense having new albums and singles come out in time for the weekend.

The chart on a Friday I am not such a huge fan of, they could have kept it on a Sunday and moved the sales period Friday-Friday as Gooddelta suggests. As for OA/OS I think I have gone on about that far too much but I believe it is the fairest and most sensible policy - fans can get the music fast, it makes global releases truly global and discourages illegal downloading, it also allows a level playing field that truly allows popularity to be represented on the chart. It has also completely screwed Ministry of Sound which is great to see!

I don't particularly enjoy the slow chart but I'm happier with fairer chart runs like: 69-42-11-3-2-{1} and 33-12-4-3-{1} than {1}-6-8-10-14-17-24-31-39 which probably should have only been a low Top 10 entry in reality (given its #9 peak on streaming).

Posted by: deepinside 26th September 2016, 04:58 AM

Friday vs Sunday: Friday for sure because I can fully enjoy listen the new songs/albums for the weekends as opposed to Sunday where the mood being spoiled due to dreading/anxious Monday to come.

On Air/On Sale: Of course I take OA/OS since you can get the new release instantly and it's suck to see the new records being holding back for weeks while many other countries (including neighbours like Ireland) are able to access the new records earlier.

Chart impact: Well I think that's not much difference except it screwed dance tracks and new artist debut releases. Some say it made chart slower, but I doubt it much. The main cause of slow chart was the streaming, and I blame Spotify on how they manage the playlists, and we already saw the impact on pre-July 2015 Sunday chart (Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud, and most of Meghan Trainor debut album singles like All About That Bass for instance).

Chart show day: I prefer they release the full chart on Sunday because I truly annoyed that the Thursday combined sales has to be in the estimated figure rather than the exact figure. I mean release the full chart on Sunday means they can have time to figure out the exact Thursday combined sales. Aussie update their chart on every Saturday despite the figure was tracked on Friday-Thursday basis, and US Billboard chart refresh the chart on Tuesday (Mainly because their airplay figure was tracked on Monday-Sunday basis, but sales & streaming figure was on Friday-Thursday.) so it shouldn't be a big issue to delay the full chart release.

Posted by: iain 26th September 2016, 09:42 AM

People say that it is OA/OS which is slowing the chart down, but surely it's streaming that is doing that?

Posted by: cqmerqn 26th September 2016, 09:54 AM

Well OA/OS is kind of slowing down the chart. When we had to pre-order tracks, it meant that we had several new entries per week due to the build up of sales... Whereas compared to OA/OS, people buy it at different times rather than all at once which often lead to higher sales

The sales only chart is also a lot slower than what it used to be back in the 'pre-order' days.

Posted by: danG 26th September 2016, 10:52 AM

The sales chart being so slow isn't just because of OA/OS it's mostly because commercial radio won't give many new songs/acts a chance.

Even in the days of pre-orders the singles chart was quite slow. Not as slow as now but big songs were still spending ages in the chart (Ho Hey spent as long as 38 weeks top 40 in the pre-order era, though that wasn't a pre-order single itself)