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BuzzJack Music Forum _ UK Charts _ What does/should the charts be measuring?

Posted by: vidcapper Jul 2 2016, 09:58 AM

1. How many people like a song/album, or
2. How much people like it?

For most of chart history, it has been the former, but since the advent of streaming, the latter seems to have taken over.

Posted by: liamk97 Jul 2 2016, 10:14 AM

I try not to get hung up on those particular questions - the way I see it, when the charts were based on how many people like a song/album, there was little way of recording how much people liked a song since Spotify either didn't exist or hadn't taken off. That's why the argument of "the charts has always been sales-only" doesn't sit right with me, because the truth is, an alternative just wasn't available.

Even if it does mean the chart has become less exciting or more slow or whatever, I like the fact it is focused more on representing what is popular right now. And tbf, I personally don't even think the pace of the charts are generally that bad. We certainly don't have any extremely long runners like when 'Rather Be', 'Happy', 'All of Me', 'Let It Go', 'Take Me to Church' etc. all charting for months on end at the same time. I feel like songs that spend ages in the Top 10 (suggesting they would stick around forever) actually have comparably smaller chart runs between #11-40. Take 'What Do You Mean?', where it spent 22 weeks in the Top 10 but 'only' 12 weeks elsewhere in the Top 40.

I'd personally like to see Radio 1 play just the Top 20 in full as well as the new entries/newer songs that are making progress elsewhere in the Top 40, perhaps even outside of it. The problem with just playing the Top 25 is that often new songs to this part of the chart are perhaps a month or two old, given the nature of OA/OS releases, which maybe makes the chart feel "less fresh".

I'll stop now because I feel I'm moving further away from the actual question that was asked! tongue.gif

Posted by: danG Jul 2 2016, 10:45 AM

QUOTE(liamk97 @ Jul 2 2016, 11:14 AM) *
I'd personally like to see Radio 1 play just the Top 20 in full as well as the new entries/newer songs that are making progress elsewhere in the Top 40, perhaps even outside of it. The problem with just playing the Top 25 is that often new songs to this part of the chart are perhaps a month or two old, given the nature of OA/OS releases, which maybe makes the chart feel "less fresh".

yeah Radio 1 really need to change their chart format to keep people interested. surely regular Greg James listeners are tired of having more or less the same 25 songs every Friday so it wouldn't just be for the chart fans.

I'd suggest going back to a 4-7 format (although they'd still have to do the news flashes plus 15 minute newsbeat at 5:45) and pick about 15-20 fresh songs from outside the top 20, followed by the top 20 in full.

There is plenty of fresh music the chart show could have played yesterday that Radio 1 would happily play too, such as the following:

Kent Jones - Don't Mind [#26]
Bastille - Good Grief [#28]
Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better [#29]
Dizzee Rascal - Hype [#34]
Twenty One Pilots - Heathens [#37]
Jonas Blue - Perfect Strangers [#38]
Christine & The Queens - Tilted [#40]
Rihanna - Needed Me [#41]
MK & Becky Hill - Piece of Me [#43]

Posted by: liamk97 Jul 2 2016, 10:47 AM

QUOTE(danG @ Jul 2 2016, 11:45 AM) *
There is plenty of fresh music the chart show could have played yesterday that Radio 1 would happily play too, such as the following:

Kent Jones - Don't Mind [#26]
Bastille - Good Grief [#28]
Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better [#29]
Dizzee Rascal - Hype [#34]
Twenty One Pilots - Heathens [#37]
Jonas Blue - Perfect Strangers [#38]
Christine & The Queens - Tilted [#40]
Rihanna - Needed Me [#41]
MK & Becky Hill - Piece of Me [#43]

Precisely! Surely that's at least something of a compromise between people who like how the chart represents popularity and people who like to hear current/fresh music on the chart show?

Posted by: danG Jul 2 2016, 10:50 AM

maybe someone should try contacting Greg James tongue.gif

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