However, my guess is that these wouldn't be hard and fast rules which people would be forced to follow. It'd just become general practice, so if appropriate, they could keep back a release, or let a radio station play a track early if they wanted.

That's probably right. If the gap varied between nothing and about two weeks, that would seem sensible.

I agree with this. I think that newer and smaller artists will have a much more difficult time of getting into the top 40 under this system.

Yeah, there will definitely be a slight dip in the number of new entries. I can imagine most of the songs that peaked from around 21-40 this year (unless they climbed in there, or showed some longevity around that area) probably would have missed out under this system.

 

Which is a shame, really, as the UK was pretty much the only country where someone like Big Boi could get a top 40 hit (and did last year)...

 

Re:new artists - this did cross my mind, too, and I in fact alluded to this in a post here a couple of months ago, but I wouldn't object to newer artists perhaps being given slight leeway and being allowed a few weeks to build up airplay. I'm sure record companies will find some ways to adapt their promotional strategies in the case of breakthrough artists anyway, I'm just not sure really how :lol:

Edited January 17, 201114 yr by superbossanova

In the US, they don't usually do it exactly on the same day. Like the radio premiere can happen 3 days before the song is released. They're just closer to each other.

 

This does bring up some issues though. Like as you said, there's some radio stations which play songs without the songs being "sent" to them.

 

Like a station that I listen to quite a bit has been playing That's All She Wrote by T.I. and Eminem quite a lot. That song isn't even a single. It's an album track from T.I.'s album, which hasn't been released yet. Would they have had to put the song up for download then, even though the album isn't released? Or would this mean radio stations would no longer be allowed to play songs like that anymore? :(

 

There's other similar issues aswell. Like I've heard Airplanes, Part II on Radio 1 before, yet it's album only, so in that scenario, would they be forced to release it, or would Radio 1 be forced not to play it?

 

However, my guess is that these wouldn't be hard and fast rules which people would be forced to follow. It'd just become general practice, so if appropriate, they could keep back a release, or let a radio station play a track early if they wanted.

 

They said they will release "singles" as soon as they receive their first radio play, anything not intended to be a single will not automatically be released

Same, in fact I always check first for a song on iTunes before resorting to downloading it illegally. I don't mind paying the 79p/99p if I like it that much.

 

The only thing that would please me more is a worldwide iTunes store, or the ability to purchase songs from other countries stores, but I guess that won't ever be happening because of licensing issues :(

 

Not to mention making compiling national charts virtually impossible...

 

The huge gap between a song being released to radio and being put on sale started around the mid to late 1990s. I said at the time that sales would be lost because people would be bored with the song by the time they were able to buy it. The advent of downloads added another issue, that people would download a song illegally if they couldn't do so legally. It's a shame it's taken record companies so long to reach the same conclusion.

 

Or, more likely, admit what everyone has known all along.

You only have to look at Bad Romance and 4 Minutes to see that not all big comebacks / strong fanbase acts will be able to just debut at #1.

 

In any case, this new decision will only affect pre-album singles anyway.

Again, not saying this is a bad thing. I probably prefer American music anyway. But if this does become the trend, I can see people whining in a couple of years time about how no UK artists apart from JLS and charity songs can get to #1 anymore.

 

Which might, in turn, lead to radio being pressured into playing fewer US imports - which is surely not a bad consequence?

Interesting how they're comparing the change to that of January 2007 when all download sales were added to the UK singles chart. In 2007 there were just 17 different UK #1 hits

 

Although one Rihanna song helped considerably in keeping that number low... :P

Which might, in turn, lead to radio being pressured into playing fewer US imports - which is surely not a bad consequence?

 

It depends really. I think it'd be a real shame if we had to have mainly UK songs on the radio. Tinie Tempah, Cheryl Cole, Professor Green, JLS, etc. do have some great songs and everything, but it'd be kind of annoying if radio was pressured into playing less Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, etc. :(

This is great news :D I echo the statement that including airplay would ruin the chart though. If a load of Radio DJs started playing a song with no appeal to anyone all the time and enough people heard it, they could technically force a new entry of that song even though everyone hates it... it wouldn't realistically happen but airplay would ruin the chart anyway.

Now I will be able to steal good quality straight away rather than having to have bad radio rips :D

 

 

 

(aka they still don't understand the internet and how to conquer piracy, i'm not saying it's a bad thing them releasing it straight away, infact i like the idea, it's just not going achieve what they are trying to achieve with it).

The huge gap between a song being released to radio and being put on sale started around the mid to late 1990s. I said at the time that sales would be lost because people would be bored with the song by the time they were able to buy it. The advent of downloads added another issue, that people would download a song illegally if they couldn't do so legally. It's a shame it's taken record companies so long to reach the same conclusion.

 

 

its taken so long for record companies to follow suit simply because the idiots in charge of record companies only care about money and profits and not about music like people on here!!

Now I will be able to steal good quality straight away rather than having to have bad radio rips :D

 

That's a good point actually...

 

Anyway, I heard in the news that this will come into action from February! :o I didn't know it was so soon! I thought it'd be one of those gradual things that takes a few years to become standard procedure. :lol:

 

But doesn't this mean that on the first week on February there'll be like a plethora of new releases? You'd be surprised what songs get played on the radio when. Invincible by Tinie Tempah, for example, got its radio premiere in January 2010! :o

I honestly can't even think of one act with this sort of pulling power personally. Maybe enough to briefly get a comeback into the top 3/5/10 on iTunes on release (like Muse/Coldplay/Jay-Z/Kanye), but interest will quickly drop away and level out before promo kicks in properly and it climbs back up again - could lead to some bizarre chart runs of course!

 

As for the second point, very true but it's a small price to pay. Perhaps the artists will work harder if they really want to crack that top 40? e.g. concentrate A LOT of promo onto the same week to try and push it up a bit. Flash in the pan fanbase hits are something that always annoyed me anyway so I'll be glad to see the back of them, even though they've been massively fading out in the last few years already.

 

 

it will mean record labels and artists will have to work to gether to combine their release strategy so the video/radio and promo will happen at the same time instead of artists releasing to radio on week one and then premiering to video 3 weeks later before a cd release on week 6 with the tv promo like grahma norton on the week 6 if you get what i mean.it could effect us artists badly as they can only come over here at certain intervals but it could make their chart runs look mental - like beps current singles chart run!!

I doubt the labels are going to care that much about number 1s all the time if singles sell much better and their revenue is increased.

 

We could see some real slow burners that shift huge amounts but never peak very highly :) like in the US.

What a good idea. They do that in america anyway and allows songs to gradually go up the chart and gain more and more fans.

Finally. UK always had to wait so long.

But I really don't like releasing it immediately after it hits airways. I think there should be a week or two before it's released but it should also depend on artist and song.

 

I wonder what means that song will become available as they go to radio? Will there be some official radio release date or they will actually send a song to itunes the immediately after some station plays it? And does that mean we can expect digital releases on any day of the week, not sunday or monday?

 

we could have a coldplay - christmas lights style release!!! :o

 

also - what artists are on sony/universal?

I agree with this. I think that newer and smaller artists will have a much more difficult time of getting into the top 40 under this system.

 

 

its true but when radio1 decides to promote an artist (like jessie j) she will get loads of airplay and will be a slow burner single and rise up the charts!!

Now I will be able to steal good quality straight away rather than having to have bad radio rips :D

(aka they still don't understand the internet and how to conquer piracy, i'm not saying it's a bad thing them releasing it straight away, infact i like the idea, it's just not going achieve what they are trying to achieve with it).

 

 

i think its good as it gives people the choice not too illegally download - after all if its available on itunes straight away MOST people wont mind paying 79p for it, although there are always a few who think music should be free when the relaity is if there was no business end to things there would be less creativity and artist would have to pay for all their promo and gigs etc meaning poorer people wouldnt have the chance to show their talent!

also - what artists are on sony/universal?

 

I'm not sure. Isn't Syco a part of Sony? So that would cover all the X Factor artists (and Labrinth :lol:). I'm not 100% sure about the other labels though.

 

Also, on a bit of an off-topic note. Simon Cowell is the head of Syco. I noticed that if you get the first two letter of his first and last name, and put them together, you get Sico! :o