Back in the 90's and early 00's, before downloads became the most dominant source of single sales and internet craze took over the music industry , physical singles were the only way to get single releases, and the music fan would eagerly wait for a single to get released and he/she would have to go visit the local music store and purchase it, and back then, the UK Singles chart was characterized by the following:

 

-The single charts were really fast: average of 15 to 20 new entries in the top 75 while currently 5 new entries per week as an average, sometimes even less. Most if not all number 1's were new entries that would enter at number 1 then fall, 99% of singles would enter at their peak, then fall down. An average top 5 song would stay in the charts for 6 to 8 weeks.

 

-Very few old songs charting: due to the lack of availability , older singles would run out of stock, therefore leave the charts soon. (No Chasing sun, Use Somebody, Someone like you, lingering in the chart for years, and no random older songs re-charting due to being discounted on itunes or performed on a TV talent show)

 

-Sales in the upper reaches were a lot higher : back in the late 90's, early 2000's , most number 1's would sell 100.000 copies at least in order to get there, and there were many number 1 singles that sold around 300.000 copies first week, which is really rare these days. So maybe sales are really high overall now, but only because of the older tracks being available and taking a big share of sales while back then there was only a limited number of 'available' releases each week leading to the top 10 songs having a huge share of the overall singles market.

 

-B-Sides & Remixes: due to their nature, physical singles were released with added B-Sides & remixes which are not the case for 95% of digital single releases, this also is an advantage to physical Cd's since there was added value for each release ( especially, pop & rock releases) since there would be B-sides consisting of new tracks, or live tracks, and sometimes remixes and CD-Rom options.

 

-CD Artwork: which is also an added value, especially since many singles back then had creative artwork & packaging.

 

However,

Since the huge growth of digital singles, many things about the UK single charts changed, including but not limited to:

 

The Single charts became really slow: as mentioned above, only 4 to 5 new entries per week, a lot of old songs re-charting thanks to price reductions at itunes & TV performances, and an average number 1 would stay in the top 75 for 25 weeks.

 

-Higher sales but very few singles generating a huge buzz to get 300 k in their first week since availability isn't limited in the download era, since buyers have all the time in the world to download the single they like as opposed to the physical era, where people would rush to the shops & buy their fave new CD Singles before they run out of stock, also people have the option to choose whichever single they want from the album which leads to a lot of album tracks charting without being released as singles.

 

 

which out of these 2 charts do you prefer? a fast-moving new songs chart like in the physical age with B-Sides & remixes ? or an all-songs slow chart with the option of buying old songs & album tracks individually like in the digital age?

and why? please do comment below.

Edited April 22, 201213 yr by Big Mistake

In actual fact the average song in the top 10 now sells the same as it did back in the late 90s, often it is only maybe the top 2 that was outstripping the comparable weeks regularly in the 90s compaired to now.

 

Held back releases often perform exactly the way that records in the 90s did.

In actual fact the average song in the top 10 now sells the same as it did back in the late 90s, often it is only maybe the top 2 that was outstripping the comparable weeks regularly in the 90s compaired to now.

 

that's what i meant, the songs in the top 2 would sometimes sell more than the rest of the top 10 combined, which is not the case anymore...

Edited April 22, 201213 yr by Big Mistake

that's what i meant, the songs in the upper reaches top 3 (or even top 5) would sometimes sell more than the top 40 combined, which is not the case anymore...

This info is based on what? Perhaps in the week of Elton John that might be true but in a bog standard week that certainly wouldn't be the case.

This info is based on what? Perhaps in the week of Elton John that might be true but in a bog standard week that certainly wouldn't be the case.

 

i meant the top 10 combined, corrected, anyway, what is your overall opinion on the physical vs digital single sales era?...

Voted old school obviously :D , ship em in and ship em out lol

The download chart is almost exactly the same as the overall chart. So i voted for the CD singles chart because we hardly get to see that these days.

The download chart is almost exactly the same as the overall chart. So i voted for the CD singles chart because we hardly get to see that these days.

 

yes i know, but the question is do u prefer the charts back then in the physical era or now in the digital era?

Downloads make the chart more representative. The only reason old songs never used to re-enter was that they physically couldn't as they weren't available.

Voted old school obviouslyhttp://www.hergoods.info/avatar1.jpg

I actually prefer the charts of the download era, since they more closely resemble the charts of my teenage years, in terms of climbers & fallers, (rather than the 'instant gratification' of the mid-90's to mid'00's) - albeit at a slower pace.

 

The clincher though, is that the charts are far more representative nowadays, in that, despite my sometimes claiming differently :rolleyes: , all types of music get a look in.

Edited April 23, 201213 yr by vidcapper

I actually prefer the charts of the download era, since they more closely resemble the charts of my teenage years, in terms of climbers & fallers, (rather than the 'instant gratification' of the mid-90's to mid'00's) - albeit at a slower pace.

 

The clincher though, is that the charts are far more representative nowadays, in that, despite my sometimes claiming differently :rolleyes: , all types of music get a look in.

That's how I see it too, look at the climb to the top of 'Someone I used to know' or 'Domino'. They could easily have been 80s chart runs. That said, there are still far too many instant no.1s & top 10 entries that just plummet. In the 80s you had to be a pretty big act to even go straight into the top 10, never mind no.1.

I voted old school as the charts were much fresher 10 years ago where as now you get stuff like LMFAO which has been around for 30 weeks and people get board of it, same with Starships it's in it's 9th week in the chart and we're still to get a video so it'll probably cling in the Top 10 for a while longer if the video is comes out this week too. Back in the old days the charts moved faster and so did radio station playlists so you used to hear a song constantly whilst it was in the chart (Bearing in mind the average chart life of a big hit was 8 weeks) then you wouldn't hear it for a long while again after where it used to pop up for the occasional play, where as now they're just hammered to death for months on end (e.g Moved Like Jagger, Give Me Everything).

 

Although the advantage of the downloads charts are that oldies can come back into the chart such as Goo Goo Dolls and John Legend and be the hits they should of been back in the day, so it's kind of a mixed bag really.

Edited April 23, 201213 yr by gavindeejay

What about the era before the CDs? They were very different at that time too.

 

I prefer to see a chart that represents the whole sales and it shouldn't matter where they come from. Although I have to say it's pretty frustrating to see old songs recharting because of ads, tv shows etc.

I do prefer the era, where everything is available. At the start of the 90s, if you haven't bought a single in time, you could hardly find it anywhere months later. :(

 

I hated the so called CD era (I hate this name though) at the end of the 90s, start of the 00s because in the UK chart you could find a lot of singles go number 1 and than plummet in 2-3 weeks out. They were rather non-event number 1s and they didn't become big hits in the end. Plus sales were very dismal at the start of the 00s.

Although the advantage of the downloads charts are that oldies can come back into the chart such as Goo Goo Dolls and John Legend and be the hits they should of been back in the day, so it's kind of a mixed bag really.

 

In a way Reality shows are to blame for old music to chart. All you have to look at is the iTunes thread aand you can see what is hogging the bottom end of the 40.

 

Is there nothing that can't be blamed on reality tv? :P

Is there nothing that can't be blamed on reality tv? :P

The ever increasing price of fuel? :lol:

The reason I like the CD singles is, most artists I listen to just release the song as the single for download, and the physical has the added bonuses such as the Bsides or Remixes. Plus you get the artworks too.

And if they are doing signings what can they sign if there is no physical copy? Thats why I love the CD singles.

The charts are as democratic as they've ever been, which for me can only be a good thing.