This was an inevitable change. I don't see what the huge problem is - in the current format, sales just keep falling, this is a natural step forward by keeping up with current listening trends.

 

Yes, it may make the charts become a bit stale - that's definitely my main concern, but I recall downloads made the charts a bit slower when they were first implemented in 2006 - long runners that had since been deleted like Crazy & Chasing Cars re-entered for example. I'm sure a middle ground will be reached eventually until it doesn't seem stale anymore. It may take a few years, who knows.

 

I also don't believe that airplay will follow - Streaming is a natural progression and reflecting people's listening habits - ie. What they WANT to hear/buy. Airplay is not and never will be exactly what people want to hear/buy.

Edited February 18, 201411 yr by Chez Wombat

My big problem with it is a stream doesn't actually mean the person streaming the song likes it. I youtube/stream many songs that I'm either watching for the video or because people have hyped up and I watch and don't like, yet that will count these days. So me listening to a song to decide I don't like it helps an artist. It makes music and the charts completely disposable.

YAY! :D

 

And no, that wasn't a sarcastic cheer. It's about time they included streaming, as it means I and the many others who use spotify etc. will contribute to the charts on a regular basis. The charts are meant to reflect the most POPULAR songs of the week. In the 80s/90s, that meant counting CD sales. In the 00s, that meant allowing downloads to enter the chart. In this day, that means allowing streaming as well as all other formats.

 

Let me make it clear that I don't want airplay to count towards the chart. That is not a representation of what songs are popular, it's a representation of what radio station is popular. Airplay is already a big enough influence as it is. I also don't want Youtube to count as many people will watch a video for the video rather than the audio (for example Gangnam Style, although that was very popular as a song too). The last thing we want is a 'Harlem Shake' situation where a song goes to #1 for a few weeks because of viral home made videos. Even though I love Harlem Shake :kink:

 

The sad thing is that the charts WILL slow down, at least in the short-term. We gotta get used to that unfortch. But we must remember that the charts aren't made simply for our entertainment, it's made to tell record companies what songs are the most popular, how they're selling and, now, how many streams they are getting.

Exactly Thermo

 

This move is to represent what's more popular with the people. We won't even know until we know what the split of the percentages between sales and streams are going to be!

Oh no :please: :tirren: :hand:

 

The singles chart has always been a SALES chart, with popularity represented by the sales!

 

Why not have a separate, streaming included chart and leave the sales chart alone?

^ There is already a separate streaming chart. As the above poster said, the charts have always been about sales.

 

I like Clean Bandit, but I don't want Rather Be to be number 1 all year.

What an awful idea. The chart is gonna become so stale now. :( The UK chart used to pride itself on being a sales chart, not a popularity chart like the Hot 100, as there is a difference.

the UK chart is just copying the Billboard Chart, after including streaming there will be no high new entries , the chart will be boring and stale just like the US charts where we have songs lingering for 75 weeks and more... I'm sure nobody will care about charts anymore this time next year when we'll still have 'Let Her Go' and 'Pompei' in the top 20....

If this is true, the main thing that I'm worried about is that the charts will slow down so much.

 

Also, I think record companies would hate this, since it becomes a lot harder to get a #1. We'd be getting probably 12 #1s a year like in the US. And all those songs that make top 40 on release week, then drop out will probably never get there now, since streams usually peaked a couple of weeks after release for held-back songs.

 

However, this will help alternative/indie music. Also album artists will benefit, since the streams of their albums will now contribute to the singles chart, so people like Mumford & Sons and Arctic Monkeys might have had their whole album charting top 100 on release week.

 

Pretty much all the house songs from last year would have peaked lower... Except maybe Ben Pearce's one.

 

If streaming does get included, I would like Youtube streams to be included too, since they're the only chance to put some excitement into the chart imo. This is based on my observations of the Billboard charts, nearly every big movement that ever happens is Youtube related. Without it that chart would be every song climbing and dropping 1 place each week, but at least thanks to Youtube they get songs climbing/dropping 5 or more places sometimes! :o

 

the UK chart is just copying the Billboard Chart, after including streaming there will be no high new entries , the chart will be boring and stale just like the US charts where we have songs lingering for 75 weeks and more... I'm sure nobody will care about charts anymore this time next year when we'll still have 'Let Her Go' and 'Pompei' in the top 20....

 

Also true. High debuts would never happen anymore. Most of the Storm Queen, Pixie Lott, Roll Deep, Dizzee Rascal, The Saturdays, Cover Drive, Duke Dumont, etc. #1s would have never happened if streaming was included back then.

Edited February 18, 201411 yr by Eric_Blob

Someone on another site made a great point about listening habits. I know when I was young and buying Spice Girls singles I could play a single 50 times in a day and think nothing of it. Now at 25 even if I love a song 4 or 5 listens is enough till I move on or stop listening (I don't mean forever, just say that day). If streaming isn't restricted properly those 1D fans who are probably like I was as a kid will have their 50 plays count towards the chart, where as I only ever had my 1 CD sale.

 

Does listening to a song multiple times indicate popularity?

It could be worse. The Dutch charts have recently announced they're no longer counting downloads at all, and that their chart will be a hybrid of airplay and streaming (yet another country copying Billboard...): http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/3380/muziek...-meer-mee.dhtml

I am pleased with this development. Sure it will slow down the charts, but it is counting what is popular and well, if loads of people are still listening to a huge hit 6 months on, it's popular. As long as the rules are balanced enough to still take account of sales being far more influential than a listen and it's only paid streams, I see no problem.

 

It'll get rid of flash-in-the-pan number ones, it's often more enjoyable to see a song slowly climb to #1, and it's more reflective of the times, and the taste of the people.

If it stops songs from getting a flash in the pan no 1 because of pent up demand then happy days i say. Songs will actually have to work to get good chart peaks/runs instead of the situation now where you have a mix of quick fire no1s & longer running hits like Counting Stars/Happy who consistently sell well & not just for one/two weeks.

 

No more will we have the 1-1-2-3-1 chart run :lol:

 

Understandably the 'pop' music fans on websites like this wont like it as theyre fav artists might not be able to jump in at no1 for a week but who cares if they manage to get a crossover hit that the greater public enjoy too isnt this better?

Edited February 18, 201411 yr by steve201

As everyone else has said, this was inevitable - but I would really like to know the exact rules for including streaming in the official chart.

I would take this with a pinch of salt until it's officially confirmed by the OCC (unless it already has and I'm being slow). But it isn't a bad idea, just a difficult one to implement fairly. Streaming is still something that people choose to do so it's still a valid measure of popularity with the public in the same way as sales (unlike airplay which has very little to do with the public's desire and is therefore not suitable at all for an official chart and never will be).

^ There is already a separate streaming chart. As the above poster said, the charts have always been about sales.

 

I like Clean Bandit, but I don't want Rather Be to be number 1 all year.

 

He meant have a separate chart which includes sales and streaming ("streaming included") but still keep the sales only chart as the main chart.

If streaming was included, the #1s last year would have probably looked something like this:

 

will.i.am - Scream & Shout - 3 weeks

Macklemore - Thrift Shop - 4 weeks

Justin Timberlake - Mirrors - 8 weeks

Daft Punk - Get Lucky - 5 weeks

Naughty Boy - La La La - 1 week

Passenger - Let Her Go - 1 week

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines - 8 weeks

Avicii - Wake Me Up - 7 weeks

Katy Perry - Roar - 3 weeks

OneRepublic - Counting Stars - 7 weeks

Lily Allen - Somewhere Only We Know - 4 weeks

Pharrell - Happy - 5 weeks

In other words the death of UK artists at #1. (That'd be mostly because UK artists tend to make up the bulk of held-back flash-in-the-pan #1s to be fair but it'd still be a shame if this change were to make the #1 spot even more US-dominated than it already is).

They'll need a convincing way of implanting this fairly before I'm sold. I mean it's not exactly fair that something can be streamed to death by one person and yet I can't count how many times I've played the song I bought. Although, if they hadn't found a fair way, I doubt it'd be going ahead. We shall see but for now I'm cautious.

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of bringing streaming into the official chart but I've thought of a compromise I wouldn't mind so much. If each account could only have one stream per song count towards the chart. That way you have equal rules for sales and streams and things won't be as stale or easy to 'fix'. It'd probably be quite easy to trace people setting up multiple accounts to boost their favourite song in the chart too.