We've all seen the complaints about instant grats in the UK and the way that they're handled by the OCC & iTunes (allowed to chart officially and in the iTunes feed) but the chart companies of (seemingly) every other country in the world handles them very differently - while the OCC implements special rules (one grat charts per artist), most other countries allow an unlimited number of them to chart. This creates some interesting differences - take for example, the peaks of One Direction's 'Midnight Memories':

 

Denmark - #2

Ireland - #3

New Zealand - #3

UK - #39

 

In the UK, the song gained its peak based on its popularity when released as a single. In the countries listed and more, it was based on the popularity of the album pre-order. Similar situations arise with Lana Del Rey getting multiple Hot 100 hits that she probably should not have, and Ed Sheeran too.

 

The biggest problem with instant grats being allowed to chart is that it seems silly for a song to chart at least partially on the popularity of the album it's featured on. But on the other hand, the UK's attitude is also silly - why should one song get an unfair boost in the chart at the expense of others being excluded? That's nowhere near an accurate chart and was particularly exploited by Eminem's label changing their mind on which instant grats were allowed to chart prior to the release of his recent album.

 

So, how do you feel about this global phenomenon: are they healthy for the chart or are they just new-age chart manipulation? Are the OCC right to combat them or is their chosen method silly? Do the likes of Billboard handle these things better?

Personally I think that instant grats are little more than a method of chart manipulation and that's something a lot of people maybe don't realise. While stuff like 'Midnight Memories' charting at #3 in Ireland is blatantly unfair, so is even the performance of the instant grats people don't care about: songs like 'Story of My Life', 'Applause' and so on got artificial boosts from their instant grat status, too.

 

I really feel like if iTunes is truly unable to differentiate pre-order sales and "genuine" ones then the best solution globally is so exclude them from the chart in their entirety. The Hot 100 is flooded by them and the OCC's policy is silly because it recognises that they're a form of chart manipulation but says they'll allow some of it. I know exclusion sounds like a very reactionary solution and one that's overly simple but I don't propose it because the instant grats annoy me (they don't) but because they are genuine forms of chart manipulation and that's not fair for one song per album, let alone five (hello Ed Sheeran).

 

But yeah, what do you guys think? Is the OCC's semi-exclusion policy worthwhile, is Billboard and others giving the green light better, or should something else be done?

 

It doesn't matter whether they differentiate between pre-orders and so called genuine sales because iTunes takes $1.29 off you either way. It's a legitimate purchase because you don't get a refund on those instant grats if you cancel your pre-order.

 

Billboard had it right when they used negative sales for the Hot 100. With airplay and streaming, no artist should (in this day and age) drop off the chart completely.

 

The problem is they've started manipulating the digital sales component with no proper explanation resulting in some strange boosts.

 

 

Personally I think that instant grats are little more than a method of chart manipulation and that's something a lot of people maybe don't realise. While stuff like 'Midnight Memories' charting at #3 in Ireland is blatantly unfair, so is even the performance of the instant grats people don't care about: songs like 'Story of My Life', 'Applause' and so on got artificial boosts from their instant grat status, too.

 

I really feel like if iTunes is truly unable to differentiate pre-order sales and "genuine" ones then the best solution globally is so exclude them from the chart in their entirety. The Hot 100 is flooded by them and the OCC's policy is silly because it recognises that they're a form of chart manipulation but says they'll allow some of it. I know exclusion sounds like a very reactionary solution and one that's overly simple but I don't propose it because the instant grats annoy me (they don't) but because they are genuine forms of chart manipulation and that's not fair for one song per album, let alone five (hello Ed Sheeran).

 

But yeah, what do you guys think? Is the OCC's semi-exclusion policy worthwhile, is Billboard and others giving the green light better, or should something else be done?

 

I agree entirely...

It doesn't matter whether they differentiate between pre-orders and so called genuine sales because iTunes takes $1.29 off you either way. It's a legitimate purchase because you don't get a refund on those instant grats if you cancel your pre-order.

 

Billboard had it right when they used negative sales for the Hot 100. With airplay and streaming, no artist should (in this day and age) drop off the chart completely.

 

The problem is they've started manipulating the digital sales component with no proper explanation resulting in some strange boosts.

I guess the difference between it and "normal" singles is that if you buy a single normally, you -might- end up using complete my album, whereas you are guaranteed to use it if you buy in this manner. The US's way of changing the sales totals is nice but I really care more about the chart runs being skewed than the sales totals.

 

Instant grats are not going away - Ed Sheeran released 8 :lol: , and it REALLY helped his album pre-orders. I think his digital albums sales will be higher than Sam Smith.