Given Uptown Funk's lead on iTunes now & the fact it was "only" 37k behind on Wednesday, add to that it will have a massive streaming advantage, is it safe to say it's still not a foregone conclusion for tomorrow?

 

2 days to make up 40k is a big ask, given Saturday will probably be the day Ben sells the most physicals.

 

Anyone know if streaming is added through the week on the updates or is it just added in a chunk at the end?

2 days to make up 40k is a big ask, given Saturday will probably be the day Ben sells the most physicals.

 

Anyone know if streaming is added through the week on the updates or is it just added in a chunk at the end?

 

Streaming is added through the week - though the biggest streaming days are Friday and Saturday, so this often makes a big difference from the last midweek update on Friday.

Streaming is added through the week - though the biggest streaming days are Friday and Saturday, so this often makes a big difference from the last midweek update on Friday.

 

OK :) Thanks for reply. I think Ben has it but will be interesting to see the figures at the end of the week.

Indeed it will be interesting even if Ben clearly will have enough, esp with the text Santa boast lastnyt!

 

The main effect of this year will hopefully be to change the culture or mentality of record labels who avoid the Xmas no1 race be sause of XF - it may show they are beatable with the right track!

That said though...Uptown Funk's demand was hugely increased thanks to X Factor. If it had been released last week without Fleur ever singing it its first two weeks would have been something like 70k - 80k perhaps, which wouldn't have been anywhere near enough to challenge X Factor. A lot of boxes will need to be ticked for a 'normal' song to ever topple X Factor.

Uptown Funk only 33k behind Ben Haenow and the fact it sold more copies than Sam Bailey did last year confirms that as long as it's a massively popular song then it can beat the X Factor winner to the festive top spot in it's own right. :cheer:

It would be easy for a new record to get the top spot over X-Factor, it would just need a slot on a TV show that would have as big ratings as that show. If it wasn't for Simon Cowell using the Mark Ronson track that wouldn't have been out at all. So there's the other problem. If nobody with a decent single even wants to release it Christmas week then how can a decent record make it.

I thought the Rage campaign would have least convinced some of the artists that the public want to see a record at the top that isn't X-Factor. But it seems they are spineless on this. Perhaps because Simon's connection with Sony blocks them doing anything.

Now if Adele had released a new record that week, Ben would have had no chance!

 

Simon was very clever this year. He picked a track that hadn't been near the chart, so it was nearly to most people a new record. I think that's the shows problem it should have a new record written for the winning act, instead of the cover versions of sugar tripe that most of them sing. It would get less people saying not another year spoiled by X-Factor!

The thing is though, there's not much point in any big act releasing a brand-new single in Christmas week. A post-album single would lose too many sales, and anyone big enough to get a surefire Number One at this time of year wouldn't want to release their album after Christmas; these obviously don't apply to the Military Wives or Justice Collective.

The closest plausible equivalent against a popular XF release would probably be something like the Spice Girls in 1998, with a new single released a long way ahead of a (presumably unfinished) album. But I don't know how many record companies would really want to risk that.

The thing is though, there's not much point in any big act releasing a brand-new single in Christmas week. A post-album single would lose too many sales, and anyone big enough to get a surefire Number One at this time of year wouldn't want to release their album after Christmas; these obviously don't apply to the Military Wives or Justice Collective.

The closest plausible equivalent against a popular XF release would probably be something like the Spice Girls in 1998, with a new single released a long way ahead of a (presumably unfinished) album. But I don't know how many record companies would really want to risk that.

 

What was the situation in that regard with the 96&97 Spice girls hits?

What was the situation in that regard with the 96&97 Spice girls hits?

I believe both were post-album.

God almighty and 2 become 1 still sold 430k in singles!!

 

I understand cd buying was obv more prevalent then!

Right, because if you only wanted to one song and were patient, it was still cheaper to buy the single than the album. Conversely fans would still be willing to multi-buy a song they already had on album for the extra tracks, free posters etc and just out of habit.

That's right. Still an epic figure!