Kylie's only had two singles miss the top 40 since digital music was included though :lol:

As a chart fan oh gosh yes it does stifle my enjoyment of tuning into the chart weekly considerably when there is such a high proportion of staleness. However, it's all about the bigger picture. Implementing streaming was a smart move that is in check with average listening habits, with Spotify for example being such a huge force. It is truly representative of the times and will make it more of a challenge for artists to score flash-of-the-pan top 10s these days, with the mammoth hits well and truly recognised. Sure, it is rather irritating that the chart does lack freshness at times, but if the nation is downloading/streaming Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and the likes weekly then that should of course be represented rather than something new that is failing to hit quite the same mark of overall interest. The move was inevitable so it's best to just embrace it, and the whole Friday move is bound to spice things up a bit anyway.

The move was inevitable so it's best to just embrace it, and the whole Friday move is bound to spice things up a bit anyway.

Indeed - thanks to the universal Friday release date, we'll perhaps see a few more songs entering the chart and doing well if they're not held back so long that they've passed the point of being liked/listened to i.e. 'Geronimo' and 'I'm an Albatraoz'.

Streaming is killing the charts :angry: :drama: but I can't see OCC are going to change their mind any time soon :(

Streaming is killing the charts :angry: :drama: but I can't see OCC are going to change their mind any time soon :(

 

Did you consider the points made in this thread before coming to your conclusion?

 

Didn't we have the very same discussion back when digital sales made their way into the charts? They seemed to make everything pretty slow and stale at the beginning but record companies eventually found a way to make everything about the first week and everything mega profitable for them to promote new singles, so yes, this seems like a very pale and annoying transition but I'm sure it'll pass and charts will be interesting and exciting again.

Kylie's only had two singles miss the top 40 since digital music was included though :lol:

 

That figure will keep building. :(

I respect viewpoints from both sides, and I do see the pros and cons of it especially as it's a new thing. What annoys me is, it feels as if the chart is engineered - ie certain songs have to go to #1, certain acts have to be around etc. Perhaps have a mercy rule where if a song spends over 40 weeks in the chart, it gets disqualified? What isn't helping is radio. A lot of stations have tight playlists and repeat songs over and over. Perhaps some sort of comission to stop overplaying of songs?

Stop following the charts if it's bothering you so much.

 

Radio generally play what's known to be popular so that is why that particular situation is how it is.

Perhaps have a mercy rule where if a song spends over 40 weeks in the chart, it gets disqualified?

 

I know it's not the same thing, but that reminds me of when songs like Gnarls Barkley's Crazy went from the Top 5 to straight out of the chart :basil:

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by Griff

I can see why the overplay may be frustrating but that would be walking on Billboard Hot 100 territory, suspending songs after 40 weeks isn't really fair in terms of representativeness. Just because it may be annoying for us, a lot of people (aka the ones who have actually paid money) won't feel the same, so such subjectivity is not really the most fair or accurate basis.

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by Jade

I've said this a dozen times I feel but I'm pretty certain people were saying the same thing when downloads were brought in - yes, shock horror, the charts are slower but eventually this will become the norm and record companies will coin on to this so it will balance out so the charts don't seem so stale.

 

Nothing's gonna change so this discussion serves little purpose in all honesty. Times are changing, streams are too big to ignore.

 

Sales are not in crisis and there was no reason to include the streaming data in the sales chart (which is still interesting) it could have kept it's own chart (which is hideously dull, being as it's repeat listens by the same people week after week, and includes passive "radio-style" listening). The record industry loves streaming for the revenue it generates for them, but streaming companies have yet to prove they are going to last and make a profit. It's all based on assumption and talking down sales as dead in the water. I will always buy new music because I like "owning" them and having them to listen to wherever and whenever I like, and I like old and new stuff that isn't available on spitify and the rest.

 

But sales are declining, they've been falling continuously for two years now, in fact, in last weeks chart, overall sales and streams are STILL down on last year's chart which was sales only, with streams making up over 60% of the weeks sales, they are too big to ignore any more. It may not necessarily look like a rapid decline but in about five-ten years time, I'm pretty sure the sales chart will start to resemble the physical singles chart.

Does streaming generally boost the music industry then and benefit the labels?

 

Because otherwise it would be a little shocking for the concept of purchasing a song to become old-hat.

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by Griff

I'm not sure if I would say it's a "mistake". It makes the chart slower, but what can they do about it? It's clear that sales are in decline (since some point in 2013), streaming is increasing fast, it'll be counting for 70% of sales soon.

 

Whilst a lot of us follow the charts as a hobby, the charts aren't necessarily meant to be entertaining. The main thing is that they're as accurate as possible, the fact that there's hardly any movement from week to week shouldn't matter, if that's what the data says then that's what it has to be.

 

In terms of the chart show it's being cut down to 2 hours now I think so hopefully they'll stop playing all the long runners from then on. It probably won't be as boring to listen to with all the oldest songs taken out.

 

I actually think there's a lot of good songs in the charts right now, but some of them hang around for a very long time.

Edited May 28, 201510 yr by Eric_Blob

Indeed - thanks to the universal Friday release date, we'll perhaps see a few more songs entering the chart and doing well if they're not held back so long that they've passed the point of being liked/listened to i.e. 'Geronimo' and 'I'm an Albatraoz'.

 

I hope it becomes exactly what they claim, a worldwide release date, that will stop me moaning to an extent. The two singles you name were 2 I wanted to buy ages ago and in the end I didn't buy them cos I got so fed up with waiting I felt they didnt deserve my money...

I've said this a dozen times I feel but I'm pretty certain people were saying the same thing when downloads were brought in - yes, shock horror, the charts are slower but eventually this will become the norm and record companies will coin on to this so it will balance out so the charts don't seem so stale.

 

Nothing's gonna change so this discussion serves little purpose in all honesty. Times are changing, streams are too big to ignore.

But sales are declining, they've been falling continuously for two years now, in fact, in last weeks chart, overall sales and streams are STILL down on last year's chart which was sales only, with streams making up over 60% of the weeks sales, they are too big to ignore any more. It may not necessarily look like a rapid decline but in about five-ten years time, I'm pretty sure the sales chart will start to resemble the physical singles chart.

 

everything is relative - when sales have hit an all-time high (by quite some distance!) they can't keep going up indefinitely and must come down. they've been declining for two years, but a lot of that would have been people buying old stuff and couldnt get hold of, and which they now own. Compare total sales in 2014 with any year prior to 2010 and it's not a panic situation (singles at least). There are still new sales-only million-sellers so the biggest hits still sell as well as ever...

I hope it becomes exactly what they claim, a worldwide release date, that will stop me moaning to an extent. The two singles you name were 2 I wanted to buy ages ago and in the end I didn't buy them cos I got so fed up with waiting I felt they didnt deserve my money...

I'm sure there will be some loopholes and it won't be completely the case all the time, but I think that, on the whole, it'll do what it intends to do. The charts will certainly become a lot more of a representation of what is popular right now, rather than what was popular a while back and is now being released. It should mean that there'll be a few more new entries in the chart each week and a lot more climbers which should 1) be more 'entertaining' to watch one's favourite songs get higher and 2) perhaps see songs get pushed down a little faster once they've run their course.

This is what I do not get. Surely releasing it at the point of airplay increases paid sales?

 

I know the On Air On Sale thing a few years ago was working quite well until Example's Changed The Way You Kiss Me was held back (?).

I'd imagine the new Global release date thing in July won't stop singles being held back very much, i'd imagine it will help albums more considering most European countries/Australia etc already get albums released on Fridays? Speaking of Australia, I wish we had more of a chart like there, nothing is held back and their chart always feels quite fresh even if there are long stayers.

 

I don't think sales will die out completely (unless the labels want that?), there will always be a demand for it and people will still want to buy the big songs, just not in the quantities that we are used to. I quite like the streaming chart (even if it is slow moving) but I guess it was always going to be included at some point.

 

One thing I've found odd this year is how few #1s we have had compared to last year however, it does feel like there hasn't been THAT many big releases like last year. Through the Spring and Summer last year there was always a big song out each week (most of which entered at #1) but it hasn't happened this year at all which I don't think has helped the staleness of the chart either.

It isn't streaming that has killed the UK singles chart (though it is playing a pretty obvious role). It a number of different things, such as the record industry as a whole that massively failed to keep up with changing music consumption in the early part of the 21st Century, the continuing pursuit of artificially high chart positions through held-back releases despite the clear anger and frustration from the public, and also the dirge of identikit radio stations all owned by Global Media playing the same 6 songs all day long for month upon month, massively limiting the exposure of new music outside of safe artists like Sam Smith or Ed Sheeran. With the loss of music exposure on mainstream TV through weekly chart shows such as Top Of The Pops, The Chartshow and CD:UK

 

In the 1990s you had local stations (I remember SGR - Simply Great Radio in Ipswich for example) but all of these were bought up by Global Media (Heart, Capital etc.) and now all sound the same, limiting the potential of local break-out hits like did used to happen.

 

I would like the MONOPOLY of the UKs radio stations to be addressed and Global Media to BOG OFF forever, and OA/OS to be forced upon record companies with the same product available elsewhere in the world.