30? I'm 35 and think totally the opposite about charts, so many great songs around at the moment.

There are indeed so many great songs around in the chart at the moment, but they just didn't make the top 40 of the year so far.

Artists should take notes and release more in January-March!

Hoping some of the songs that have been around in late summer can make it in at the end of the year!

30? I'm 35 and think totally the opposite about charts, so many great songs around at the moment.

 

Agreed. Problem is that they don’t grace the charts that often. The time of the chart reflecting my tastes is over. But there will always be music that interests me out there.

Artists should take notes and release more in January-March!

I feel like major January releases (moreso singles than albums) have increased a lot the last 2 years. For example, we had 'Finesse', 'Filthy', 'All The Stars' and 'For You' stacked in the first week of 2018, and last year Ed Sheeran launched his 2 singles in the first week, with others like 'Paris' and 'Issues' following. Not claiming that's anything to do with year-end charts though; I think it's probably the labels' response to streaming shifting 2 things:

 

1. Streaming isn't naturally stacked towards Q4 or any special time of the year, so there's less reason to bunch up releases in Q4 or avoid January. Not only that, but it's likely actively beneficial to spread out releases so they can get more undivided attention (though that probably affects albums more than singles), as while with sales you can buy 2 releases at once, you can't give 2 releases 100% of your free time each.

 

2. Christmas songs, however, take up a lot of space in November and December, which may potentially make those months worse for launching new music. Meanwhile, the moment Christmas songs depart creates a vacuum that can help new songs get sucked into the charts. So I wouldn't be surprised if the formerly dominant release period of Q4 gradually shifts towards January, and Q4 is comparatively left alone for the Christmas pantheon to be wheeled out year after year without interfering with new music.