Let's discuss the one from the most debatable things in the modern music.

 

Do you agree with the current format of UK official chart ? Maybe you prefer old good "sales only" format or have any personal view on compiling of modern charts. All opinions are welcome.

 

 

Agree with streaming being included obviously (as long as airplay stays well away) - perhaps at a rate of 300:1 but I’ve expressed my opinion on ACR plenty of times - it should be completely abolished. Every track regardless of age should be treated exactly the same.

Chart need acr rules change and stop double count with streaming

Change chart show 3 to 5.45

 

3pm to 4pm new entry chart top 100 to 51

4pm top 50 please song not been chart over 12 weeks

In an ideal world there would be no need for ACR or any other artificial meddling.

 

The major problem is operating a chart when the goalposts have moved from purchases (regardless of format) to plays and we have seen the results since 2016. I keep hoping for something to come along that will promote new and soon to be released music a lot better, give the chart a great kick up the arse and perhaps even go as far as making the wider public more interested in the charts again. Pipe dream I know. I thought having previews of songs available as TikTok sounds might be a step forward in this regard but that seems to yield mixed results.

I like ACR but there it should be 3 weeks absolute decline not 3 weeks relative to the market.

 

Also the rules on what can and can't be reset need more clarity so we don't get another RUTH situation.

 

Another thing I'd do is install a Billboard like recurrent rule so songs like Mr Brightside and Perfect don't clog up the top 100 for infinity.

I agree with the current rules, except with the tweaking that Dobbo suggested - 3 weeks decline regardless of the market would solve the problem of songs conveniently swerving. I will forever defend the existence of ACR as the chart without it would be horrifically slow - 2016 was my least favourite year to follow the chart and that was the streaming era pre-ACR, it was beyond slow. ACR gives us a good view of the biggest hits while also allowing a slightly faster turnover, it's a win/win situation 99% of the time.

 

Going back to sales only would obviously be a terrible idea, but ignoring sales wouldn't do any good either as they should still count. Otherwise it's fine, there's not much more that can be done other than simply accepting that the chart will never be what it once was.

Keep it as it is and include the suggestion Dobbo mentioned.

I think my gripes are more with the general public’s music consumption habits this past decade than anything that can be fixed by the OCC honestly.

I’ve also said this all before but I’d love them to try a lifetime cap on streaming from each site replacing the daily cap. The lifetime cap would equal 1 sale and the streaming to sale ratio would be reduced, say to 25/1. So you listen to it 25 times and you’ve “bought” it and that’s that with no need for ACR.

 

My less radical tweak is getting rid of the 3 consecutive weeks of decline for ACR and saying you hit ACR when you drop below (say) 80% of your peak streams. Deals with the market volatility problem and means songs don’t keep getting any 3 weeks each time they avoid.

I'm fine with the ratio of streams to sales as they are, but the chart is still staler than I'd like. For me, the chart is there to serve a purpose, and that's to promote new records. So I'm fine with fiddling with the data to make the chart faster and reflect the popularity of new songs. ACR does an OK job but it's a rather blunt instrument. I'd rather they did something cleverer that increased the ratio gradually as time went on.

I would love it to be like the 90s where there was the excitement about new music every single week and having at least 10 new entries virtually every week. But those days are over and music just isn't as important to people as it was back then and the charts do reflect that.

 

I think ACR has done a really great job overall of keeping the charts as fresh as they can be.

 

Only changes I would make are automatic resets for artists who die (or in a band when a member dies) but keep the 3 track rule. Then chart would commemorate stars who have sadly passed away better. I'd also get rid of the 3 year ruler for songs that haven't yet had 10 weeks on the chart.

Edited September 3, 20222 yr by Smint

I think the US have it better with recurrent songs

You move old songs to a recurrent chart but still they are allowed to comeback if they have a massive x% increase

So Perfect and Mr Brightside cannot come back but RUTH would have come back

and all without need of resets and 3 year old rule

 

actually the 3 year old rule is the one I don't like at all, I get it for old hits

but shouldn't apply for songs that have never charted or only for a couple weeks

then you got songs that Frank Ocean-Lost that miss the top 40 but shouldn't

Album chart even big mess clog up donkey old album new album go top 10 1st week time come 2nd week drop out top 100 due all old album in chart

The chart is a mess and anyone who pretends otherwise really is just wishful thinking.

 

I’d rather just have separate sales and streaming charts and leave it at that. It’s never been a good idea to combine the two as they’re too different. Streaming wasn’t just some new format, it was a completely different way of consuming music. We’re now left in a position where we have to enforce chart rules to make the chart interesting (and inaccurate) which is just really bizarre if you stop and think about it. When they removed all unnecessary rules back in 2007, it was a breath of fresh air and yes, the charts slowed down a little at one point but not at all like with streaming.

 

Problem is chart fans don’t know what they want. Do they want a fast moving chart? Do they want high sales? Do they even realise you can’t have your cake and eat it anymore?

 

It doesn’t even matter really because no one is interested in charts today and there’s no clear way to regain interest. The only time I’ve seen any interest was with Kate Bush going to no.1 but people basically had to moan and complain about the chart constraints to get that to happen.

 

The album chart is in an even bigger mess. It just seems so clear to me that streaming charts are very heavily weighted towards passive streamers who aren’t necessarily that into music and so will just listen to stagnant playlists in the background like they would have done the radio a decade ago. The sales based chart was always reflecting people who were invested in the product they were buying.

 

I know I sound like a miserable grouch but IMHO the chart is broken and there really is no way of fixing it.

I think the US have it better with recurrent songs

You move old songs to a recurrent chart but still they are allowed to comeback if they have a massive x% increase

So Perfect and Mr Brightside cannot come back but RUTH would have come back

and all without need of resets and 3 year old rule

 

actually the 3 year old rule is the one I don't like at all, I get it for old hits

but shouldn't apply for songs that have never charted or only for a couple weeks

then you got songs that Frank Ocean-Lost that miss the top 40 but shouldn't

 

That actually sounds much better! No need for ACR, and the chart stays fresh.