Why are so many songs off stranger things soundtrack allowed I thought there was a 3 track rule?

Probably due to the tracks being available in multiple places not just the soundtrack

Take for example Twices version of Takedown was exempt from the 3 track rule the rest of KDH suffered from because it was also available on Twices own album

1 minute ago, macca2026 said:

Why are so many songs off stranger things soundtrack allowed I thought there was a 3 track rule?

Compilation soundtracks don't have the 3 track rule applied as there's no collective artist. It's 3 tracks per primary artist, whether it's an individual artist like Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter, or a cast recording soundtrack, e.g. KPop Demon Hunters Cast.

Something like the Stranger Things soundtrack, which is made up of pre-existing songs released years back, or even the Barbie soundtrack which was a collection of brand new songs but were not performed by the cast as part of any collective, are not subject to the 3 track rule as they're "various artists" releases.

Of the charting songs, only Tiffany’s & David Bowie’s are actually on the Official Soundtrack anyway.

Does the 3 track rule apply to dead artists?

13 minutes ago, Graham A said:

Does the 3 track rule apply to dead artists?

Yes

1 hour ago, Graham A said:

Does the 3 track rule apply to dead artists?

Out of interest, what made you ask this question? I was wondering whether you were mostly interested in resurgences immediately after an artist has passed away.

2 hours ago, GreyAsh said:

Out of interest, what made you ask this question? I was wondering whether you were mostly interested in resurgences immediately after an artist has passed away.

Yes. That does seem to me to a bit unfair. I remember when the likes of Elvis died and David Bowie past away, the chart having loads of tracks in it. Perhaps the Chart compilers never took that into consideration when making the rule. I do know that a chart is compiled which does not have the three track rule applied. But that is for industry insiders only.

2 hours ago, Graham A said:

Yes. That does seem to me to a bit unfair. I remember when the likes of Elvis died and David Bowie past away, the chart having loads of tracks in it. Perhaps the Chart compilers never took that into consideration when making the rule. I do know that a chart is compiled which does not have the three track rule applied. But that is for industry insiders only.

The question I would ask is: who was the last person to pass away to have a massive impact on the top 40?

Tina Turner, for example, had just 2 top 40 hits that week. George Michael had just 1 - and that was already in the chart.

When artists pass away these days it just does not have a big impact on the top 40.

2 minutes ago, GreyAsh said:

The question I would ask is: who was the last person to pass away to have a massive impact on the top 40?

Would guess Prince was the last "legacy" artist to have 3 top 40s enter after his death. XXXTentacion definitely had 3 after his death but they were current hits. Ozzy came pretty close to having 3 Sabbath tracks and 3 solo tracks in the top 40 last year

Did Meat Loaf not get three?

27 minutes ago, gasman449 said:

Would guess Prince was the last "legacy" artist to have 3 top 40s enter after his death. XXXTentacion definitely had 3 after his death but they were current hits. Ozzy came pretty close to having 3 Sabbath tracks and 3 solo tracks in the top 40 last year

Regarding Prince - yes, that seems such a long time ago now! 2016 - 10 years ago, before primary artist rules, and at a time when streaming was not yet as dominant as it is now.

His 3rd hit was at 38 - and three further songs were in the top 100.

I was surprised that Ozzy Osbourne had such an impact on the chart - two top 40s and then all of 45-48!

4 minutes ago, Maestro said:

Did Meat Loaf not get three?

No, ironically his 3rd highest was Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad at 46 😂 though if they had resets he would've had 3 in the top 40

1 minute ago, gasman449 said:

No, ironically his 3rd highest was Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad at 46 😂 though if they had resets he would've had 3 in the top 40

The best out of the 3 that week 😪

On 10/01/2026 at 16:17, WhoOdyssey said:

Of the charting songs, only Tiffany’s & David Bowie’s are actually on the Official Soundtrack anyway.

Nice to see David Bowie, Michael Jackson and ABBA on the soundtrack even though they don’t license their music on compilations but 14 songs on their isn’t enough. There’s space for at least 20-22 songs in total

The effect must have been strong for the recent Chris Rea passing. It seems fans of his might have been downloading his songs. But any fans streaming songs cannot have the same effect. Since no individual can stream a record to make one OCC unit.

It's odd that a Netflix show can put old songs in the chart, but the death of a beloved artist can not do it.

19 minutes ago, Graham A said:

The effect must have been strong for the recent Chris Rea passing. It seems fans of his might have been downloading his songs. But any fans streaming songs cannot have the same effect. Since no individual can stream a record to make one OCC unit.

It's odd that a Netflix show can put old songs in the chart, but the death of a beloved artist can not do it.

Chris had the unfortunate timing of dying christmas week, even the stranger things songs struggled until January

7 minutes ago, 777666jason said:

Chris had the unfortunate timing of dying christmas week, even the stranger things songs struggled until January

But even then, there was no evidence that Chris’s songs were being streamed to the extent needed to chart.

Another thing to add is that multiple songs charting from a deceased artist were probably most prevalent during the download era, as it would not have been able to happen during the physical era - as those records would not have been available in the shops.

There are of course exceptions to the rules, and an individual single would often be re-released to mark the passing.

John Lennon is probably the main exception I can think of.

So those harking back to the pre-digital era I feel are barking up the wrong tree.

1 hour ago, GreyAsh said:

But even then, there was no evidence that Chris’s songs were being streamed to the extent needed to chart.

But there wouldn't be. Only Spotify show streaming figures, the rest don't. The OCC only count lots of people who stream the records a number of times. A large fan base and I am not talking about the likes of Taylor or Sheeran fan bases, can never stream enough copies to make the units needed to make the chart.

The way the OCC counts streaming has done away with small fan bases to effect the charts, plus the dead artist effect too.

The best way to demonstrate the effect of streaming is to listen the Now series. Now 121, for example, to me sounded like a bunch of Ed Sheeran wannabes for the males and Taylor Swift for the women. Even Robbie Williams was like that too!