^That and the fact, that everyone's listening habits count towards the numbers. Not just people's who most frantically invest in music and related products.

3 hours ago, Sour Candy said:

I still think that because streaming is accessible to almost everyone it also shows that people are not that invested in new music as we used to think. The certain demography still goes after what's hot and new but most people stay on their comfort zone and listen to their faves and "beige" music. Which is just natural. Is your father more likely to listen to Wonderwall or Olivia Rodrigo's latest?

Of course young people discovering old music is a factor too. A good song is a good song! I think us chart fans should be less obsessed with release dates or years because there probaly truly are millions of people who just heard Michael Jackson's discography beyond Billie Jean or Thriller, for instance, and charts should reflect that.

If people have a reason to listen to Wonderwall, who are we to say they should listen to NEW MUSIC instead.

Totally agree with this! We have decades of recorded music to discover, why should people restrict themselves to whatever is being pushed this week?

2 hours ago, HausofMayhem said:

I have said this before but I don't think actual listening habits of people have changed much at all over the past few decades.

I think even in the download and physical eras, people listened to "older" music as much as they do now, but the only difference now is that every time they do it, it counts for the charts, whereas before it didn't and only new purchases counted.

Wonderwall was probably listened to more than the random 1-week download era #1s back in the day, but there was no way of tracking that so it wasn't reflected on the charts. It just seemed like Cover Drive(?) et al were more popular in those weeks because they had more downloads, when in fact they probably weren't based on what people were actually listening to.

I used to read last.fm's listener charts they'd put out every week around 2009-2012-ish, these were generally young listeners who gravitated to new albums & new artists (so like Vampire Weekend or Interpol would do to the charts what Taylor Swift does now), but even with that audience, the most listened to artists always had The Beatles, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, album cycle or not, while "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Mr. Brightside" and some others would be in the chart week in, week out. They're just the songs & artists that nearly everyone knows and get a huge leg up over anyone new. Every artist in the current Spotify listeners top 20 has been famous since at least around 2018, if not much further back.

I also just think that new music listening is spread out so wide. Some of my friends and I have been making year end top 100 lists for many years and any two of us will probably have at most half a dozen songs in common, but that number used to be much higher. Music hasn't gotten worse, just less universal, so like you say, I think most people on an individual level probably haven't changed much. You just won't notice if those millions of other people at their PCs and listening devices have taken a different fork in the road.

Music Week Top 40 Sales Flash

Singles

01 Sam Fender & Olivia Dean - Rein Me In (30,882)

02 Oasis - Wonderwall (19,210)

03 ANOTR feat. 54 Ultra - Talk to You (17,954)

04 Shakira & Burna Boy - Dai Dai

05 Olivia Rodrigo - stupid song

06 David Baddiel, Frank Skinner & The Lightning Seeds - Three Lions (16,171)

07 Prospa & Cloonee - Free Your Mind

14 SIENNA SPIRO - Material Lover

15 Silva Bumpa - On 2nite

16 HUGEL, Imael Angel & Ultra Naté - Movin' to the Sun

17 STELLA LEFTY - Boston

21 Alex Warren - Ordinary

22 SIENNA SPIRO - Great Expectation

23 Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun

24 Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas - Blessings

26 Journey - Don't Stop Believin'

27 Shakira feat. Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)

29 Olivia Rodrigo - honeybee

30 sombr - Homewrecker

32 RAYE - WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!

34 Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On the Floor

36 Alyssa Grace - bloodstream

37 Calvin Harris & Jazzy - Satisfy

39 The Killers - Mr Brightside

40 Bella Kay - iloveitiloveitiloveit

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Albums

01 The Rolling Stones - Foreign Tongues (30,256)

02 My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (14,842)

03 Bring Me The Horizon - Count Your Blessings | Repented (10,569)

04 December 10 - On Your Side (10,152)

05 Michael Jackson - The Essential (9,908)

12 Oasis - Time Flies... 1994-2009

14 Jack White - Frozen Charlotte

17 The Specials - Live from the Cathedral

20 Future - The Real Me

21 Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

22 My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

31 Madonna - CONFESSIONS II (??? it's also a faller from #1 to #7 so who knows x)

33 My Chemical Romance - May Death Never Stop You

Madonna, what?

I'd guess the #31 entry for Madonna's probably a physical variant which is currently being counted seperately from the main album for some reason

Yes, what’s happening with CII?!

Also the fact that it’s still showing also #7 is giving me high hopes that it will manage to hold into Top 10!!!

Just now, maggotsforbrains said:

I'd guess the #31 entry for Madonna's probably a physical variant which is currently being counted seperately from the main album for some reason

Yeah I imagine it’ll be fixed by Friday. Potentially Madonna could be Top 5?

Could be the Afterhours edition of Confessions that's somehow being double counted?

Talk to you at 3!!!

On 13/07/2026 at 23:29, Steve201 said:

How can such an iconic singer not make people want to listen to her music after she passes away.

 

On 13/07/2026 at 19:33, 777666jason said:

Shame total eclipse of the heart is only 53 in the update might not even survive top 100 and no albums top 100 either 😪

It looks better in Germany

midweeks charts single and album

11 Total Eclipse Of The Heart

57 The Very Best Of Bonnie Tylor

Last week's wednesday's midweeks, Rein Me In was at 24,092 copies. This week they are at 30,882.

I suppose Rein Me In's vinyls have been sent to all.

Or are their stream numbers are increasing and are they going to avoid ACR for the 58th time ?

Boo at mr brightside falling it needs to get a boost in streams today 😢

33 minutes ago, Jo' said:

Last week's wednesday's midweeks, Rein Me In was at 24,092 copies. This week they are at 30,882.

I suppose Rein Me In's vinyls have been sent to all.

Or are their stream numbers are increasing and are they going to avoid ACR for the 58th time ?

Both.

13 hours ago, HausofMayhem said:

I have said this before but I don't think actual listening habits of people have changed much at all over the past few decades.

I think even in the download and physical eras, people listened to "older" music as much as they do now, but the only difference now is that every time they do it, it counts for the charts, whereas before it didn't and only new purchases counted.

Wonderwall was probably listened to more than the random 1-week download era #1s back in the day, but there was no way of tracking that so it wasn't reflected on the charts. It just seemed like Cover Drive(?) et al were more popular in those weeks because they had more downloads, when in fact they probably weren't based on what people were actually listening to.

I agree with this.

Further to this, if the primary audience of the singles chart is the "Top 40 fan" and as a marketing tool for hot new tracks, the singles chart should really be a "discovery" chart. Quite how that's measured, I don't know (well I have an idea lol)

All I know is that it shouldn't measure continued consumption of a specific person forever (if the "Top 40 fan" [i.e. the actual audience] is bored/isn't catered for, that means the service is pretty much being provided for noone?), as we know that the majority of people gravitate towards what they already know and like (hence almost everything sticking around for years on end, aside from some flash in the pan viral hits/fanbase boosted new releases).

World Cup songs to drop like a stone next week then.

Thats one positive

Wonderwall and Three Lions gonna drop hard next week

 

5 minutes ago, gasman449 said:

World Cup songs to drop like a stone next week then.

I Think Dai Dai will hang around until the final

Wonderwall 2 - OUT next week

Thanks England you've now secured rein me in that 18 week record

Edited Wednesday at 21:191 day by K3