Posted May 20, 200619 yr Chart split rocks pop Cameron Adams 19may06 THE Australian pop charts are at the centre of a music industry war that has spawned a rival list. Music retail chains Sanity, HMV and Virgin have withdrawn their sales figures to official chart compiler ARIA, the Australian Recording Industry Association. The battle over technology throws the weekly ARIA chart into disarray. Sanity, HMV and Virgin Megastore, all owned by Brazin, will stop sending their CD sales information to ARIA today and instead produce their own rival instore chart. That means any CD sold from any of Brazin's 340 stores across Australia will not count towards the ARIA chart. ARIA issued a statement yesterday saying it was disappointed with Brazin's decision but insisted it will not affect the production or accuracy of its weekly charts. Brazin CEO Greg Milne said he doubted ARIA would be able to produce accurate charts. "I don't know how they can say that considering HMV, Sanity and Virgin account for a fairly big chunk of the market," he said. "I'm not sure how it won't impact." Brazin used data-compiling company GFK to track sales through its stores. Mr Milne said GFK's systems were more sophisticated than ARIA's. "Rather than a chart that will be a week old before it hits the street, we'll have a chart that will be updated every day," he said. "In today's world it's time we took it to the next level." Mr Milne denied industry rumours his company wanted to charge ARIA for its sales figures. "There's no ulterior motive. We're not trying to steal the industry away," he said. The ARIA charts will be compiled from sales at more than 850 shops, including JB Hi-Fi, independent music retailers and department stores Target, Big W and Kmart. Industry insiders said the Brazin-free ARIA chart could reflect music from an older demographic if it relied on sales mainly from department stores, which are usually slow to stock new or alternative music. "This is bad news for new Australian rock acts," Undercover music website owner Paul Cashmere said yesterday. "They will be struggling even harder for a chart position."
May 20, 200619 yr Chart split rocks pop Cameron Adams 19may06 THE Australian pop charts are at the centre of a music industry war that has spawned a rival list. Music retail chains Sanity, HMV and Virgin have withdrawn their sales figures to official chart compiler ARIA, the Australian Recording Industry Association. The battle over technology throws the weekly ARIA chart into disarray. Sanity, HMV and Virgin Megastore, all owned by Brazin, will stop sending their CD sales information to ARIA today and instead produce their own rival instore chart. wow!!! brazin own all those brands now!!! knew about virgin and sanity (well they took over our price) but hmv australia!!!
May 21, 200619 yr Bad news for the Aussies really. did something like this ever happen in the uk? just wondering with the woolies chart being posted if they do their own thing as well?
May 21, 200619 yr Except the Woolies chart has no relation to sales at all - it is a marketing excercise posted before the new entries even go on sale -_- The Australian breakup is very sad. A daily in-store chart would be very interesting to see - espcially for those of us who look up midweeks every Tuesday - but to lose a total country wide weekly chart is a great shame :( Surely there is a space for both to exist together ? Edited May 21, 200619 yr by Dory
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