AcerBen

They've now made the official announcement, but the press are completely misreporting it, seemingly with no understanding that iTunes the application and the iTunes Store are completely different things. iTunes is being replaced by a Music app on iOS, but NOT Windows. I *think* you'll be able to sync your device through the Music app if you are on iOS but iTunes is staying for now for Windows users anyway. Despite what's being reported, the iTunes Store is not closing, or stopping downloads. Apple's website explains "For those who like to own their music, the iTunes Music Store is just a click away". Also interesting stat: "According to the IFPI, non-streaming digital revenues for recorded-music were $2.3bn in 2018, down from $2.6bn in 2017. That’s completely outstripped by streaming ($8.9bn last year), but those non-streaming digital revenues were still 12% of the global total. That’s a niche, but not one to be dropped lightly: note that vinyl, which labels are still (justifiably) excited about, generated $691.9m globally last year."

I hadn't thought of that. There may well just be a combined chart.

Of course they will. Apple Music files are M4A the same as iTunes anyway, just with DRM.

I know, that's why I said. They said they're going to stick together through the summer and see what happens. If they chart all over Europe now hopefully it might convince them to do more stuff. This tweet made me laugh.. remember the early 2000s when novelty Europop songs regularly got into the top 10 purely on the strength of plays on The Box? @leethommo The more I hear that Norwegian contender, the more it reminds me of something that Matt & Cris at AATW would have flung at me when I was at The Box in about 2003, and we would have single-handedly made it a straight-in-at-number-one smash nine weeks later.

I hope there's a future for KEiiNO. It would seem there is still a market for this kind of europop and nobody else is making it!

They are back together and performed it on Graham Norton

It's funny how up and down James is with his singles. He's very lucky that when he finds the right song it will just take off all by itself, on downloads at least. It's top 15 on U.S. iTunes too.

It'd be great if someone can be arsed to do a full list of all his UK top 75 singles I suppose his first would be E-Type's This Is The Way from 1995, and his first top 40 would be Ace Of Base's Lucky Love.

Oh my goodness, I've been really craving a Guinness/Virgin-style update book in the last couple of weeks. So excited to buy these! Well, I'll probably only get the 90s onwards. But amazing they'll go up to the end of the 10s!

It's #8 in the Big Top 40 but that's not official (despite their claims)

It's one of Simon Cowell's favourite songs from the last few years so that's why it started being included as background music in his shows both here and in the U.S. and then chosen/given to contestants. It's only ever sold immediately after it's been on TV. It probably hasn't even ever been serviced to UK radio.

His last one managed 9 weeks in the top 100 under similar circumstances though.

Yes that's one of the few sensible suggestions in the thread so far. :P Outrageous he hasn't had a top 40 hit yet. There will be plenty of classical/opera artists that sell albums but not singles too, like Alfie Boe.

"Decisions". :lol:

So the show's on at the moment and the format is a track that peaked in the charts each month of the year for 2 years - today 1978 and 1991. So it's not really a chart, but it's presented as if it is! It's a nice listen.

This. I hate their over-sexualised look, the caked-on make-up, and the American songs. I want the Little Mix of Black Magic back.

Perhaps it was loss-making. Besides it seemed to lose access to a lot of stations so it wasn't very useful lately.

Breathe sold more copies than Firestarter too. Firestarter might be more well known, but Breathe was the better track.

The BBC will stick to BBC Sounds rather than link up with a commercial service, which probably wouldn't even be allowed. Traditional radio is holding up very well considering the competition anyway.

The last owners were only in it to make some quick money.

What would be the point of releasing a dance single on 7" as opposed to 12"?

I wonder if it just a particular week from a particular year or is the format going to be slightly different, given the link to Now. I'll be listening anyway, I was disappointed he didn't get the gig on Pick of the Pops.

On the other hand, perhaps the reason they base it on downloads is because it helps the chart seem "fresher" than the official one, and the songs that do well on sales are more radio-friendly. And perhaps people who listen to Capital and Heart are more likely to be downloaders than streamers?

iTunes data would seem to be the highest weighted (Dalton Harris was #1 for example), and looking at this week's chart it looks kinda similar to the live iTunes chart but then you find Dua Lipa at 10 (37 on iTunes, 25 on commercial airplay) Sigrid at 27 (45 on iTunes, not top 40 on commercial airplay) Lewis Capaldi is not on the top 40 at all!

I think at some point the Big Top 40 (and its predecesors) were probably calculated scientifically but lately there's been some weird goings on. It looks relatively close to the sales chart (so probably based on iTunes sales), but then you'll get something like James Arthur at number 2 inexplicably, when he was only something like number 40 on the commercial airplay chart so it couldn't have just been down to airplay.