Official singles chart to include streaming services
Written by admin on 6th July 2014
Songs played on streaming services like Spotify and Deezer will count towards the UK’s singles chart from July, the Official Charts Company has announced.
Music streaming doubled in popularity in the UK between 2013 and 2014, from 100 million to 200 million streams a week, currently averaging 260 million.
Bastille’s track Pompeii is the UK’s most streamed track ever, but only made number two in the singles countdown.
Charts boss Martin Talbot said the move was “about future-proofing the charts”.
“So far this year we’ve seen nine tracks which have been streamed more than one million times in a week. Last year there were only two tracks that had reached that kind of level,” said Mr Talbot.
“So we’re seeing a huge growth, up 50% in the first half of this year.”
He said the Official Charts Company had been looking into the idea for “some time” but felt now was the right moment, suggesting it echoed how they had already “evolved” over the years in response to the popularity of vinyl, cassettes, CDs and downloads.
Streaming services Spotify, Deezer, Napster, 02 Tracks, Music Unlimited, Rara and Xbox Music – most of which charge subscribers a monthly fee to listen to unlimited music – will now provide compilers with weekly data.
The first chart to include streams will air on Sunday 6 July, with 100 streams of a song counting as the equivalent of one single purchased.
“This is a far greater shift in emphasis than has ever happened before,” music journalist Fraser McAlpine.
“No one ever asked pop fans how many times they played the singles they took home.
“In a sense, it’s a lot fairer, because the chart becomes a measurement of the genuine excitement around certain songs, and how that changes over time even after people have started to listen privately.
“It’s the first time plays would count towards something larger in cultural terms, rather than just being the most-played track on a single service.”
However, it is unlikely to make much difference at the top of the chart.
Two tracks, Rather Be by Clean Bandit and Waves by Mr Probz, have passed the 1.5 million weekly streams barrier so far this year and both have also spent time at number one in the singles chart.
Daft Punk’s Get Lucky was the UK’s most streamed track last year and the second biggest-selling single of the year.
“By and large the most streamed tracks are the same as the most sold tracks,” said Talbot.
“The changes you see are towards the bottom end of the top 10 and further down the chart.”
It is artists such as Alt-J who stand to benefit. The Mercury Prize-winners are 14th most-streamed act in the UK, but their highest-charting single to date is Breezeblocks, which only reached number 75 in 2012.
(Source: BBC News)
