UK top ten this week
1 Shape Of You Ed Sheeran 2 Galway Girl Ed Sheeran 3 Castle On The Hill Ed Sheeran 4 Perfect Ed Sheeran 5 New Man Ed Sheeran 6 Happier Ed Sheeran 7 Something Just Like This Chainsmokers & Coldplay 8 Dive Ed Sheeran 9 Supermarket Flowers Ed Sheeran 10 What Do I Know Ed Sheeran
It had to happen. Sooner or later, someone would dominate the ‘singles’ chart to such an extent that the relevance of the weekly ranking would be rendered meaningless. But, as Ed Sheeran songs occupy 16 places in the UK top 20 this week (and, worse, numbers 1 to 16 in Ireland), let’s not blame the singer, or see it as some sign of a music industry on its knees - it’s not, it’s solely down to chart mechanics.
Sheeran’s chart takeover is a direct result of the way the charts are now compiled through a combination of sales, (digital downloads and physical) and streams. The latter is ultraimportant here; streaming now accounts for over 80% of the market and the Official Charts Company (who compile both the UK and Irish charts) have determined that 150 streams is equivalent to one ‘sale’. Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) had an unprecedented level of streams, hence the huge ‘sales’ figures that propelled all 16 songs on the album into the top 20. Before the digital era, this could not have happened as there was no way to purchase or stream album tracks.
This week’s chart is an industry wake-up call and the most persuasive argument that the ‘singles’ chart needs radical change. Hopefully this will happen before Taylor Swift releases her next album and makes another mockery of the top 20.