Pop charts to include what’s top of the Youtube hits parade
Streamed music and videos likely to boost fortunes of established artists
VIDEO killed the radio star, so the pop song went. Then Youtube came along and brought an end to the video as popularised by MTV.
Now the official pop charts are catching up with the habits of modern music fans by including online views in the rankings.
From July 6, the charts will include video views and streaming data in addition to digital downloads and traditional CD and vinyl sales.
Data from Youtube, Apple Music and Spotify will be used by the Official Charts Company to work out the Top 100.
The official chart was expanded to include music downloads in 2005 and tracks streamed online in 2014, following a period in the Nineties when sales of singles plummeted from their high in 1979, when 89 million records were sold.
Now, with Youtube videos garnering millions of views from younger music fans, the likes of Ed Sheeran and Jessie J are likely beneficiaries of the change.
OCC figures show Sheeran topped the online video streaming chart for 2017 with Shape of You, which had more than 776million views, while the top ranking female artist was Dua Lipa with her song New Rules.
The new chart incorporates both free-to-view and streaming by customers who pay a monthly subscription.
To reflect the difference between free and subscription views, 100 video views via a subscription service will equate to one single sale, but it will take 600 free videos to record a sale.
Despite the weighting, there are likely to be concerns that incorporating billions of “free” music and video plays, at the expense of songs people have actively paid for, could make the chart meaningless.
But the move has the backing of the major record labels who say it will be the most accurate representation yet of the nation’s most popular songs.
Martin Talbot, chief executive of OCC, said it was a “significant step” to ensure the charts “continue to be the most comprehensive and trusted in the UK.”
He said: “In the modern era, artists are increasingly multi-faceted creators, with a highly developed visual sense running parallel to their music. The addition of video ensures that the Official Singles Chart reflects the creativity of the artist in the broadest way possible – and music fans’ engagement.”
Derek Allen, a senior vice president of Warner Music
UK, added: “It’s always been important that the Official Charts keep pace with an evolving and dynamic market, while retaining their integrity, something that has set the UK charts apart from those operating elsewhere in the world. These latest changes are just another step down that road.”