After Billboard announced its plan to include streaming data on its competitive chart system, the UK’s Official Charts were praised for deciding not follow suit…adamant that ‘paid for’ sales were the only measure to be used when allocating chart positions.
Alas, in a shock move that’s set to change British music industry as the world knows it, the company have now revealed that British digital streams will now be added to British sales, redefining what it means to ‘make it’ on the charts.
Details below…
BBC reports:
“The head of music at Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra has said streaming will soon be included in the top 40 singles chart.
Speaking at a Radio Academy event in London, George Ergatoudis said play counts from services like Spotify and YouTube could be included as soon as this summer.
While countries such as the US and Germany already count music streams, the UK chart is based on sales alone.
The Official Charts Company says there is no firm date set for the change.”
“Chief executive Martin Talbot told the BBC the company was still working out the “how” and “when” behind the plans.”
Undoubtedly set to add more variety to the chart’s weekly line-up, ‘Official‘s shocking decision comes after music streaming increased by 33.7% in 2013, accounting for 10% of revenues generated by recorded music.
Coming two years after the introduction of the ‘Official Streaming Chart’, this news comes as the company’s Chief Executive, Martin Talbot, revealed that they were to finalise their plans, and announce just how the system will function once implemented.
Adding to this, BBC News continues:
“He cited issues including what kind of streams should be counted and the possible impact on new and independent artists.
The company will also have to decide how many “plays” of a YouTube video or Spotify track would count as the equivalent of one sale.
There will also be questions about how long a user has to listen to a track before it is counted – some statisticians equate a 30-second stream to one play, others prefer only to count users who stream an entire song.
Mr Talbot’s statement to Music Week was in response Universal Music UK boss, David Joseph, who told the magazine that the UK charts risk becoming irrelevant if they don’t begin including streaming soon.
The Official Charts Company has previously explained that the UK chart methodology and market are both very different to America, where the Hot 100 takes into account radio airplay.
Mr Ergatoudis said merging that data into the Top 40 would be one of the biggest transitional changes in the Official Chart’s history.”
So, let us know…
![Victoria Monét's ‘Jaguar II Christmas' Should Be a STAPLE in Your Holiday Rotation [Stream]](https://thatgrapejuice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/stream-victoria-monet-thatgrapejuice-2024-jaguar-ii-christmas-apple-music-spotify-464x260.jpg "Victoria Monét's ‘Jaguar II Christmas' Should Be a STAPLE in Your Holiday Rotation [Stream].")
Bad strategy….it will become Billboard where data can be easily manipulated like Lady Gaga & Beyonce.
🙁 Mess !!!
Data streaming is lame. Hard sales rule anytime.
@Riri4eva your fave thrives off it aswell. The Navy is so delusional.
Whoever thinks this is a good decision….
SMH
This just means it’ll be easier for flops to get number ones and people like Rihanna to get number ones and stay there forever. I’m so over the charts at this point. SALES are all the matters, keep the streaming chart separate so we can see who can actually do what they’re supposed to and SELL their music.
Absolute b*******.
Lady Gaga has been criticized by Billboard boss Bill Werde for “manipulations” the number of clicks an online lyrics video, audio stream or music video.
UK Official Chart should learn something about this.
RIP.
Not Rihanna stans shaking their heads to this when she is one of the main people who sees its benifits. I can’t.
Rihanna must be so happy. #SinglesArtist
bullock$
well there goes the credintals these stan love to use in their stan war!!!! so I’m going to say this Number lies also…. cause obliviously someone isn’t adding it up right or………………………………………………………………………… some of these record companies is doing some under the table buisness….. things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Omfg. I can’t wait to see how many tricks Gaga and Rihanna pull out of their bags to get to number one.
Good news for Jay-Z and Beyonce…..more bona fide #1s are coming, y’all !!!!
If it means my fave has a better chance of slaying in the UK I ain’t mad it.
RIP The Official Charts Company !!!!
1. You can tell that TGJ are angry about this, I could sense it the tone of the article.
2. This is complete b*******, because it means flops like Cheryl and Tulisa can chart higher than people who really know how to sell music week after week.
I won’t say anything cos once all our faves chart we will be first to jump and quote its chart position. But at least my fave is currently proving she can slay albums and tickets the normal way in this new age and is not just a singles artist.
@SandySande TGJ are going to be HAPPY about it because it means people like Brandy and Ciara have a better chance of gaining some kind of traction over there. Plus it means record labels will spend more to make their R&B singers do well there to make back some of the money they lose when they flop here.
@Riri4eva but your girls biggest achievments are through Billboards hot 100.
LMAO! Grape Juice must be happy as phuck! Now they can demand more money from the American labels who pay them to promote for them.
Notice that TGJ didn’t give an opinion because they know this is amazing news for their fav’s. Watch and see how Brandy, Ciara, Tamar and Rita randomly start doing more interviews with them.
Brandy hun, getcho beautiful behind over here and SLEIGH!
Rihanna is the main one who benefits? Rih thrives off of AIRPLAY and SALES. Youtube views and crap are secondary. She was topping the charts before the rule changes babe 😉
F** u Official Chart… 🙁
Mariah has a chance of going to number one now.
No one is even streaming Mariahs song though thats the shade of it all.
Absolute mess!
All this will do is put the same predictable people higher on the charts than they deserve. Sh*tty sellers like Selena, Miley, Demi and Ariana will chart higher cause their pathetic stans don’t buy their music. People like fadga will rejoice as the little morons will sped their days clicking on youtube videos to see their hero chart a few places higher. Why can’t we have a SEPERATE streaming chart.
That Navy member calling Billboard a manipulative mess. Dead at the self drag.
Some of ya’ll sound Real Insecure about this article to throw other people who isn’t as successful name into the mix cause The UK spill the tea about Data Stream…. If your fave was topping the charts before this then you have nothing to worry about!!! Oh yeah Brandy been sitting on the charts before itunes and data came into play and Ciara had some success before this rule also this is more for the newbies in the business not people who has a fanbased and been in the game more than 5 years…. So LIKE I SAID IF YOUR FAVE BEEN DOING WELL BEFORE THIS RULE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
TBH, this isn’t really major for the big names people stan for on this site. They’re all still successful without it and have other credentials. It more of a factor for the newbies.
Awful idea. And does someone care to explain how rihanna thrives off of this? Queen has been slaying the charts before all of it . #You tried
Maybe Beyonce can finally get that new number one.
Its already happened with Billboard, so why are people acting surprised. You won’t be complaining when your fave is on the charts. I don’t care. No one takes the singles chart seriously these days anyway.
Shade at the pic you used
The other issue is that fad songs like gangnam style, what does the fox say and the Harlem Shake will just pollute the charts even more
@Jessica I totally agree with you… some people on here do… I don’t understand why people are chart checking for singles when the artist release a whole body of work call an album… yes the single is on the album but singles can come and go but an album is here for a forever…. The record label is more intrested in the album sells not singles cause anyone can make a single for example jj icefish make a horrible song it isn’ t that hard… an album is more harder cause you have to be able to take people on a personal journey with it… so I agree with you
how is it any different from radio spins? the fans request songs they get spin they get counted. the only difference is the fans now have more control. its just a different form of radio. all those streaming comping have to pay the record label every time someone stream them . so i don’t see why they should not count . the radio station have to pay the label every time they play a song.
@The Truth Hurts, well if more people would stop making those gimmick dance song a hit… they would be polluting the charts… I agree with you but we are in a brainwash generation now where real talent is hid under the rock and gimmicks are getting more pressed and air play ….. SAD
This is old news in America. Streaming has counted toward billboard positions for quite some time now. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the world caught on…
@XEDOS, I think the request lines are dead now on radio I barely hear people making request anymore….and now thanks to show like 106& park who only show the top ten hits according to them radio is dead…. they play the same songs every fifteen minutes….. I never heard any new songs on the radio… and when you call they and request it they never play it…. so the request line is dead I think it died in 2010 Rest In Peace Request Line you be real
Once again a H** delusion at its best……Mind u.. Rih Broke a record in touring wise……sumting u ur fav is suppose to be ahead of the girls in…:-) Nice Day
Request lines died a long time ago. I don’t think people vote on 106 and park anymore either. I remember rushing home from school to vote for Bow Wow and B2K LMAO.
@ABC RIGHT LOL EXCEPT I was voting for Aaliyah and Usher lol
What a stupid decition, it will.make trash songs likr the fox number 1, smdh.
@Stephinnnavy. You might want to try again. Beyoncé is the top Touring b**** right now.
@MusicStan. Exactly!
Some of you sound so dated and behind the times. We are in the digital age where everything is changing over from old to new. We now stream movies download books, pay our bills digitally, so why would music be any different? People could say all they want about Rihanna, but she was way ahead of the game in her digital reach. I guess the AMA was right that Rihanna is the artist of the new millennium. Rihanna’s fans are young and have grown up in a technological age, hence their preference for digital methods of getting music. People always find the fault in it when Rihanna is winning, but when Beyoncé used the same digital platform to release her album and hugely benefitted from it, no one had anything to say.
Buying albums digitally is different to streaming songs digitally. The latter doesn’t involve any coins.
@Reva you are right we are in a different time… but one thing you forgot to mention that digital can also hurt the arists too… some people don’t legally purchase the singles they download them for free.. along with albums too
SMH. This will make the singles charts more of a joke than it already is. But people will still go nuts when their faves go number 1 even tho they know that the singles chart these days is quantity over quality.
@musicstan I loved me some Ersha and Aaliyah too! Omg “U Remind me” is still one of my fav usher songs!! 8701 era was so underrated imo. How old are you? I’m 23 and I miss the early-mid 2000’s. Music was so fun back then
Anyone can pay for a single, but that doesn’t mean those same people will pay for the album as we can see reflected in some of these pop girls sales. The biggest mammoth hits and then an underwhelming quantity of those people actually follow up supporting the album considering. Hmmm. So singles charting simply on streaming makes it even less credible. I only check for the album chart.
Uh actually people are streaming Mariah’s song.. Also MC’s sales will pick up with AirPlay.. But this is whack. Streaming should have its own chart.. Sales/AirPlay are the most important factors… This is a cheap way to get a hit, the popular people only get streamed for the charts, this is stupid..
I’m 28, and yeah I know I old lol but yes that is when PEOPLE actually entertain and kept their personal business their own…. my fave off that album was I don’t know and You got it bad…
@Miss DIVA I do also… I’m the tyoe once I get the album the Single is dead to me and I always end up like the other songs more then the actual single
Please 28 is not old lol. As you get older, your definition of “old” changes. I think old is 75 lol. You’re right. Everything was simple back the . The internet and stan wars killed the industry 🙁
Rihanna is beautiful in that pic
Why are u guys talking about rih? She doesn’t need this to get number one’s,she has proven this time after time. She didn’t get her hits from this,y’ll go to sleep and wake up with rih on ur brains,it’s hilarious!!!
@ABC I know but I know someone on here who I got into a war with is going to use it against me but hey I LOVE MY AGE…. and I got the best of both world I grew up with the legends and also was the first to exprience everything with tech… and you right the stans does the most when it comes to the industry… sadly this blog site is to blame i’m mean look at the picture he put up.. what does Rita Ora or Rihanna have to do with it… He could of just put up the word BILLBOARD OR A MUSIC NOTE
This is CHEATING plain & simple!
The Hot 100 charts should be based off of SALES & sales ONLY!
Nielsen Soundscan should round up the number every week to see which single sold the most & the hieghest selling single of that week should be the Number 1 Hit!
Or There should be a 50/50 thing.
50% Sales & 50% Radio Airplay!
Also, Radio Airplay should be choosen by the Radio DJs. So that way it gives the Radio Personalities some type of power. Payola should not be used at all or that would be disqualification!
Those should be the 2 options for a Hot 100 Number 1 Hit.
There is no reason why Videos streams should help you get a AUDIO hit! That form of artistry is used to promote the song NOT be added towards its sales/airplay! The f**** is wrong with the industry.
Its like they are making everything too easy for these “singers” to get hits. It should not be this easy.
Epic Fail!
Lool Navy members first to throw shade @ other artists (see first comment) then cry when the comments go on to shade her.
@Stephy I like your rules… I wish they were like that tho
@Stephy best rules ever. I knew the hot 100 would turn into a joke ever since they added YouTube views as part of their formula. It’s time for quality to stop being underrated and stop making untalented people famous simply cause of popularity.
Stupid artists like Lady Gaga, Kunty Perry and Rihanna can reach Number One…
🙁
Meh. The charts made more sense when they were solely dictated by primarily radio play and sales. I don’t really “get” the formula now. It’s extremely disorganized and cluttered. They throw in everything but the kitchen sink. Hell, in a minute they’re gonna start counting Twitter followers and Facebook likes. F*** that “digital era” crap. Not every medium has to cower to it. If people wanna listen to music online, let them…but I don’t think it should count towards anything. Hits are on the radio, not Youtube and iPhones.
….struggled b**** like Beyonce will get #1. Thats why.
Condolences to UK music industry… 🙁
RiRI spent 7 weeks at number 1 with Umbrella on sales alone. So i think she’ll do just fine either way
LOL British singles charts have been laughable for like 15 years now, but this will make them even worse.
Seriously, I don´t know which one is worse: British singles chart or Australian singles chart. So damn generic most of the time.
At least they still have some credibility on the albums charts I guess.
This is just another gimmick. It’s crazy because ever since the 50’s, they do something new…
50’s: Steal from Black artists & kill off those who open their mouth
60’s: Beginning of Top of the Pop “live” singing, girl & boy bands (major gimmick), PAYOLA (majorly Black artists to defeat the White artists)
70’s: Start of disco to take away soul from music
80’s: Video killed the radio star, beginning of MTV, record companies buy records, inflate sales, prerecorded lip singing, record companies pay to get Black artists on television
90’s: HipHop thug & Squeaky Diva gimmick, MTV gets advanced in dubbing performances (started in 80’s), Inflation of sales 2x, build up rivalries (Brandy vs Monica Mariah vs Whitney Prince vs Michael Shania Twain vs Faith Hill and so many more, people are still deluded to date), s*** R&B male singers (R. Kellt, Usher, Ginuwine, you get it)
95’s (lol) Gimmick of using teenagers (Monica, Brandy, Xtina, Britney, NSync, you get it and yes I’m aware Brandy debuted in 94)
00’s: INTERNET/m**, beginning of sales decline, mental breakdowns (just a media way to reprogram celebs)
And we’ll just fast forward to now 2014: adding streaming to digital sales. I swear, I don’t know how you all can fight each other. You should be fighting the smoke and mirrors that is the music industry.
BTW, I want to point out something, why is it that every major artist debuts with the beginning or peak of a new way to hear music????
Madonna: MTV debut
Rihanna: YouTube
Justin Bieber: Vevo
Do u see where I’m going with this? That’s no shade to any artist though.
Smoke and mirrors…
The music and entertainment industry is stupid. Instead of rallying against what’s actually KILLING it, they’re instead placating it. Streaming, Spotify, YouTube, iTunes downloads, etc., etc. are the reason albums aren’t selling, why record labels are folding and why artists today have to sign 360 contracts. They’ve allowed people to get away with using these means to not buy when they should be fighting against all that s***. In another 10 years there won’t be a music industry and they’ll only have themselves to blame for conspiring with their own killer.
No wonder TOP 10 charts these days are full of CR@P !!!