Does your favourite artist struggle to sell albums but soar when tasked with filling seats at live music venues?
If the answer to the question above is yes you’ll be pleased to learn that there’s good news on the horizon.
The Official Charts Company is embracing Lightning Live, a new system of collecting sales at live venues which the charts compiler says has been “road tested” over the past six months to ensure accurate sales are reported.
It’s a bonus for any artist who has set up a merch stand and sold recordings at their own shows and, according to the OCC, its means the weekly albums survey will now reflect “the widest range of formats and outlets” in its history.
Put simply, albums sold at live venues will now count towards chart positions.
OCC chief operating officer Omar Maskatiya explains:
The launch of Lightning Live follows approaches from both independent and major labels, who are increasingly using live events as a route to get their products to fans and new audiences.
We strive constantly to ensure that the Official Charts reflects and responds to consumer behavior and this move, following just a few months after the integration of streams, further underlines this strategy.
Very very very exciting news!
For years, artists who have struggled to shift units at retailers were forced to look on as the plug was pulled on album campaigns that put their careers (and budgets) into the red.
Fortunately, the OCC’s epic new plans will force tour-shy chart hopefuls to create stage-blazing live shows to pull in album sales they didn’t generate traditionally, and see the likes of the commercially potent Justin Timberlake and Beyonce use their tours to push them closer to numbers reached by the likes of Adele.
One needn’t look any further than the numbers of seats the aforementioned acts filled on their last tours to understand why this news is set to change the game for the better, and encourage the industry to invest in the creatives armed with the concepts and ideas that’ll convince music lovers to splash their cash on tickets and albums at live music venues.
Let’s hope it won’t be long before the U.S. follows suit.