Video to enter UK’s Official Singles Chart this summer
The UK’s Official Singles Chart enters a new era this summer, with video counting towards the weekly rundown for the first time, the Official Charts Company can confirm.
Streaming and downloading of videos and official audio clips from artists such as Dua Lipa, Drake, Arctic Monkeys and Ariana Grande will count towards the UK’s only official singles countdown, which is compiled by the Official Charts Company and unveiled by BBC Radio 1 every Friday afternoon. The change will be effective from the chart published on July 6.
The change comes as services such as Apple Music and Spotify add video to their platform and as YouTube launches their first subscription service in the UK.
While Ed Sheeran claimed the UK’s biggest music video of 2017 overall with Shape Of You, the iconic video for Dua Lipa’s New Rules nabs the title of most streamed video by a female artist, notching up 60 million UK streams.
"Can you believe it? I can’t!" Dua said of New Rules' success. "Thank you for all your love and support, it means the absolute world to me. The response to New Rules was so crazy and I am so grateful for it. Video was really important to me in my career - it’s another way as artists that we can get our music to our fans."
Watch Dua announce the Official Chart's new rules below:
Talking at a Years & Years shoot in East London, Olly Alexander welcomed the introduction of video: “For artists like us it’s a great thing. Videos give us a chance to make a statement and it’s great if that is taken into account in the Official Singles Chart. When I think about our music I think about it visually too - it’s another opportunity to get our message across.”
The addition of video streams is designed to ensure the chart remains a showcase for hit music, however music fans choose to access it. The Official Singles Chart will continue to be the only official and most comprehensive countdown in the UK market, reflecting sales of downloads, CD and vinyl, as well as streams of audio or video tracks, whether on premium subscription or ad-funded services.
The services which will contribute video streams to the chart will include Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and Tidal, who have all added video to their platform over the past year.
Official Charts Company chief executive, Martin Talbot, said: “This is a significant step for the UK and ensures The Official Chart continues to be the most comprehensive and trusted chart in the UK, bar none. Consumption of recorded music via more than 15,000 retailers, download stores and streaming services of all kinds contribute to the weekly chart countdown.
“In the modern era, artists are increasingly multi-faceted creators, with a highly developed visual sense running in parallel with 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 with that vision.”
Official Charts Company non-executive chairman Derek Allen (svp commercial for Warner Music UK) added: "It’s always been important that the Official Charts keep pace with an ever evolving and dynamic market, while also retaining their integrity, something which has set the UK charts apart from many of those operating elsewhere around the world. These latest changes are just another step down that road.”
The Official Singles Chart's new rules
In a parallel change, free ad-funded streams will be weighted at a different rate in the UK’s Official Singles Chart compared to streams played under a paid-for subscription from the July 6 chart. 100 streams via a subscription service will equate to one sale, as will 600 “free” streams. This replaces the current combined conversion rate, which means all streams are treated equally – with one sale equivalent to 150 streams. This will apply to both video and audio streams equally.
The new rules will also apply to the Irish singles chart - read the full announcement here.
The change is being made during a period of great change in the international music market, with markets such as France and Germany choosing not to count ad-funded streams at all in their charts, while Billboard has also downrated ad-funded streams against their premium counterparts.
The Official Singles Chart is unveiled by Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1 from 4pm to 5.45pm every Friday afternoon. View the latest Top 100 here.
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James England
CEO of the Official Chart Company - Martin Talbot:
" We think it is important to count the free streams as there are people who cannot afford to pay for a subscription or may not have access to credit cards,” says Martin Talbot, chief executive of the OCC. “They could be young kids or teenagers who don’t have credit cards – or it could be low-income families. It could count against certain genres of music if we stripped those out completely.”
Does that logic really stand up to scrutiny? I am not using the internet for free. I pay my mobile phone provider to give me internet access. I pay my electricity company the cost of the electricity to run my laptop and charge my phone. I pay Google Play and other music apps to buy a few new songs (yes, some people actually buy songs, not stream them for free!).
The old format singles chart wasn't free. You had to go to a store to buy a record, cd single and when the internet came a long you had to pay to download a single. Free streaming is contrary to the point of the chart - it is based on single sales, not free streaming. When was the chart meant to be altruistic? Why should the boss of the OCC care if some teenagers or young adults can't afford to pay for streaming? That shouldn't be his concern. The old boss of the old chart didn't say "we've decided to include some stores that are giving away extra free copies of their singles because low income families can't afford to buy singles." That would never happen. It's weird how free streaming is part of the sales chart. I guess the CEO would say "more people stream for free so we have to include that data." I still find it hard to defend.
Stewart Welsh
I agree, we had to actually BUY a song in one way or another, now we don't. Why not include all the songs performed in live concerts? After all the tickets were paid for and all the people heard the songs !!! This is getting stupid AND why is it still called a singles chart? It isn't anymore, it's a song chart.
Tom BackUp
This is final stab to the Official Singles Chart! First one was including album tracks to the chart, and now streaming videos!?! Why streaming videos do not have separate chart?? Also streaming numbers can be fabricated and video streaming, specially Youtube can be fabricated too. So, singles chart is NOT singles chart already for years, and now name of the chart can be changed to Official audio/video tracks chart. This is pointless really. And who is happy with it? Major record companies. Thanks, but no thanks. I do not have interest in this chart anymore. Shame, it was once leading chart in the world together with Billboard chart. Why UK industry wants to push people from the UK Official chart? People will anyway switch to Spotify or other charts and this website will become history. Thanks OCC. You really nail it this time.
James England
Yes... I agree Tom. I fail to see a how a SINGLES chart now features video streaming. Surely it's time to scrap the word 'singles' from the chart as it's meaningless. Also 600 free streams is equal to a real sale. This makes no sense. I can't think of any other product in the world where a free purchase counts as a real sale! The top 40 should be based on sales only. This would preserve the integrity of the chart.
Brett
I heard about this and took an interest in the chart for the first time in months (having previously been obsessed with the chart for decades), then I realised your ridiculous falsification of the chart through 'Accelerated chart ratio' and the fact that you are still doing nothing about the playlists manipulating the chart I will not be following your fake chart again any time soon.
R
riley
does this mean we will be seeing no more of the hideous 300:1 streaming ratio after 3 weeks in decline after 10 weeks in the chart?
candog75
Nope we’ve still got ACR - paid streams we be at 200:1 and free streams at a massive 1200:1
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Mr. Threepwood
This is stupid and it's getting progressively more stupid.
Internet has destroyed the way people are interacting with music. And it's fine. It's always been changing.
It's just a shame that somehow the lowest common denominator won. The most idiotic, mindless, heartless, tasteless, emotionless strains of pop music, dance music, rock music, hip-hop all blossomed into what we have today. I blame lack of effort. If you can make a song hit the top 10 without actually going to buy it anywhere, it's too easy. I blame kids who didn't develop taste yet, but are already going crazy over some stupid pop song and listening to it hundreds of times on Spotify and such. Back when, kids didn't control the market as much as they do now. I blame executives who are fine with endlessly churning formulaic material as long as the formula works, and the formula works because they know how to get into people's heads. A song being "catchy" is one thing, a song being inescapable - it's carefully crafted piece of product. I blame the OCC and other chart compilers who are slaves to relevance.
These days you gotta scan the depths of album charts to find something actually decent. Most of the times I'm just asking myself, "why bother", and get a new album from someone I've been listening to since the year 2000.
F
FUSED
I couldn't agree more.
Rob Parkinson
Seems like a great move then as all 'the kids' who cannot afford to pay for streaming services wont have as much say as will take 600 listens whereas the older generation who can afford to pay will have more of a say of who is more popular.
SW
sean ward
How about only including platforms where you have to make a financial investment?? Maybe only allowing 1 stream per ip address to count. You can be number one for 15 weeks without selling a record.
Rob Parkinson
That kind of deters away from the point making it 1 stream per IP address as then how does 1 song be more 'popular' if I listen to 1 song once and another 15 times but both are counted the same when clearly I much prefer the song I've listened to 15 times than the one I listened to once.
SW
sean ward
so you buy the one that you prefer? alternatively, if you pay a tenner a month for streaming... your first ten or twenty streams in a month count. There has to be a proper financial investment to make it meaningful. And its the same as when I was a kid, you would save your money to buy it and they got payed to death because there was not instant access to a million songs that you kind of like. its the modern equivelent of "taping it" off mate
Rob Parkinson
That defeats the object of paying for a streaming service. I pay more for streaming music than I do television streaming services, so there is plenty of money going into it. Plus buying the song still does not make it more popular as I will listen to some songs far more than others whether I would choose to pay or not. Let's not go backwards its forwards we are heading
SW
sean ward
I must be honest, I stream from apple music, but am a little bit sad, I like a hard physical copy, so if I tend to use the streaming services to see if I like an album, then buy it. it actually saves me a fortune on buying albums to only listen once, (no names ... Elder Gallagher sibling). I think there needs to be a balance, singles charts have always been dominated by younger demographic based artist, but you need the balance of how many streams make a sale. "Shape of you" is approaching the 3M equivalent and only three physical singles have ever done that. "The greatest showman" is an example where physical sales are dominating but that is an exception to the rule. My point is that streaming is a great tool, but compared to actually buying, there is no real attachment to the song, it can be deemed a casual listen, like in the US when radio play counts towards chart positions. There could always be an apportionment of the stream v sales, where the stream would have its own chart and would say, based upon its position take a percentage of the physical sale?, this would weight it. Just so long as we do't have Drake spending another 15 weeks at number one with an auto-tuned mumble and a drum beat from a 1980's casio keyboard, that took 35 people to write!
Rob Parkinson
I think albums are defined more with physical sales but it is too expensive for singles to be that way so streaming all the way for singles. There should most definitely be some system in place which makes it fair and I think that's what the official charts company are trying to do. I'm not really surprised about the success of shape of you and if streaming wasnt invented am pretty sure it would still be where it is now. I do share your distaste of drake though and struggle to find any of his music (if that is a word allowed to be used for what tracks is out there of his) in any way a memorable tune. Hopefully the new far more listens will help put a stop to that but will see. Also the youth has always been the forefront of popular music that has dominated the charts, the difference was when a song came along that was also liked by the older generation and that would generally make a huge impact.
SW
sean ward
I whistled a tune this morning. Does that count?
mildredfarts
so the goalposts have shifted again.why not just be done with it and include radio plays,club and jukebox plays and maybe just to completely f**k it up..include ebay,amazon and record fair sales?
Rob Parkinson
Is a far better idea not counting the ad funded streams as much as paid for subscriptions as I'm sure the artist and all included with the track get far less revenue from ad funded tracks. Is 100 streams fair, I'm not sure but let's see how it impacts the charts in the future. Is great that music videos are included as they are still a listen to a track. It's getting much better the sooner everybody moves to streaming and stops living in the past the better. Streaming services are the way in which people listen to music more than any other way and it will continue to grow. It's also far more retrospective of how much a track is liked, there will be no more groups like boyzone, mcfly, spice girls etc running of the success of previous music where people would buy a single just because they like the band, now it's more if you actually listen to the song which makes it more popular rather than just buying it and it sitting somewhere gathering dust after 2 listens and not even liking the song.
MA
michael anthony
I can't help but think the Charts are becoming meaningless. Most of the "biggest songs if all time" are becoming more recent songs. Soon, you wont find any songs considered classics for decades, in any All Time Biggest Songs list.
Its because youre comparing songs that were measured by one method, vs songs measured by somewhat questionable and unequal methods. Methods that can be manipulated. For example, in the US The top two country songs of all time, are from the last year. One song is still #1, some 30 weeks later. Sure, #1 for 30 some weeks? I don't buy it.
Rob Parkinson
I totally disagree, it's making for a much better more true reflection of how songs are performing. The numbers may not be perfected yet but streaming accounts for over half the market and growing. How many singles have you bought in the past which you listened to far more than other singles you purchased? Surely the ones you listened to more are the ones that should be charting higher than others you purchase which you listen to far less?
F
FUSED
I hear what you are saying but it's no way a 'true reflection of how songs are performing' anymore. Why? Because all streaming service numbers are wide open to fixing by using streaming 'pay for plays' services that sell packs like '100k plays for $25' etc.
By including 'easy to manipulate the numbers' streaming services it arguably makes official charts in effect meaningless, and that's a real shame given the history and integrity of what the official charts represented. Yes, the sales figures could (and probably were) manipulated by record labels buying up copies, but generally big successful songs did it by genuine purchases. Now, it's arguably down to who 'pays for the most streams'. A sad state IMO.
Dan Love
Sales were manipulated too
F
FUSED
This is absolutely true. Of course record labels paid for airplay and probably bought up copies to push records up the charts. But not to the extent they can be now, and with technically no actual sales needed... Anyone can pay for streams and push a song into the charts with no-one ever buying it. Its a sad state IMO.
Rob Parkinson
Yeah as much as I'd love to believe that it's fair out there, there is always going to be flaws but I still think generally its heading in the right direction. I must admit I was shocked when leona lewis left Simon Cowells label and released fire under my feet and it totally flopped when it was one of the best songs she had done for years...