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U.K. POP CHARTS SET FOR RADICAL OVERHAUL:

Fri Jan 5, 2007 9:19 AM ET


By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK pop chart will undergo one of the biggest shake-ups since its inception 54 years ago on Sunday when any song downloaded from the Internet will be able to compete for the number one single spot.

Up to now, only songs which were physically available for purchase in shops counted toward the weekly chart.

Downloads could be included, but only a week before an actual CD single went on sale and for two weeks after it stopped appearing in stores.

However, with downloads now far outstripping over-the-counter sales, the Official UK Charts Company (OCC) has changed the rules meaning this Sunday's number one could be any track whether it has been sold in stores or online.

It said the "dramatic development" would be more reflective of what music Britons were buying, and could mean that old tunes, tracks by unknown artists or unreleased songs on albums hitting the top of the charts.

"This new ruling changes the nature of a single and puts the consumer in the driving seat," said OCC director Steve Redmond.

"ANY TRACK CAN BE A HIT"

"Literally any track can be a hit -- as long as it sells enough."

Downloads from Internet Web sites were included in the national charts for the first time in April 2005 in a bid to make them more relevant as traditional single sales fell to record low levels, partly because of illegal downloading.

A year later when download sales could be included before a single's physical release, Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" made history when it became the first song to reach number one based solely on sales of digital purchases.

"For a long time we've wanted the chart to reflect what the consumers are actually buying," said a spokesman for the BPI, the British record industry's trade body.

He said time would tell whether the change would benefit unknown acts or the established stars.

"It means any track when it's available digitally it can chart. To that degree, there's a real level playing field there," he said.

The OCC said the singles market, which commentators had written off a few years ago, had boomed since downloads were brought in.

In October 2004, Swedish DJ Eric Prydz topped the charts after weekly sales of just over 23,000 copies, the lowest ever for a number one single.

However overall singles sales have rocketed from 32 million in 2004 to more than 65 million last year, thanks mainly to almost 52 million download purchases.

The first British singles chart was published on November 14, 1952 when Al Martino became the first ever number one act with "Here In My Heart".


And an excellent perspective on this subject from across the pond:

Just a few years ago, when teens dominated the pop charts, to be a singer of a more senior age - say, about 30 - was something to be downplayed or outright omitted on one's musical resume. Indeed, as the likes of *NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera posted hit after hit and sold millions and millions of albums, the most coveted part of a performer's act seemed to be his or her youth.

But these days, Justin Timberlake has graduated from *NSYNC to sexy adult club tracks, Aguilera is a married woman singing mature ballads and it no longer seems necessary to shave a few years off your age. While teen acts like JoJo, Rihanna and Chris Brown are still creating hits, they are no longer ruling the marketplace. Most of last year's top-selling artists were in their 20s or 30s, like Gnarls Barkley, Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, Nelly Furtado and Shakira. And oldsters like 60-year-old Barry Manilow and 65-year-old Bob Dylan also had strong sales. "There has been more product that was clearly adult for the last five to ten years," says Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming at Edison Media Research, which tracks radio trends.

WHAT'S ON THE FRINGES

"Thirty-five-year olds are going to a point where rap is OK and 18-year-olds want more mellow music. ... It's more like there's nothing galvanizing in the center and that lets everybody see what's in the fringes." Still, there may be the rumblings of a teen craze on the horizon. The year's biggest-selling album was the soundtrack to the Disney TV movie "High School Musical," although it was aimed at the tween set. And a graduate from that film, Vanessa Hudgens, is having some success on radio with her solo debut.

In addition, while there have been no monster albums from teens this year, there have been other radio successes with acts like 16-year-old singer Paula DeAnda ("Doing Too Much" , 15-year-old rappers Jibbs ("Chain Hang Low"), and 15-year-old JoJo, whose ballad "Too Little Too Late," was a top five Billboard pop hit. "I think a lot of times it's been older people, but now the teenage group, the younger group, it's very youthful now," said DeAnda. "There's hot new artists out there. ... It's a real big year for us."

"I think it's kind of happening," JoJo said of a possible teen resurgence on the charts. "But I don't think it's in the same way that it happened maybe seven years ago with the boy bands and Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera." Back then, acts like Spears and Aguilera made blockbuster albums that sold millions of copies apiece during a music-industry boom.

But as the acts grew older along with the teens that once worshipped them, the craze began to fade, along with the decline of the music industry with the advent of Internet downloading. "Teen stuff continues to sell, it's always going to sell, (but) it's not a craze like it (was)," says Rick Krim, executive vice president of music and talent relations at VH1. "I think a lot of the teen music tends to be disposable, and it's not the kind of music that stays with you for your lifetime."

A recent survey from the Recording Industry Association of America showed that from 1996 to 2005, the number of 15- to 19-year-olds purchasing music declined from 17.2 percent of music buyers to 11.9 percent. The percentage of buyers in the age groups between 20 and 44 either declined very slightly or remained about steady, but the biggest leap was in the over-45 group: They now represent 25.5 percent of music buyers, up from 15.1 percent in 1996.

CERTIFIED VETERAN AT 25

Even though Manilow and Dylan had No. 1 debuts with their albums this year, it's not as if pop is no longer a music that appeals to the youth. After all, one of its biggest sensations, Beyonce, is a certified veteran at age 25. But her boyfriend, 37-year-old Jay-Z, had one of the biggest sales debuts of last year with his album, "Kingdom Come." On it, he talks about being mature and seasoned and even has a song, "30 Something," bragging about his elder status.

"When you're 50-years-old, you still love hip-hop but you just can't relate to the music any more because the people making it as they grow, they're still trying to cater to a younger audience," he told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I just felt it was very important for me to make a grown-up album and that's the tone of it, the whole album. "'
Jay-Z isn't ruling out selling to the kids either. And it seems that these days, there's less of a distinction between the MTV set and the VH1 set.

"(Certain acts) start off appealing adult, but just because it's really great music ... it's appealing to other demos," said Krim, noting the success of acts like Blunt and the rock group Keane. Daniel Powter, 36, had one of last year's biggest hits with "Bad Day," a sing-a-long piano track that first got popular when it was used as the sendoff song on "American Idol." Powter credited his life experience for helping him to finally make a hit like "Bad Day." "I think I've put a foundation in. I couldn't have written the music when I was 18," he told The AP earlier last year. "I don't want to lie about how old I am. I still feel good. I still feel great. I love to play music."

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Good news, for my money. Although slightly disconcerting when you consider some of the 'cult' status singles that have sold in bucketloads over the years, re-emerging for a second 'infamy'.  The likes of some of the 'one-hit wonders' we have endured throughout the ages infesting the charts with their cheesy undercurrents, is not a prospect to be savoured i suppose... (at least they cant be worse than the sterile-candysweet/homeboy/angst-ridden cr@p permeating the ears of our younger generation) as of recent years.  But on the whole; new vista's for the consumer to re-discover is NOT a bad thing. Lets see how it will translate into the real-world.  As an example, Snow Patrols offering..."Chasing Cars" released last summer, is expected to feature in the inaugural 'All things considered' Top40 this coming week. Its even been suggested that should the Beatles mass following decide to throw their weight behind the new format of cataloguing these sales...they might well go on and "Dominate the music industry" all over again...I for one will be glued....

[CarlosRocks]

at least the top 40 will be a little more interesting from now on...

[66-1120597113]

Is downloading from Limewire included??

Why would anyone would PAY to download a tune when they can download it legally and free?

[CarlosRocks]

how do you download it for free and it still be legal?

[66-1120597113]

how do you download it for free and it still be legal?

Use limewire

[CarlosRocks]

i never knew limewire was legal...

[Dundalk]

Its not! You can download stuff from it that isnt copyrighted and thats legal but anything that is copyrighted is illegal

[CarlosRocks]

i thought so...

[Bellamy17]

music these days is foul and rancid to thee core.

in fact the last decent album was stanley road by paul weller. I listening to it on a train whilst reading the life and times of oscar wilde.

oh oscar my heart shines so brightly, oh could you not see the fine art this is me, i waited here and i will wait, oh oscar please...one day....write for me. 

[peterc1992]

so if we want our mates single to be at the top we download it a milions times onto our p.c??

[GOAT]

so if we want our mates single to be at the top we download it a milions times onto our p.c??

If you have that sort of money, yes

[Dundalk]

The Limewire votes wont count

[GOAT]

Exactamundo, only the payed for, and therefore legal downloaded songs will count towards the charts

[Lando_Griffin]

music these days is foul and rancid to thee core.

in fact the last decent album was stanley road by paul weller. I listening to it on a train whilst reading the life and times of oscar wilde.

oh oscar my heart shines so brightly, oh could you not see the fine art this is me, i waited here and i will wait, oh oscar please...one day....write for me. 

He can't.

He killed himself when he heard you wanted his a*s.

Must be hard for you - I'm sorry. 

[Lando_Griffin]

I'd rather listen to sh*t like "I am the one and only" by the instantly forgettable Chesney Hawkes, than any utter b*llocks by 50 Cent, Eminem, Pete Doherty, and 99% of the walking chemists today.

I don't like Rap. I don't like hip-hop. I don't like Garage. I don't like house. I don't like any other sh*t styles either.

Give me theatrical, pop, rock, soul, folk, country and the blues.

Everything else can go and f*ck itself.