If the UK music business wants to have a more vibrant singles chart, it should either stop counting plays from streaming playlists – or start counting plays on national radio stations.
That’s the opinion of BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra’s Head of Music, Chris Price, who has responded to the lack of movement in the charts.
Speaking to NME, Price argued that playlists curated by Spotify (that can reach over 20 million listeners), for example, are “much more akin to radio airplay” than to consumption of a track that’s been purchased.
“we have this situation where editorial on streaming services counts towards the chart, whereas editorial on the radio, for example, doesn’t.”
chris price, bbc radio 1 and 1xtra
“So we have this situation where editorial on streaming services counts towards the chart, whereas editorial on the radio, for example, doesn’t,” he explained.
As MBW observed earlier this week, the Official UK Singles Chart has been looking pretty stagnant recently.
In the five weeks following June 3 there have been just four new releases in the Top 10 – from Cheat Codes / Kris Kross, Adele, Calum Scott and Chainsmokers.
And over the past month-and-a-half, there’s been only one fresh chart entry which has ventured into the UK market’s weekly Top 5 – Adele’s Send My Love (To Your New Lover).
For three weeks in a row (June 17 – July 1), the UK’s Top 5 tracks were comprised of the same songs in slightly different orders.
The answer, says Price, is to either discount curated playlist streams from the chart, or, like the US, include countrywide radio airplay.
“Radio can play a part in keeping things fresh, but because such a large proportion of ‘sales’ in the chart come from streaming there’s only so much that we can do.”
chris price, bbc radio 1 and 1xtra
He continued: “Radio can play a part in keeping things fresh, but because such a large proportion of ‘sales’ in the chart come from streaming there’s only so much that we can do.”
While Price acknowledged that streaming services are playing a growing role in music discovery – “a space that radio historically has occupied” – he doesn’t sound too worried about the competition.
“Radio 1 has been curating music for fifty-years, so I like to think that we’ve gotten pretty good at it in that time.
“Streaming services have only been doing it for a very short time, they aren’t that great at it yet, and therefore I don’t really see them as competition.”
According to BBC’s recently published Annual Report and Accounts, time spent listening by an average listener each week to Radio 1 dropped from 6.37 hours last year to 6.11.
Radio 2 rose from 11.49 to 11.53, 1Xtra dropped from 5.11 to 4.56 and 6 Music rose from 8.38 to 9.09.
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