albumcharts
Latest
UK's official album charts to count records sold at gigs
Many bands sell their first albums on the road. Whether they're touring solo or supporting a larger act, some music fans will purchase their CD at the venue -- provided they like what they heard, of course. Now, the UK's Official Charts Company wants to recognise these sales in the official albums chart. Through a system called "Lightning Live," these impulse purchases will now feed directly into the weekly chart, better reflecting the popularity of smaller artists and labels. It's not clear exactly how they're being recorded, but the company says the system has been road-tested for six months to ensure the numbers are accurate. Back in February, streaming figures were added to the official albums chart too. The way people are paying for music is slowly changing -- fewer people are buying CDs from a store -- so these moves should help to keep the musical rankings relevant.
The Beatles invade iTunes charts within 12 hours
It's been just over 24 hours since the release of The Beatles' complete back catalogue on iTunes and they are already dominating the album charts in a rather unusual way. In fact, as reported by MacObserver, within 12 hours of availability The Beatles had 15 albums placed in the Top 40 best-selling albums chart and 17 albums in the Top 100. That's a lot of albums to have in the Top 100 at any one time, let alone the Top 40. As of this writing, the numbers are even more impressive. The Beatles now have three of the top ten albums (Abbey Road is at number seven) and 16 of the top 50. Apple announced the release shortly before 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday morning, after a full-page takeover tease was displayed at Apple.com on Monday. Some have felt a tad let down by the announcement, following the hype and speculation that ensued after the tease appeared. However, ifoAppleStore.com notes that Apple is making the most of the announcement in its retail stores across the U.S. and Canada. Apple staff are being issued special name tag lanyards with the slogan "The Beatles. Now on iTunes" with the Abbey Road album cover just below it. The name of the staff member is printed just below that. Also, high-profile Apple Stores are replacing their current window displays with special Beatles promotional presentations. Other stores will replace the current FaceTime display with a picture of The Beatles looking out at shoppers.
