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UK's official music charts to include video views from July
How do we listen to music these days? Judging by the frothing from record company executives, it's by pretending to watch their promotional videos on YouTube. But that's a problem for the people who are trying to work out what the most popular tracks of the day are, or at least it was. From July, the official UK and Irish singles charts will take into account video plays to determine the week's biggest hits.
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.
'Rapture' game soundtrack pulled from out-of-touch UK charts
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a post-apocalyptic game with a difference. Instead of a nuclear wasteland, you're tasked with exploring an idyllic, but empty town in the middle of the English countryside. There's little dialogue, but the sweeping soundtrack sets a wonderfully melancholic tone. Composed by the game's director Jessica Curry, these original tracks are excellent examples of modern classical music. And clearly they've resonated with people -- earlier this month, the soundtrack placed eighth in the UK's "Official Classical Artist Albums Chart." Curry and the rest of her studio, The Chinese Room, were delighted. That is, until it disappeared from the chart the following week.
The UK official albums chart will soon include streaming data
The way we all consume music has changed remarkably since charts began ranking the popularity of tracks and artists decades ago. In July last year, the UK's Official Charts Company thought it was about time online streaming figures contributed to the crafting of the singles chart. And today, it's announced the official albums chart will begin incorporating streaming intel, too. Starting with the chart to be released on March 1st, plays from Spotify, Deezer, Napster, Google Play, Xbox Music, Rdio, Rara and O2 Tracks will count towards album rankings. It's more problematic than it might seem at first, however, as the Official Charts Company is keen not to let a few killer singles propel an album undeservedly to the top spot.
Blu-ray lifts UK disc sales
Blu-ray sales in the UK didn't keep up their mind melting increases from earlier in the year, but considering the economic slowdown worldwide, a 378% jump from 2007 doesn't seem too disappointing. The British Video Association and Official Charts Company numbers point out a 1.9% lift in DVD sales as a whole in 2008, including 3.7 million on Blu-ray. The Dark Knight finished the year moving 281,000 Blu-ray copies as the UK's best selling HD release. We'll see how things proceed in '09, hopefully with cheaper players on the way.
