The English chart is changing, by YouTube

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The hit Despacito is a ‘modest’ 5.2 trillion times viewed on YouTube. And so there are more hits of which the viewing figures on YouTub are the scuppers. However, the number of streams in the UK does not yet count towards the position of a number in the hit list.

This is going to change this week. Video streams and downloads will now count when compiling the UK Singles Chart, the official chart of the United Kingdom. Only official videos on YouTube, Apple, Tidal and Spotify count.

UK Singles Chart

Songs nowadays consist not only of music, but also of video. Why not count the video streams? That’s what the makers of the UK hit list thought too. The change has already been accepted by record companies and BBC radio 1, which broadcasts the hit list every Friday. The hit list is compiled on the basis of singles and downloads. Here video streams are now added.

Change hit list?

The expectation is that the hit list will not change drastically now that videos will also count in the ranking. There will not be many songs in the hit list that did not exist at first. A test showed that songs with frequently watched videos did not suddenly appear much higher in the hit list. It is also true that paid music streams outweigh free streams. Now every 150 streams count as 1 sold number. From Friday there are 600 free streams for 1 sold number. For a premium music service the ratio is 100: 1.

The artists

What do the artists think of it themselves? Most pop artists think it’s a good idea. Especially greats such as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift can benefit from this change. These singles are already doing very well, and the videos also have millions of viewers. Who else benefit from this change? Especially the artists who only offer their music for free via Spotify and YouTube. As a result, new music will probably increase a place.
Listeners in the UK do not have to listen to their favorite song very often to make them appear higher in the charts. If you have listened to a song ten times in 24 hours, the other streams will no longer count.

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