Do the music charts matter any more?

Defiler Of The Coffin

SINGER Ronan Keating’s new album looks set to be a chart flop – as sales figures reveal it has sold just 181 copies in its first week of sale so far.

No surprise there. But look at this...

Two Door Cinema club currently occupy the top spot in the midweek charts with their album selling 726 copies. Rita Ora and Ryan O’Shaughnessy’s offerings also place in the top ten.

Link

726 copies?! This is hardly representative of people's taste in music? Do they not count (legal) downloads and if they do are the charts now a complete waste of time?

Latchy

Ronan Keating ?

Isn't he the chap who used to sing with eh...what's their name now ?

Rothko

They never mattered

Praetorian Saighdiuir

I wonder how many copies Ronan bought himself.

the groutch

I can count on one hand the number of half decent songs in the last 5 years, music has gone schyte.

mfceiling

All pop music today is sh*te

Rothko

the groutch wrote: »

I can count on one hand the number of half decent songs in the last 5 years, music has gone schyte.

Music is as good as it ever has been. It's just that a lot of the good stuff isn't played on radio or TV.

kingtubby

Ya they don't appear to.

If an album costs say 15 euro and all it takes is a thousand copies to get top of the charts.
So it costs 15 thousand euro to get a number 1.
That doesn't seem very meaningful to me. (not that the charts were ever an indicator of quality)

Defiler Of The Coffin

Suas11 wrote: »

They never mattered

They mattered to me as a kid! My favourite band getting to No.1 meant everything in the world to me!

MagicMarker

The Two Door Cinema Club album is available for free online. If you know where to get it that is.

actuallylike

Of course they don't matter. Years ago, when they did, a song would enter in at something like 100. then it would slowly rise through the ranks, battling out. The performers would be pushing this song as much as possible to help it progress. People would slowly start to take notice and before you knew it it's made the top 10! Then one last push, watching it hover around the 2 and 3 slot, everyone wondering if it can make it then BAM, it's there at number 1, where it deservedly rests for a number of weeks and then slowly sinks down the ladder safe in the knowledge that it has done all it can do and come out on top.

Nowadays, Rhianna, in at number 1! Next week, not charted.

It's not just people's taste in music or even the greed and manipulative nature of the record industry that causes this. The age of information where everyone's able to hear what's released immediately kinda stops the whole climb the ladder scenario we were used to with TOTP. No calling over to that mate's you don't like to hear the new REM album and no more watching MTV (yes it played Music once you know) with a blank tape with 'Actuallylike's Song Mix XII' on it, in the VCR with your finger poised over the record button waiting for November Rain like some sort of...I don't know...music fan?

Duckworth_Luas

the groutch wrote: »

I can count on one hand the number of half decent songs in the last 5 years, music has gone schyte.

They've been saying that since Buddy Holly died!

jpm4

actuallylike wrote: »

Of course they don't matter. Years ago, when they did, a song would enter in at something like 100. then it would slowly rise through the ranks, battling out. The performers would be pushing this song as much as possible to help it progress. People would slowly start to take notice and before you knew it it's made the top 10! Then one last push, watching it hover around the 2 and 3 slot, everyone wondering if it can make it then BAM, it's there at number 1, where it deservedly rests for a number of weeks and then slowly sinks down the ladder safe in the knowledge that it has done all it can do and come out on top.

Nowadays, Rhianna, in at number 1! Next week, not charted.

It's not just people's taste in music or even the greed and manipulative nature of the record industry that causes this. The age of information where everyone's able to hear what's released immediately kinda stops the whole climb the ladder scenario we were used to with TOTP. No calling over to that mate's you don't like to hear the new REM album and no more watching MTV (yes it played Music once you know) with a blank tape with 'Actuallylike's Song Mix XII' on it, in the VCR with your finger poised over the record button waiting for November Rain like some sort of...I don't know...music fan?

How long ago are you talking about? I'm 31 and what you describe doesn't sound much like the charts I remember from 15 odd years ago away - singles from popular bands would always crash in at a high number and then fade away.

I don't give a f**k what is in the charts these days but I don't subscribe to this whole "back in my day" s**t either. I'd be pretty happy about not having to call over to some dickhead's house just to hear the new REM album.

tempura

Are you referring to " The Hit Parade "

It was much better when it was called that you know !

Augmerson

actuallylike wrote: »

It's not just people's taste in music or even the greed and manipulative nature of the record industry that causes this. The age of information where everyone's able to hear what's released immediately kinda stops the whole climb the ladder scenario we were used to with TOTP. No calling over to that mate's you don't like to hear the new REM album and no more watching MTV (yes it played Music once you know) with a blank tape with 'Actuallylike's Song Mix XII' on it, in the VCR with your finger poised over the record button waiting for November Rain like some sort of...I don't know...music fan?

I stayed up to 6 in the morning once to record 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins off MTV. I knew it was going to come on in the late night/early hours rotation sequence they had, and I did record it! And then a week later somebody recorded over it with The Fly, but sure it was a daecent movie.

B.A._Baracus

So many people download.
The real money these days is touring.

But I love when someone says "i only download to see if I wanna buy it" .... :pac: go away outta that. we download because we can. because its free.

SEPT 23 1989

Oasis v Blur August 1995 was the last time the charts really mattered

Latchy

Like the thumbs down on You Tube songs , they don't matter and are irrelevant .

jack presley

So Ronan Keating sold about 200 copies and got to no. 13 in the charts. As the charts go all the way to 100, how many copies do you reckon you have to sell to get the no. 100 spot?

Micky Dolenz

Oh so they still do that chart thing.

davet82

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

SINGER Ronan Keating’s new album looks set to be a chart flop – as sales figures reveal it has sold just 181 copies in its first week of sale so far.

I loved The Sun headline last week for Ronans poor album sales - 'When you sell nothing at all' :pac::pac::pac:

jester77

The charts are no longer relevant. I can't remember the last time I bought music in the form of albums. All my music listening these days is with spotify and last.fm. Their charts hold much more significance than any sales charts.

fishy fishy

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

They've been saying that since Buddy Holly died!

no, not really - up until the mid 1990's or so, people in the charts could actually SING with their own voices. Nowadays you don't even have to be able to sing to get in the charts as everything is "fixed up nicely" for you with up to date computers and equipment.

Wouldn't be what I would call music.

FindingMimo

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

So many people download.
The real money these days is touring.

But I love when someone says "i only download to see if I wanna buy it" .... :pac: go away outta that. we download because we can. because its free.

I always download an album before buying it.. 90% of albums these days have one or two good released songs and the rest is all dribble.. people get to number with their albums because of one or two good songs that they've released.. it's very rare that you find an album that you can listen to from start to finish without skipping a few songs..

And when it comes down to it and I find a decent album I always buy it and stick it in my cd collection...i Never even open the box of the cd but i like to have it as a memory so that ultimately my cd collection is full of good albums and not just dribble dicks like ed sheeran and one direction.. I feel like getting sick out of my ears when I hear that ****e...

Music is still alive and well and great music is to be found so long as you're looking for it ! It's a pity we live in a time where we are spoon fed the stuff we "should" be listening to... When you break away from that and go looking for it I guarantee you'll find some quality stuff out there..

Quorum

I haven't taken notice of the charts in years. I like what I like whether it charts or not. I cared about them as a teenager until I realised the good stuff often won't chart.

B.A._Baracus

FindingMimo wrote: »

I always download an album before buying it.. 90% of albums these days have one or two good released songs and the rest is all dribble.. people get to number with their albums because of one or two good songs that they've released.. it's very rare that you find an album that you can listen to from start to finish without skipping a few songs..

Perhaps you like to download as you a demo. I'm sure certain people do
But alot of people try to hide behind that.

Take for example the movie "Prometheus" - a good quality-ish version has just hit the net. On one certain Kick Ass Torrent site (hint hint :P ) you see 20,000+ people who are sharing the file back & another 20,000+ people are currently downloading it. Thats only one torrent site on the web.

That movie is going to get downloaded millions of times over the internet. They aint all downloading to see if they "like" it before buying :pac:

dub_skav

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Oasis v Blur August 1995 was the last time the charts really mattered

When they both released their worst songs in years and Country Fuppin' House won if I remember

im invisible

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Oh so they still do that chart thing.

i read this and a picture of Gene wilder poped into my head...



"come with meeee, and you'll beee, in a world of pure imagination...."

Ghost Buster

the groutch wrote: »

I can count on one hand the number of half decent songs in the last 5 years, music has gone schyte.

mfceiling wrote: »

All pop music today is sh*te

I hate to hear this as its cobblers. I bet many of the artists you liked 5/10/20 years ago are still making good music. Music doesnt get ****e, the audience simply stops liking music or couldnt be arsed making the effort to find the many many good bands and writers out there.

RikkFlair

I walked into HMV one day to see the top 3 selling artists as The Script, Kings of Leon and Michael Buble.

I shook my head and vacated the premises.

BigBrownBear

A lot of new bands now will release their 1st album as a free download, record a new album 6 months later and BAM , reel them in.
Eh, obviously loads of promotion and gigs in between go on:o

juan.kerr

I've had my radios tuned to Sunshine Radio 106.8 for the last 6 months at least, haven't heard much 2012 music. Looking forward to christmas FM though.

Strawberry Fields

Illegal downloads have taken over, no one buys c.d.s any more.
Musicians in the industry make their money now off live gigs it's no coincidence bands like the stone roses are reforming to tour.
It makes no difference nowadays if the radio are spinning your record whereas it mattered a hell of a lot pre download.