Whamageddon

[winjim]

One could argue that is much MORE meaningful, rather than not meaning anything, since that shows what people actually choosing to listen to.

Depends on your point of view I suppose. Different is what it is. It's more akin to the old commercial radio top 40 which included airplay. It's a bit of a weird halfway house since it's not sales but also not all listening since not everybody uses a streaming subscription. We're in an age where people consume media in a variety of different formats and there's no single concise way to keep up with that.

 

[winjim]

Also what I call 'the same old shite', others might refer to as classic Christmas songs so potato potato.

 

[Beebo]

Blimey, I just looked at this week's chart and they really don't mean anything any more do they? Surprised that FONY is only at No6 and a bit annoyed that a silly internet game seems to have put LC at No1.

To save you the trouble of looking, other top 40 hits include:

No3 All I Want For Christmas Is You
No7 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
No9 It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
No10 Merry Christmas Everyone
No12 It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
No14 Jingle Bell Rock
No15 Do They Know It's Christmas?
No16 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
No19 Step Into Christmas

And it carries on like that, all through the top 40. Paul McCartney, Slade, Wizzard etc. I'm glad that the X factor dominance of a decade or so ago has passed, but it seems like what finally did for it was streaming services and people listening to exactly the same old shite they've been listening to certainly since I was a kid, the last 40, 50, even 60 or more years.

Old songs have to have 200 streams to count as 1 sale. Where as new releases have a 100 to 1 ratio.
So these old classics are streaming huge numbers, but I do think they should be discounted from the charts, except in exceptional circumstances like Kate Bush last year with Running Up That Hill.

 

[winjim]

Old songs have to have 200 streams to count as 1 sale. Where as new releases have a 100 to 1 ratio.
So these old classics are streaming huge numbers, but I do think they should be discounted from the charts, except in exceptional circumstances like Kate Bush last year with Running Up That Hill.

But the more complicated you make it the less meaningful it becomes. On what grounds could you include Kate Bush but exclude others?

 

[Beebo]

But the more complicated you make it the less meaningful it becomes. On what grounds could you include Kate Bush but exclude others?

The Kate Bush song was a surprise to everyone, where as the Christmas songs repeat every year.
Most of the people who streamed the Kate Bush song had never heard it before, you can’t say the same for Wham.

 

[winjim]

The Kate Bush song was a surprise to everyone, where as the Christmas songs repeat every year.
Most of the people who streamed the Kate Bush song had never heard it before, you can’t say the same for Wham.

I'm not sure how you could create a rule that includes one but excludes the other though. I expect that a lot of the Christmas songs are on playlists that people are just whacking on in the office or whatever without really thinking. I must have heard that Paul McCartney one at least half a dozen times at work on Wednesday.

 

[Oldhippy]

Not the remotest chance on a blues radio station thankfully.