Figures for last week would be interesting (I can no longer bother with Music Week)... looking at the very static chart, I suspect singles are stuck at a few weekly downloads, tickling along at a basic flop level...

Am I right?

From a well informed regular Tipsheet visitor


With the No1 doing about 54,000 (30% down on last week) and the No5 15,000, I'm right, sales are slowly but surely disappearing (into the P2P black hole I fear).

Further info - the No10 last week did less than 9000 copies - combined.

No serious profit from a top ten single.

Let alone overheads, office space, secretaries, accountants, staff, promo copies, videos....

The end has come. What's next?

TOTP died the singles chart would swiftly follow. Very sad.

<<< The end has come. What's next? >>>

The old business model is dead. Labels know it - which is why the majors are concentrating on back catalogue re-issues these days (a new Barry White one out this week - to tie-in with Valentines Day). These mass marketing campaigns will tie-in with TV and the supermarkets. I've also seen a Phil Collins "Love Songs" album TV advertised tonight. This is great for the stars of old, but will not develop any new talent for the future.

Record shops will disappear with 10 years.

Online specialist retailers will do well - specialising in a genre that is universally available via the net but could never be stocked by a High Street shop.

The single has effectively died already. In future any track downloaded is a "single".

Small Indie labels will survive by concentrating on a niche market. The most successful ones will be "backed" financially by a major (like the recent purchase of heavy metal label Roadrunner by Warners).

The big winners will be the X Factor types ... mass selling of rubbish to the moronic millions via TV ... it's like "music" for Sun readers !

the COC/Noel Gallagher interview on Virgin Radio today talked about how important the single is...
I found it very interesting

I reckon we've reached the end when a top ten single sells under 10,000 copies.

It was such a splendid era, the last 50 years of single chart hits.

The singles chart will never be the same, its dead, you might as well call it The Track Chart since it has albums tracks in it.

Hardly any new entries in the chart this week apart from 1, that's because all the new singles are entering the chart on download only before their physical release.

I know many young aspiring artists trying to make their mark on the music industry. Many of them have decided that it's not for them anymore because the goalposts keep moving.
The choice of music is now so great and accessable that acts, who years ago would have stood a chance of the big time just disappear.

I believe great music will always survive, no matter what (apart from the end of the world, liable to arrive before my personal demise, I suspect).

In The Know is right (as usual) - it's the old model that's dead.

And the executives (99% of them) who still work to that format and are unable to adapt.

But those of us who ARE adapting remain positive.

If you make it and it's great, it will happen.

Who cares about the coke and the limos and the gorgeous girls/boys?

I never did, despite rumours (and wrongful convictions) to the contrary.

It's the SATISFACTION that counts.