Good or bad idea?

news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_...0056400/10056409.stm

"The launch of this official chart update will mean that, for the first time, music fans will get a reliable insight into how the race for number one is shaping up."

For the first time?
The "race for number one" was for decades one of / the main attraction of the charts. But this was when the "chart life" of singles stretched over weeks / months. And when there was a (more or less) meaningful relation between chart positions and sales: The rising popularity of a single was (more or less) reflected as a steady rise up the charts.

Today sales are low. Singles enter high and the only question is: how big will be the drop in week two?

Apart from special situations (X-mas No.1), most music fans don't care about the charts anymore. Therefore it is impossible to recreate the former "race" with the introduction of a midweeks chart - and not even with daily / hourly charts.

In the long run, the new midweeks chart may contribute to the further devaluation of the charts: What does it mean (financially, symbolical etc.) to have a "Top-20-Hit", when the charts are based on three days (three hours) of sales?

The probably don't want to be outdone by the Tipsheet.

There was a long period when almost every No.1 went straight in and then quickly downwards. The position a song entered the singles chart was usually as high as they would get, but over the last couple of years things have settled down so that songs again climb the charts and can be around for a few weeks.

I'm not sure how many people are still interested, or how many will bother tuning in to a midweek chart show. I must admit I hardly ever buy singles now, but I do still check the chart on ceefax on Sunday evening.

The Cat wrote:
I'm not sure how many people are still interested, or how many will bother tuning in to a midweek chart show. I must admit I hardly ever buy singles now, but I do still check the chart on ceefax on Sunday evening.
I remember being a kid and saying to a group of 30-40 year old's who'd asked what music I like, "You must know it, it's number 1", they laughed saying, "Nobody listens to the charts any more!".

I've heard the same thing said on here, in other forums and from friends, family etc. but I think it's just an age thing. The charts are for kids and kids still follow them, probably not in the numbers when we were young thanks to TOTP and others being cancelled but I feel there's still an interest there.

Making them available on a daily basis does kind of ruin "the great reveal" but having said that, the Christmas chart race was publicised daily and was still exciting to hear the result... how often does that happen though?!

I don't personally know any kids who follow the chart. When mention it to my younger family members or their friends they return blank stares and never know who is No.1. The only exception was at Christmas when there was a big buzz around the X Factor vs Rage, but that died down as soon as Christmas was over and they didn't even know that X Factor Joe had finally got there.

So, in my little area, it's kinda all turned round, where us grown ups do follow the chart but the kids are mainly oblivious to it. There is, however, a continuing interest in music across the generations. It's just how music is presented that keeps changing.

The British charts became vital because of Top of the Pops and the pirate radio ships in the middle 60s. The result was global dominance for British acts and music for half a century.

Charts mean very little in America or around the world. They never had the national exposure.

It fed itself; being on a top TV series they were carried and talked about in tabloids and elsewhere in the media.

I started "promoting" to the charts - hyping them, getting higher chart placings by entirely legal concentration on certain shops.

The majors spotted my strategy and did the same with two exceptions - they had far more money, so outspent us little indies. And they concentrated on priority signings instead of, like me, spotting the signs of commercial potential before splashing out big.

So the big hits were actually not really popular.

So the charts declined in value; Top of the Pops lost viewers and got cancelled. Now the charts mean nothing.