Bastille Storm To Streaming Summit, Dramatic UK Singles Chart Changes Confirmed
The Official Charts Company has confirmed that after extensive discussion in the UK music business in recent months, audio streams will be factored into the singles chart for the first time from the next weekly survey but one, to be published on Sunday, July 6. It will include data from such services as Spotify, Deezer, Napster, O2 Tracks, rara, Sony’s Music Unlimited and X Box Music.
The move reflects the fact that in the last 18 months alone, the total of streams by UK music fans has risen from 100 million in January last year to 260 million now. An Official Breakers Chart will also be introduced to highlights the fastest-growing tracks.
The BPI (British Phonographic Industry), which co-owns the chart along with the Entertainment Retailers’ Association, has announced that it’s silver, gold and platinum awards will now also include streaming in its calculations.
Meanwhile, the OCC has confirmed Bastille’s ‘Pompeii’ to be the UK’s most-streamed track. The 2012 smash has now been streamed an astonishing 26.6 million times, to put it substantially ahead of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky,’ which has 24.5 million streams. The OCC computed all audio streaming from the beginning of 2012 until early this month.
Passenger’s ‘Let Her Go’ is in third spot with 21.7m, slightly ahead of Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ on 21.4m. Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ and Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines,’ also featuring Williams, both land on 20.7m streams.
Arctic Monkeys hold the title of the most-streamed artist, with 103.3m, ahead of Eminem on 94.1m and Rihanna on 87.8m. Bastille fare very well in that chart too, with 83.0m total streams putting them in fourth place. Coldplay round out the artist top five on 77.0m.
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