UK Singles Chart To Include Videos Watched On YouTube

Image copyright Official Charts

Dua Lipa's New Rules was the most-watched video by British girl in 2017

Since YouTube launched, the streaming website has seen 20 music videos break the 2 billion views mark.

Sitting on the high of the heap is Luis Fonsi's Despacito, which has been watched a staggering 5.2 billion occasions.

But none of those views ever counted in direction of the music's place on the UK singles chart.

That will change on Friday, when the Official Charts Company overhauls its guidelines to include music video streams and downloads for the primary time.

"The way that music fans are consuming music is changing by the month," explains the charts' chief govt Martin Talbot.

"It seems anachronistic to be saying, 'we're only going to count the song', when it also has a video attached to it."

The transfer, which comes precisely 4 years after audio streams had been included into the chart, has been permitted by document labels and BBC Radio 1, which broadcasts the chart each Friday.

The first chart together with video streams shall be printed on 6 July.

Here's what you want to know concerning the change.

Unsurprisingly, pop stars find it irresistible

"It's definitely about time," says Years & Years singer Olly Alexander, who's making a video for each music on the band's new album, Palo Santo.

"So many people now just watch the videothey're not even aware of the song separate from it. The fact they'll be considered now for the charts is a good thing."

Dua Lipa is one other singer who is aware of the facility of a good music videoafter the colorful, upbeat clip for New Rules turbo-boosted her profession final 12 months.

"The response to New Rules was so crazy and I am so grateful for it," she says, welcoming the chart adjustments.

"Video was really important to me in my career. It's another way, as artists, that we can get our music to our fans."

Henry Scholfield, who directed New Rules, provides: "I feel its good for the stature of videos. They may turn into vital once more.

"What I'm hoping is that this will focus record labels on investing in videos, now that there's a tangibility to the result. If you suddenly have double the budget, you can do something extraordinary. And hopefully pay the crew decently."

There will not be a large shake-up

Although 40% of all music streaming within the UK happen on YouTube, the adjustments will not have a drastic impact on the Top 40.

"This isn't going to be a handbrake turn," says Martin Talbot. "We're not going to suddenly see dozens of songs in the Top 20 that weren't there before."

In check charts, nonetheless, songs with viral videos acquired a small improve to their chart place.

"The most obvious recent one was Childish Gambino's This Is America," says Talbot.

"everybody was talking about it for days and daysand the week that all happened, it might have been three or four places higher. That was it."

Some individuals wished free streams thrown out utterly

In Spain, France and Italy, music performed on free, ad-funded providers like Spotify and YouTube do not rely in direction of the chart.

Although some within the UK had been in favour of adopting that method, the Charts Company determined towards it.

"We thought that was too far," says Talbot.

"We recognise there are younger fans who maybe don't have access to credit cards, or low-income music fans who can't afford a subscription but will still listen on legitimate, ad-funded streaming services."

If you pay for music, you will have a better impression on the Top 40

A separate tweak to the chart system will see paid-for music streams carrying extra weight than "free" ones.

Under the present system, each 150 streams of a music rely as one "sale".

From Friday, 100 streams through a subscription service will equate to one sale, nevertheless it'll take 600 "free" streams to have the identical impression.

The transfer will profit artists who limit entry to their songs on the free variations of Spotify and YouTubehowever Talbot says it's going to additionally give new music a increase on the chart.

"Premium subscribers tend to access new music quicker," he says. "We found in our test charts that new music would enter maybe one place higher than before."

The adjustments had been first mentioned 4 years in the past

The Charts Company first thought-about counting video streams again in 2014. But on the time, YouTube was the one place providing a full video serviceand there have been issues over each its royalty funds and the readability of its knowledge (particularly, how lengthy a consumer wanted to watch a video earlier than it counted as one "play").

"I can't really go into the details of specific services," says Talbot. "But any issues we'd beforehand have had, have been handled and sorted out.

"And, you know, that's why these things take a long time."