I’m so out-of-date that when I recently heard a reference to the UK charts coming out on a Friday I was mildly surprised. I still imagine that charts come out on a Tuesday lunchtime on Radio 1.
Now of course the BBC pop charts are not the only ones. Like the US we now have a number of charts for different genres and niche markets, including country.
It’s interesting to note the difference between two charts. The Official Country chart which is album based currently shows Detour by Cyndi Lauper at number 1; The things that we are made of, Mary Chapin Carpenter at 2 and Stayin’ up all night by Nathan Carter at 3. The album which has been on the charts for the longest time is the Shires debut with 52 weeks.
Over at iTunes UK country chart, which is single track downloads, the picture is different number 1 is Keith Urban’s The fighter, number 2 Brad Paisley, without a fight and at 3 Thomas Rhett, die a happy man. But it’s when you look at paces 4,6 and 8 that you notice the difference. All three slots are held by Dolly Parton, Jolene, islands in the stream and 9 to 5.
I’m not sure how many downloads it takes to chart but clearly the idea that the internet creates a long-tail of products is quite right.
It will be interesting to see how long Dolly stays on the iTune list and if other older tracks make an appearance.