INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightOfficial ChartsImage caption
Dua Lipa's New Rules was the most-watched video by British woman in 2017
Since YouTube launched, the streaming site has seen 20 music videos break the two billion views mark.Sitting at the top of the
heap is Luis Fonsi's Despacito, which has been watched a staggering 5.2 billion times.But none of these views ever counted towards the
song's position on the UK singles chart.That will change on Friday, when the Official Charts Company overhauls its rules to include music
video streams and downloads for the first time.Unofficial videos and user-generated content featuring music will not count - but official
videos played on YouTube, Apple, Tidal and Spotify in the UK will.Image Copyright LuisFonsiVEVOLuisFonsiVEVO"The way that music fans are
consuming music is changing by the month," explains the charts' chief executive 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 move, which comes exactly four years after audio streams were
incorporated into the chart, has been approved by record labels and TheIndianSubcontinent Radio 1, which broadcasts the chart every
Friday.The first chart including video streams will be published on 6 July
The album chart will not be affected.Here's what you need to know about the change
Big-budget videos won't necessarily benefitImage copyrightLiberation MusicForty per cent of all music streaming in the UK takes place on
YouTube - raising the prospect that stars like Beyonce and Taylor Swift, whose lavish videos rack up millions of views, could benefit most
from the changes.Not so, says Martin Talbot."This isn't going to be a handbrake turn," he tells the TheIndianSubcontinent
"We're not going to suddenly see dozens of songs in the Top 20 that weren't there before."In test charts, songs with viral videos only
received a small upgrade to their chart position."The most obvious recent one was Childish Gambino's This Is America," says Talbot
"Everyone was talking about it for days and days - and the week that all happened, it might have been three or four places higher
That was it."Unsurprisingly, pop stars love itImage Copyright Dua LipaDua Lipa"It's definitely about time," says Years Years singer Olly
Alexander, who's making a video for every song on the band's new album, Palo Santo."So many people now just watch the video - they'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 another singer who knows the power of a good music video -
after the colourful, upbeat clip for New Rules turbo-boosted her career last year."The response to New Rules was so crazy and I am so
grateful for it," she says, welcoming the chart changes
"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, adds: "I think its good for
They might become important again."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."Some people wanted free streams thrown out completelyIn Spain, France and Italy, music played on free,
ad-funded services like Spotify and YouTube don't count towards the chart
Although some in the UK were in favour of adopting that approach, the Charts Company decided against it."We thought that was too far," says
"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'll have a greater impact on the Top 40Image
copyrightReutersImage caption
Spotify and YouTube both have a limited "free" service alongside their subscription
platform
A separate tweak to the chart formula will see paid-for music streams carrying more weight than "free" ones.Under
the current system, every 150 streams of a song count as one "sale"
From Friday, the ratio will drop to 100:1 for users on a premium subscription service; while the free rate shoots up to 600:1.The change
will benefit artists who restrict access to their songs on the free versions of Spotify and YouTube - but Talbot promises it will promote
new music, too."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 changes were first discussed four years
agoThe Charts Company first considered counting video streams back in 2014
But at the time, YouTube was the only place offering a full video service - and there were concerns over its royalty payments and,
supposedly, the clarity of its data (specifically, how long a user needed to watch a video before it counted as one "play")."I can't really
go into the details of specific services," says Talbot
"But any concerns we might previously have had, have been dealt with and sorted out
"And, you know, that's why these things take a long time."Most-watched videos in the UK (2017)ArtistSong1) Ed SheeranShape Of You2) Lusi
Fonsi ft Daddy YankeeDespacito3) Clean BanditRockabye4) Ed SheeranCastle On The Hill5) French Montana ft Sway LeeUnforgettable6) DJ Khaled
ft Justin Bieber, Quavo Chance The RapperI'm The One7) Dua LipaNew Rules8) Jason Derulo ft Nicki Minaj TYSwalla9) Little MixTouch10)
Camila Cabello ft Young ThugHavanaFollow us on Facebook, on Twitter @TheIndianSubcontinentNewsEnts, or on Instagram at
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