Only a Matter of Time: UK Official Chart to Include Streaming Data

Sunday 22nd June 2014 - The UK's Official Chart Company is to start including streaming data in its chart for the first time from July 2014 (article from Official Charts Company). I had wondered when this would happen whilst writing my dissertation. If anyone's read my dissertation then you may have gathered I am rather anti-streaming. In which case, I'm not very happy with this news.

Revenue
Streaming only provides a substantial enough revenue for the more established artists so providing data for the charts will not significantly generate a higher revenue out of streaming. For many unsigned artists, streaming is one of the few routes through which they can actively distribute their music. However, even with this new development within the charts, we are very unlikely to see any change as to what music features within the Top 40. America's Billboard chart already has its own streaming chart but comparing those top 10 singles with the top 10 of the Billboard 100, there is very little difference.

Missing Out?
Not all tracks released for sale, either physically or by download, are added to streaming sites. Beyonce's latest self titled album wasn't shared on Spotify and both Coldplay and Black Keys have also resisted putting their music on the site (article). So does this mean some artists will miss out on 'the top spot'? Spotify went on the offensive after these artists didn't share their music so perhaps this is a ploy to forcibly get music onto the site. Providing data to the chart will not change the music featured but it may well have an impact on what positions the tracks ultimately get, especially if artists are absent from another avenue of figures by choice.

Christmas No.1
Every year we moan about the Christmas No.1 always going to the X Factor winner of that year, well, maybe that could all change now. It's Christmas party time so someone's got to make a playlist for the office do - this is going to be filled with Christmas songs that will be played over and over again and no doubt the person creating the playlist will do it on their Spotify account (if they've got one that is - I'd rather just get out my Christmas CD). This could be a golden opportunity for us to finally start getting proper Christmas songs back to No.1, where they belong. Just got to wait another 6 months to find out now!

The Official UK Singles Chart was always based on sales figures and that aim is about to be lost with the introduction of streaming data. 100 streams will equal 1 sale but it's not the same as many people don't even pay to stream the music as they have only opted for the free account option.

When I was younger I often used to listen to the charts on a Sunday evening, now I usually only listen to them when I remember it's a Sunday and happen to be in my room. I've always tried to make a point of listening to the Christmas chart though. Now I'm not so sure I'll bother listening to the chart show any more, knowing it's no longer truly based on sales figures. It came as a bit of a shock to many when the Arctic Monkeys shot straight to No.1 with their debut single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, based on download sales alone, but at least they were still sales figures. It is possible, however, for old tracks to make a bit of a comeback into the charts. This usually only happens at Christmas, if a track gets re-released or covered on the X Factor. Streaming sites are an archive of tracks just waiting to end up on people's 'guilty pleasures' and 'old skool' playlists that this is likely to be the most visible change we see to the charts.

I knew this would probably happen at some point but I'll never be happy about it. Just nobody suggest including the figures from illegal downloads please - not even as a joke.

And just to prove the foresight...

Lightning over Liverpool!

DISSERTATION - Complete!!

PRINTED, BOUND AND SUBMITTED!! At long last I have finished my dissertation! I'm so pleased that it's finally done but in a way I'll miss writing it, it's not been easy but I've definitely enjoyed the experience. I am so proud of my dissertation and would love to get it published one day.

A 7 month process in 4 pictures:

LJMU Showreel

3 years in 3 minutes - showcasing some of the production work which I have produced as part of my course (BA(Hons) Media Professional Studies).



I'm nearing the end of university obviously!

Schindler's List

I wasn't quite sure why I started watching Schindler's List (Spielberg, 1993) but I suppose it was because of the iconic image of the little girl in the red dress. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy film to watch but I stuck with it (right until 2am in the morning when it finished). I've studied Nazi Germany for A-level history so it was a film I thought I ought to watch. Schlinder's List is a long film but one I'm glad I saw through to the end, mainly for the ending itself which was really quite something - you really should go and watch it if you want to know what I mean.

Blue Peter Trip

Yesterday we went on our very first uni trip to Media City in Salford to have a behind the scenes look at Blue Peter and have a talk from those in charge of set design and lighting. That was also accompanied by a tour of the studios that Dock 10 own and hire out to channels like the BBC and ITV, along with the galleries and edit suites.

Having grown up watching Blue Peter, it was nice to be able to visit the studio. However, it wasn't the same studio that I was used to watching and I was surprised at just how small it really was. We went the day before the live shoot (which was aired tonight) as they were redoing the set ready.

I watched that episode of Blue Peter today and I don't know whether it's just the fact that I've got older but they don't make it like they used to and wasn't the same for me unfortunately.

Final Production Project

WE'RE DONE!! Yes, at long last we've finished and submitted our final production piece.

The past 4 months have seemed like a very long time in which I don't think I've ever really been able to stop thinking about the project. It has been hard work and it has been stressful but it's still been enjoyable (most of the time anyway).

So, just as a bit of a re-cap, this is what our project's about.

Way back at the end of October I made contact with the Liverpool band, Rangoon Sons. I put the idea to them of doing a music promo as my final piece for uni and they agreed that they'd be up for being involved. I then pitched this as my idea and took on 3 more people to form my group. Since then we've been having endless production meetings and brainstorming, organising shooting dates with the band and getting various pieces of content off of them, going out filming (in most weather) and then topped off with long hours in the edit.

It's not all been plain sailing but we got there in the end - thankfully - and still all in one piece. So here it is:



We had also decided we would be creating a website for the band as part of the project but we were unfortunately told to drop this in the final week before the deadline. As we had done a fair it of work on the website already and the band were still interested in having it, I am taking on the project to finish it off to be able to hand it over to the boys. In the mean time, check them out on Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud and Instagram.

Flying Solo!

Flying solo filming the Rangoon Sons gig at Zanzibar.

Back in the TV Studio!

Filming in the TV Studio with Rangoon Sons for our Final Production Project.

Next Generation

Last week I spent a couple of days in Salford for the Next Generation event which was the student part of the Salford Media Festival. Over the 2 days I went to 6 sessions that we each aimed at giving students an insight into the media industry and giving us a helping hand into it.

How to break into TV...and stay there with Scott Martin (CBBC)
This session was led by Scott Martin, a producer for CBBC, and gave us loads of tips for breaking into the industry, from the usual careers advice to other places we can look to for getting the jobs we want and how to go about getting them.

Managing Productions in TV with Natalie Bolton and Judith Coker
Natalie and Judith are both Production Managers for the BBC and spoke to us about their role, what it entails and what route they took to get there as well as talking about what it's like to work in the industry in general.

How to write a winning CV for the Creative Industries
CV writing workshops are nothing to us as students but often they can be quite generic. This workshop was aimed at what employers in the creative industries are looking for when they see a CV so it was really helpful to us as it was designed to give us tips that would be relevant to the sector many of us are looking to go into.

Let Me Entertain You
Entertainment is a core genre for many channels, we all want to be entertained by TV, no matter how much we moan about - talent shows are getting samey, it's the same thing all the time, we want something new. Well, what is next? This session looked at what makes a good entertainment show and what sort of a future they have. Who knows, maybe the next big thing for entertainment shows will come from a student who attended that session.

Ben Fox - Showrunner
Showrunner is a relatively new term to the UK media industry and one that's come over from America - basically, you're the one in charge. Ben Fox is one of those Showrunners and shared with us what he does in his job as well as telling us some of the stories from what he's done, including showing us some clips from Emmy award winning Gettysburg.

Creating a World in a TV Studio
A lot of what you see on TV isn't really real, from the sets and the props used in them to the stunts. Duncan Howell is a Production Designer and has worked on programmes such as Shameless, In the Night Garden and The Royal. He talked about how he went about creating the sets for programmes - borrowing people's homes and redecorating them, building sets inside a studio of part of a room or even building a whole set outside of a terrace of houses like those used in Shameless or Coronation Street.

As well as attending the event, my time in Salford also included me introducing a friend to Wagamama for the first time, having the chance to catch-up with a couple of friends in Manchester that I haven't seen for a while and going exploring properly for the first time to finish my Christmas shopping before going to an art exhibition that a friend was exhibiting at - lager and potatoes, that was an experience in itself (you had to have been there).