When did the singles chart lose its importance?

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 682
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While there's the odd anomaly, such as 'Gangnam Style' last year (which was more of a worldwide phenomenon), it seems that in this day and age a song can be top of the UK singles charts and make little-to-no impact on popular culture in general. This is something that was not the case only a decade ago - I remember then-PM Tony Blair passing comment on the (explicit) music video for that 'Call On Me' song when it was at number 1 in 2004, something which would be very unlikely to happen now. I would imagine that most people on the street probably wouldn't be able to name a chart-topping single from the past few years.

It's obvious the sharp rise of internet usage in this country can be blamed for most of this, combined with the death of music video channels and the decline of high-street music stores. But what I was thinking about is the point in time at which the charts lost their relevance. My guess would be the late noughties, possibly 2007-2008.
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  • 19921992 Posts: 4,677
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    It has?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,304
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    1992 wrote: »
    It has?

    You only have to look at the amount of songs that are gimmicks in there...
  • LewnaticcLewnaticc Posts: 3,933
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    When digital music took over. When you used to have to actually leave your house, walk into a shop and buy a single, now you can just buy one during a bus journey using an iPhone. Songs like Gangnam Style I can't imagine people would have made the effort to go out and buy,
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 682
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    1992 wrote: »
    It has?

    Yeah. Look at a list of UK no.1's from 2012 - very few, if any, of those songs are likely to go down as 'classics' in the same way as 80's & 90's hits are viewed. They don't have the same cultural or mainstream impact a chart-topping song would have done in the past, even 10 years ago. There's also not been a 'chart battle' to speak of in years.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,241
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    Shattered. wrote: »
    There's also not been a 'chart battle' to speak of in years.

    Erm, Joe McElderry vs Rage Against the Machine Dec 2009 was very newsworthy.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 682
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    Zeb Atlas wrote: »
    Erm, Joe McElderry vs Rage Against the Machine Dec 2009 was very newsworthy.

    That was for Xmas no.1 though, they're guaranteed every year. There's been nothing like the 'Battle of Britpop' for absolutely ages.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,452
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    I wonder could it be that fact that we're just getting older. I remember when I was younger listening to the charts anxiously to hear who's number 1. Now, I don't really care. I wonder if U asked a 13 year old do they pay attention to the charts / do they care, what would their answer be?
  • Westy2Westy2 Posts: 14,355
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    The end of Top Of The Pops surely.

    That was 'the chart' wasn't it?

    Ain't got a clue on all these other charts!
  • WhyHelloWorldWhyHelloWorld Posts: 15,494
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    Shattered. wrote: »
    Yeah. Look at a list of UK no.1's from 2012 - very few, if any, of those songs are likely to go down as 'classics' in the same way as 80's & 90's hits are viewed. They don't have the same cultural or mainstream impact a chart-topping song would have done in the past, even 10 years ago. There's also not been a 'chart battle' to speak of in years.

    Leona Lewis vs Black Eyed Peas in number 1 was an amazing chart battle, think Leona lost by something like 3 copies?
  • mgvsmithmgvsmith Posts: 16,452
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    The Christmas No. 1 still has some currency but that may be diminishing. I don't think chart music is as diverse as it once was but there are still some great songs around. I wonder if the loss of TOTP is the fall off point or whether interest was already on the wane and the loss of TOTP was just part of that?

    The main thing missing from modern music is there hasn't been any really new forms or any new movements in pop music during the 00s. Anything new really seems to be retro like Amy Winehouse or Lady Gaga or Green Day. Arguably music videos are generally very lazy affairs these days as well.
  • CLL DodgeCLL Dodge Posts: 115,621
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    Westy2 wrote: »
    The end of Top Of The Pops surely.

    That was 'the chart' wasn't it?

    Ain't got a clue on all these other charts!

    Didn't TOTP (and the Chart Show) finish because the singles chart had already lost its impact?
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    CLL Dodge wrote: »
    Didn't TOTP (and the Chart Show) finish because the singles chart had already lost its impact?

    well certainly totp didnt drive the singles chart, so youre onto something there..


    hmm.... it could be argued that the singles chart has never been important. it was always seen as something as a teenyboppers novelty and wasnt taken seriously.

    they were always 'a bit of a larf'... and a commercial window to the wider picture.

    however, i think things are so unoriginal, generic, formulaic now that theres nothing too elevate there importance, so in comparison to yesteryear they are even less important now to the point of being pointless.
  • ItsallaboutyouItsallaboutyou Posts: 1,306
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    Popstars today see themselves as celebrities first, musicians second. Hence weak songs and singers just turning up to record anything.

    It is now a money making buisness...and its all controlled by faceless suits who use and abuse the singers.

    Examples today: Michael Buble's new song is basically "I Havent Met You Yet" with a slightly altered tempo and different lyrics. Christina Aguilera lowing herself to duet with that scumbag Pitbull who is nothing but a gimmick artist.

    Will.i.am who makes music that is random noises with nonsense lyrics. That is laziness!

    Only the likes of Adele/Ed Sheeran and dare I say it One Direction offer something thats memorable. Justin Timberlake and Rihanna are top of their games, but I cant see Mirrors or Stay being memorable in 10 yrs time. A part of me thinks we could have an Indie revival thanks to Bastile, Kokadie doing well.
  • glyn9799glyn9799 Posts: 7,391
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    I don't think they have lost their importance. I'm just guessing the OP has got to that age where they don't care so much anymore. Personally I love chart music and I'm as interested in them as I was 10 years ago. Not sure how long it will last though.

    I do find people look back with rose tinted specs (myself included!). People like to look back and say 'music was so much better 10 years ago', but truth is there is always a mixture of good and bad - you only have to listen to R2s Pick of the Pops to see that :D

    X Factor has made a total mockery of the Christmas #1 though.
  • starsailorstarsailor Posts: 11,347
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    CLL Dodge wrote: »
    Didn't TOTP (and the Chart Show) finish because the singles chart had already lost its impact?

    Also totp relied on people in the tv studio to make the show, as music has also become more electronic and artists and music become more global it's just too difficult to do.

    Back in the 90s though, music was everywhere on tv as well, you had totp for the charts, tfi Friday for the live indie/brit pop bands, then Itv chartshow for videos or later CD:UK for Saturday morning hangover telly.

    Now without any mainstream tv music shows, and everything being digital and online, most people pay little attention to music outside of what they like.
  • Jason CJason C Posts: 31,152
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    Between 2000 and 2005, through a combination of:

    - too many throwaway songs getting to No1 and staying there for just one week purely because of sophisticated record company first-week marketing rather than mass popularity, as illustrated by the 42 different No1s in 2000

    - plummeting sales caused by the digital switch enabling songs to become big hits on the back of selling tiny numbers of copies

    - greater diversification in popular music in general and a narrowing of the target market for singles to teens and young adults

    - a growth in the accessibility and following of retro music
  • mgvsmithmgvsmith Posts: 16,452
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    starsailor wrote: »
    Now without any mainstream tv music shows, and everything being digital and online, most people pay little attention to music outside of what they like.

    You are probably right about that and I can't see much change in that situation at the moment.

    Still the one saving grace is that I still think pop music is one of the things that people use to understand and define who and what they are.
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    mgvsmith wrote: »

    Still the one saving grace is that I still think pop music is one of the things that people use to understand and define who and what they are.

    god help todays generation then......
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 682
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    Jason C wrote: »
    Between 2000 and 2005, through a combination of:

    - too many throwaway songs getting to No1 and staying there for just one week purely because of sophisticated record company first-week marketing rather than mass popularity, as illustrated by the 42 different No1s in 2000

    - plummeting sales caused by the digital switch enabling songs to become big hits on the back of selling tiny numbers of copies

    - greater diversification in popular music in general and a narrowing of the target market for singles to teens and young adults

    - a growth in the accessibility and following of retro music

    Reading this post, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The last two decades seem to have seen a large shift in public attitudes towards music compared to the majority of the 20th century.
  • Glenn AGlenn A Posts: 23,794
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    Since the late sixties the singles chart has been slowly diminishing in importance. Most progressive and heavy rock acts rarely released singles in the seventies and saw the album as more important.
  • mgvsmithmgvsmith Posts: 16,452
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    Jason C wrote: »
    Between 2000 and 2005, through a combination of:

    - too many throwaway songs getting to No1 and staying there for just one week purely because of sophisticated record company first-week marketing rather than mass popularity, as illustrated by the 42 different No1s in 2000

    - plummeting sales caused by the digital switch enabling songs to become big hits on the back of selling tiny numbers of copies

    - greater diversification in popular music in general and a narrowing of the target market for singles to teens and young adults

    - a growth in the accessibility and following of retro music

    Yes, the industry with all its machinations has got its act together on the marketing side. And the other factor is digital technology which has had a major impact on all aspects of the music industry.

    I understand the causes, what can we do about changing this?
  • gelbma0991gelbma0991 Posts: 4,783
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    Lewnaticc wrote: »
    When digital music took over. When you used to have to actually leave your house, walk into a shop and buy a single, now you can just buy one during a bus journey using an iPhone. Songs like Gangnam Style I can't imagine people would have made the effort to go out and buy,

    You'd be surprised! I've had SO many customers at work for the Gangnam style single... It's mainly parents asking for their young children though...

    It's funny how many people actually do come into the store asking for singles, I'm like "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE PAST HOWEVER MANY YEARS?!" :p
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    Glenn A wrote: »
    Since the late sixties the singles chart has been slowly diminishing in importance. Most progressive and heavy rock acts rarely released singles in the seventies and saw the album as more important.

    erm... thin lizzy, gillan, rainbow, whitesnake, motorhead, judas preist, saxon, to name but a few had a string of successful hit singles 78-82 ..

    and prog rock really wasnt a commercial enterprise so its no wonder that genre is poorly reprisented. :)
  • LyricalisLyricalis Posts: 57,958
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    I can only really speak for myself, but I'd say it lost relevance for me when TOTP finished. Whether that was down to TOTP finishing or my age at the time it happened (past 30) is debatable. What do younger posters think about the singles chart? Do they care what gets to number one? Does it influence what they buy?
  • 19921992 Posts: 4,677
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    Lyricalis wrote: »
    I can only really speak for myself, but I'd say it lost relevance for me when TOTP finished. Whether that was down to TOTP finishing or my age at the time it happened (past 30) is debatable. What do younger posters think about the singles chart? Do they care what gets to number one?[/I] Does it influence what they buy?

    I do care what goes to #1. If I like a song/artist I hope it goes to #1. If I dont like a song/artist I hope it doesnt got to #1.

    It doesnt influence what I buy tho :)
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