, How are music charts compiled these days? If they are solely based on CD sales, how accurate an idea of a bands popularity can they give?
Asked by keithwhu on Oct 28 2007 5:48:40 AM and supported by 42 members
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The charts are extremely accurate; in fact they are more accurate than they’ve ever been. They’re based on every conceivable music sale that can be recorded. So that includes CD’s, vinyl and downloads. In terms of what recorded music was sold last week they couldn’t be more accurate. However in terms of what the charts tell us these days; although they tell us about one aspect of popularity, they are no longer the perfect guide to tell you who the most popular acts at this moment are.
They will tell you who are the most popular acts in terms of selling music, but there lots of other factors now that determine how popular artists are. For instance, how much they gross from touring, how many hits they have on MySpace, how many times they appear on TV and the radio. There are all sorts of measurements nowadays. It’s only by looking across different factors that you can make any kind of judgement about artist popularity.
If you were to look at the music charts over the last twenty years to judge how successful the Rolling Stones have been during that period you would think that they had lost their way and must be struggling now. But if you look at their touring revenue you think wow they’re the biggest band on the planet.