MBW Views is a series of exclusive columns written by notable music industry figures…who have something to say. The following content is provided by Tim Ingham, founder and publisher of “Global Music Business”. it First appears in the new 2024 Q3 edition of Music Business UK, MBW’s quarterly magazine dedicated to the UK music market, sent to MBW+ subscribers.
Something happened.
As I write this, the entire top six of the UK Official Singles Chart is made up of American artists: Sabrina Carpenter (No. 1, No. 2, No. 5), chapel roan Ranked third, Linkin Park ranked fourth, and Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars Ranked sixth.
The first British act to appear on the list is Chase & Status and Stormzy Ranked seventh.
Now. I’ve written before in this column about the UK Top 40’s declining market share/importance as listening to streaming services becomes more fragmented. Frontline “hits,” catalog music and tens of millions of tracks with niche appeal.
Therefore, we should always remember, Official Singles Chart (and US Billboard Hot 100) is a useful snapshot of the modern market – the hottest songs every week.
This is far from reflective of the entire music consumption market.
For example, the UK Top 40 chart is generally not a good reflection of the popularity of songs that continue to gain significant numbers month after month without affecting the charts.
(Two examples of this “rabbit and tortoise” perspective: Taylor Swift’s cruel summer and of the killers Mr Brightsideboth of which remain stubbornly in the lower reaches of the UK charts week in and week out, but have proven over the years to be more popular than most music ever recorded.
It’s all true and one can’t help but be a little shocked at the US-centric nature of the upper reaches of the UK charts today.
Further evidence: In July, the Official Charts Company released a list of the UK market’s most popular tracks for the first six months of 2024.
Not only just now Four of the top 20 songs by British artists But, of the four, two are traditional performers enjoying their “TikTok moments” (Sophie Ellis-Best and Natasha Bedingfield). Of the other two, one was signed and filed outside the United States (Artemasfrom Elliot Grainge’s 10K project).
only Casso/RAYE/D-Block Europe PradaRanked seventh, it can be understood as the Blighty Bill signed by the UK.
(That is, the Irish Act Hozier, who It is too sweet Ranked fifth, signed with Island UK through Irish label Rubyworks.
I point all this out so as not to despair of the commercial constraints on British talent.
On the one hand, there is a strong argument that Artmus, Charli XCX, Miles Smith British artists are actually doing quite well in the international market in 2024 compared to other artists.
To me, what’s particularly noteworthy about RE: UK’s 2024 UK chart statistics is how starkly they contrast with what’s happening elsewhere in the world.
IFPI recently released a report measuring Domestic artists feature in several EU regions’ top ten tracks of 2023.
In Scandinavia, 90% Among the top ten of the year, there are music from domestic artists; the same is true for Italy. In Germany and France this is 70%while in some countries such as Hungary and Greece, 100%.
Of course, these markets are naturally smaller importers of American pop music than the UK. The effect local language tracks (especially in the hip-hop genre) is the main reason for this. Britain and the United States share a common language, which has a clear cultural impact.
However, as music streaming matures, we need to ask some smart questions: is the UK willing to increasingly become a North American hit song import market strong Or does the UK now need to change the way it demonstrates and digitally assesses the success of its own talent?
This article originally appeared in the latest issue (Q3 2024) of MBW’s premium quarterly magazine Music Business UK, out now.
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