41-713: The UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart and the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart are music charts based on UK sales of singles and albums released on independent record labels by musical artists who have never made the UK top 40. It is compiled weekly by the Official Charts Company (OCC), and is first published on their official website on Friday evenings. The chart was first launched on 29 June 2009, and, according to Martin Talbot, managing director of
82-424: A climber, as if releases ahead of it decline in sales sufficiently, they may slip below it. By the same metric, not all week-to-week sales increases result in a climber, if other releases improve by a sufficient amount to keep it from climbing. The term highest climber is used to denote the release making the biggest leap upwards in the chart that week. There is generally not an equivalent phrase for tracks going down
123-500: A group of journalists, including Simon Reynolds and David Stubbs , who had run a music fanzine called Monitor from the University of Oxford , and Chris Roberts , from Sounds , who established MM as more individualistic and intellectual. This was especially true after the hip-hop wars at NME , a schism between enthusiasts of progressive black music such as Public Enemy and Mantronix and fans of traditional white rock ended in
164-468: A music/entertainment chart or the performance of a release thereon. A new entry is a title which is making its début in that chart. It is applied to all charts, for instance a track which is outside the Top 40 but which later climbs into that level of the chart is considered to be a 'new entry' to the Top 40 that week. In most official charts, tracks have to have been on sale for a period of time in order to enter
205-454: A runaway seller. Most charts that are used to determine extant mainstream popularity rely on measurable data. Record chart performance is inherently relative, as they rank songs, albums, and records in comparison to each other at the same time, as opposed to music recording sales certification methods, which are measured in absolute numbers. Comparing the chart positions of songs at different times thus does not provide an accurate comparison of
246-402: A song's overall impact. The nature of most charts, particularly weekly charts, also favors songs that sell very well for a brief period; thus, a song that is only briefly popular may chart higher than a song that sells more copies in the long range, but more slowly. As a result, a band's biggest hit single may not be its best-selling single. There are several commonly used terms when referring to
287-408: A time when they were praised by the rest of the press. In 1993, they gave a French rock band called Darlin' a negative review calling their music "a daft punky thrash". Darlin' eventually became the electronic music duo Daft Punk . Australian journalist Andrew Mueller joined MM in 1990 and became Reviews Editor between 1991 and 1993, eventually declining to become Features Editor and leaving
328-504: A victory for the latter and the departure of writers such as Mark Sinker and Biba Kopf (as Chris Bohn was now calling himself), and the rise of Andrew Collins and Stuart Maconie , who pushed NME in a more populist direction. While MM continued to devote most space to rock and indie music (notably Everett True 's coverage of the emerging grunge scene in Seattle ), it covered house , hip hop , post-rock , rave and trip hop . Two of
369-424: Is a materially different recording or is significantly repackaged (such as Michael Jackson's "Thriller 25"), where the release would normally be considered separate and thus a "new" entry. A climber is a release which is going higher in the chart week-on-week. Because chart positions are generally relative to each other on a week-to-week basis, a release does not necessarily have to increase sales week-to-week to be
410-466: The Record Mirror had published the first UK Albums Chart . From 1964, the paper led its rival publications in terms of approaching music and musicians as a subject for serious study rather than merely entertainment. Staff reporters such as Chris Welch and Ray Coleman applied a perspective previously reserved for jazz artists to the rise of American-influenced local rock and pop groups, anticipating
451-442: The "fifty per cent or more" rule was "blurring the lines to the point that the word 'independent' will be meaningless to the general public". Music chart A record chart , in the music industry , also called a music chart , is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include record sales ,
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#1732856189632492-446: The Hot 100). A "Top 40" is used by radio to shorten playlists. A re-entry is a track which has previously entered a chart and fallen off of that chart, and then later re-appears in it; it may come about if a release is reissued or if there is a re-surge of interest in the track. Generally, any repeat entry of a track into a chart is considered a re-entry, unless the later version of the track
533-787: The NME chart, including Melody Maker and Record Retailer . According to Joel Whitburn , the American trade publication Billboard introduced the Hot 100 on August 4, 1958. It was the first chart in the US to "fully integrate the hottest-selling and most-played pop singles." From 1958 until 1991, Billboard compiled the chart from playlists reported by radio stations, and surveys of retail sales outlets. Before 1958, several charts were published, including "Best Sellers in Stores", "Most Played by Jockeys" (later revived under
574-495: The OCC, would have benefited acts such as Friendly Fires and Grizzly Bear . The UK Indie Breakers Chart runs alongside the similar UK Indie Chart . The UK Indie Chart was created in 1978 by Cherry Red Records founder Iain McNay, and, like the breakers chart, lists only albums and singles released by independent record labels in the UK. Until June 2009, a single was classed as "indie" if it
615-583: The Osmonds , the Jackson 5 , and David Cassidy . The music weekly also gave early and sympathetic coverage to glam rock . Richard Williams wrote the first pieces about Roxy Music , while Roy Hollingworth wrote the first article celebrating New York Dolls in proto-punk terms while serving as the Melody Maker ' s New York correspondent. Andrew Means started writing for Melody Maker in 1970. During his time, he
656-1056: The advent of music criticism . On 6 March 1965, MM called for the Beatles to be honoured by the British state. This duly happened on 12 June that year, when all four members of the group (Harrison, Lennon, McCartney, and Starr ) were appointed as members of the Order of the British Empire . By the late 1960s, MM had recovered, targeting an older market than the teen-oriented NME . MM had larger and more specialised advertising; soon-to-be well-known groups would advertise for musicians. It ran pages devoted to "minority" interests like folk and jazz, as well as detailed reviews of musical instruments. A 1968 Melody Maker poll named John Peel best radio DJ, attention which John Walters said may have helped Peel keep his job despite concerns at BBC Radio 1 about his style and record selection. Starting from
697-488: The amount of radio airplay , the number of downloads , and the amount of streaming activity. Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to a particular geographical location. The most common period covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure
738-434: The breakers charts, provided that the artist has never previously had a Top 20 hit in the mainstream charts. The new indie charts went live on 29 June 2009; at the time, sales from independent labels contributed towards approximately a fifth of sales of albums and singles in the UK. The new charts were received positively by McNay, who remarked that they would, once again, "be genuinely independent charts which can help measure
779-464: The chart ever. If an act appears in some other form (for example, a solo act that appears with a band or with other act), then they are taken separately. Melody Maker Melody Maker was a British weekly music magazine , one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media , the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born composer, publisher Lawrence Wright ;
820-545: The chart had to be physically available as a single . A chart hit is a recording, identified by its inclusion in a chart that uses sales or other criteria to rank popular releases, that ranks highly in popularity compared to other songs in the same timeframe. Chart-topper and related terms (like number one , No. 1 hit , top of the charts , chart hit , and so forth) are widely used in common conversation and in marketing, and are loosely defined. Because of its value in promoting recording artists and releases, both directly to
861-460: The chart; however, in some retailers' charts, new releases are included in charts as 'new entries' without a sales history in order to make them more visible to purchasers. In the UK, the official published chart is a Top 100, although a new entry can take place between positions 101–200 (also true of the Billboard Hot 100, which has a " Bubbling Under " addendum for new songs that have not yet made
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#1732856189632902-593: The chart; the term "faller" is occasionally used, but not as widely as 'climber'. A one-hit wonder is an act that appears on the chart just once, or has one song that peaks exceptionally higher, or charts for exceptionally longer than other chart entries by the act. The term true one-hit wonder was the term given by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums (and also the Billboard book Top Pop Singles ) for an act that has one top 40 hit and nothing else on
943-409: The commercial success of individual songs. A common format of radio and television programs is to run down a music chart. The first record chart was founded in 1952 by Percy Dickins, who was working at New Musical Express at the time. Dickins would telephone roughly twenty UK record stores and ask what their best-selling records were that week. Several similar charts followed after the success of
984-413: The consumer, and by encouraging exposure on radio, TV, and other media, chart positioning has long been a subject of scrutiny and controversy. Chart compilation methodology and data sources vary, ranging from "buzz charts" (based on opinions of various experts and tastemakers ), to charts that reflect empirical data such as retail sales. Therefore, a chart-topper may be anything from an "insiders' pick" to
1025-411: The cover. Several journalists, such as Chris Bohn and Vivien Goldman, moved to NME , while Jon Savage joined the new magazine The Face . Coleman left in 1981, the paper's design was updated, but sales and prestige were at a low ebb through the early 1980s, with NME dominant. By 1983, the magazine had become more populist and pop-orientated, exemplified by its modish "MM" masthead, regular covers for
1066-678: The first editor was Edgar Jackson. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publication) New Musical Express . Originally the Melody Maker ( MM ) concentrated on jazz , and had Max Jones , one of the leading British proselytizers for that music, on its staff for many years. It was slow to cover rock and roll and lost ground to the New Musical Express ( NME ), which had begun in 1952. MM launched its own weekly singles chart (a top 20) on 7 April 1956, and an LPs charts in November 1958, two years after
1107-403: The likes of Duran Duran and its choice of Eurythmics ' Touch as the best album of the year. Things were to change, however. In February 1984, Allan Jones , a staff writer on the paper since 1974, was appointed editor: defying instructions to put Kajagoogoo on the cover, he led the magazine with an article on up-and-coming band The Smiths . In 1986, MM was invigorated by the arrival of
1148-484: The magazine in 1993. He then went on to join NME under his former boss Steve Sutherland, who had left MM in 1992. The magazine retained its large classified ads section, and remained the first call for musicians wanting to form a band. Suede formed through ads placed in the paper. MM also continued to publish reviews of musical equipment and readers' demo tapes , though these often had little in common stylistically with
1189-477: The mid-1960s, critics such as Welch, Richard Williams , Michael Watts and Steve Lake were among the first British journalists to write seriously about popular music, shedding an intellectual light on such artists as Steely Dan , Cat Stevens , Led Zeppelin , Pink Floyd and Henry Cow . By the early 1970s, Melody Maker was considered "the musos' journal" and associated with progressive rock. However, Melody Maker also reported on teenybopper pop stars such as
1230-577: The name Hot 100 Airplay ), and "Most Played in Juke Boxes", and, in later collations of chart hits, the record's highest placing in any of those charts was usually reported. On November 30, 1991, Billboard introduced a new method of determining the Hot 100: "by a combination of actual radio airplay monitored electronically by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), additional playlists from small-market stations, and actual point-of-sale information provided by Nielsen SoundScan ." Until 1998, any songs placed on
1271-418: The new editor and attempted to take Melody Maker in a new direction, influenced by what Paul Morley and Ian Penman were doing at NME . He recruited Jon Savage (formerly of Sounds ), Chris Bohn and Mary Harron to provide intellectual coverage of post-punk bands like Gang of Four , Pere Ubu , and Joy Division and of new wave in general. Vivien Goldman , previously at NME and Sounds , gave
UK Independent Singles and Album Breakers Charts - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-510: The paper improved coverage of reggae and soul music , restoring the superior coverage of those genres that the paper had in the early 1970s. Internal tension developed, principally between Williams and Coleman, by this time editor-in-chief, who wanted the paper to stick to the more "conservative rock" music it had continued to support during the punk era. Coleman had been insistent that the paper should "look like The Daily Telegraph " (renowned for its old-fashioned design), but Williams wanted
1353-540: The paper to look more contemporary. He commissioned an updated design, but this was rejected by Coleman. In 1980, after a strike which had taken the paper (along with NME ) out of publication for a period, Williams left MM . Coleman promoted Michael Oldfield from the design staff to day-to-day editor, and, for a while, took it back where it had been, with news of a line-up change in Jethro Tull replacing features about Andy Warhol , Gang of Four and Factory Records on
1394-518: The paper's writers, Push and Ben Turner, went on to launch IPC Media's monthly dance music magazine Muzik . Even in the mid-1990s, when Britpop brought a new generation of readers to the music press, it remained less populist than its rivals, with younger writers such as Simon Price and Taylor Parkes continuing the 1980s tradition of iconoclasm and opinionated criticism. The paper printed harsh criticism of Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker , and allowed dissenting views on Oasis and Blur at
1435-582: The rest of the paper, ensuring sales to jobbing musicians who would otherwise have little interest in the music press. In early 1997, Allan Jones left to edit Uncut . He was replaced by Mark Sutherland, formerly of NME and Smash Hits , who thus "fulfilled [his] boyhood dream" and stayed on to edit the magazine for three years. Many long-standing writers left, often moving to Uncut , with Simon Price departing allegedly because he objected to an edict that coverage of Oasis should be positive. Its sales, which had already been substantially lower than those of
1476-545: The singer's dormant career. During the interview Bowie said, "I'm gay, and always have been, even when I was David Jones." "OH YOU PRETTY THING" ran the headline, and swiftly became part of pop mythology. Bowie later attributed his success to this interview, stating that, "Yeah, it was Melody Maker that made me. It was that piece by Mick Watts." During his tenure at the paper, Watts also toured with and interviewed artists including Syd Barrett , Waylon Jennings , Pink Floyd , Bob Dylan , and Bruce Springsteen . Caroline Coon
1517-403: The success of, and promote independent records". Stewart Green, commercial director of the independent record company Beggars Group also praised the new charts. He stated: "This will provide a fascinating snapshot of those slow-burners that do not achieve instant success but sell consistently well over a period of time." Allison Schnackenberg of Southern Records was more critical, remarking that
1558-485: Was shipped by a distribution service that was independent of the four major record companies: EMI , Sony Music Entertainment , Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group . Following discussion at the 2008 annual general meeting of the British Phonographic Industry , this definition was altered to include only releases from labels that were at least fifty per cent owned by a record company that
1599-409: Was headhunted by Melody Maker editor Ray Coleman in the mid-1970s and promptly made it her mission to get women musicians taken seriously. Between 1974 and 1976, she interviewed Maggie Bell , Joan Armatrading , Lynsey de Paul , and Twiggy . She then went on to make it her mission to promote punk rock. In 1978, Richard Williams returned – after a stint working at Island Records – to the paper as
1640-493: Was not one of the main four. This prevented major record companies from qualifying for the chart by outsourcing the shipping of their singles and albums to smaller distribution services. At the same time, the UK Indie Breakers Chart was also unveiled, with the objective that it would allow acts signed to independent labels to "reach the broader public". Any single or album released by an independent label can quality for
1681-432: Was prolific and had the responsibility of covering folk music. He was with the paper until 1973. He later wrote for The Arizona Republic . He was also a freelancer and wrote for Sing Out! , Billboard , Jazziz , Rhythm and Songlines etc. In later years he was a fiction writer. In January 1972, Michael "Mick" Watts, a prominent writer for the paper, wrote a profile of David Bowie that almost singlehandedly ignited