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Why do so many songs "stall" on the charts these days?
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
No. Once again, which songs are we talking about? Some unknown EDM artist? If so, there's your answer. Harry Styles never has this problem. His songs go right up the chart. Adele doesn't have this problem. If you make music that appeals to mass audiences, then your music goes up the chart. If you make music for self expression, then you get to enjoy your music by yourself. And it's nothing new. It's also not a radio problem. It's a music problem.
I was just talking to someone at a major label about this. Right now, Morgan Wallen has two songs in the Top 10. It's causing havoc for all the songs in the teens. His songs are taking up their space, and they can't move until he gets out of the way. This same problem happened a few weeks ago when Lainey Wilson had a Top 10, plus her duet with Hardy was in the Top 10. One artist taking two spaces. Or you have Luke Combs staying at #1 for three weeks. That's why songs stall on the chart. The big stars make hit songs that BLOCK the other songs from moving. This isn't being caused by radio. It's being caused by those artists and their labels.
Keep in mind that when songs stall in the charts, the writers of those songs get paid royalties, and the streams are also paying artists and labels. So the music business makes money when songs stall in the charts.
Remember: Unless we're talking about airplay charts, they incorporate streaming, and you can see how streaming is changing the charts completely, with multiple songs by the same artist in the Hot 100. That's being caused by music fans, not radio programmers.
I am referring to airplay charts, but Taylor Swift had that happen as well with All the Girls You Loved and Meghan Trainor's new one moves slowly as well.
Her songs NEVER stall in the charts.
...except for one....
Let me guess; a song that you don't personally like? One that's not played on KCKC?
Has to be one of those two.
No, the song All the Girls You Loved before only made it to #35 on the pop charts.
It wasn't being promoted as a radio single. It debuted at #12 on the Hot 100.
I was referring to airplay charts.
Yes I know. As I said, it wasn't promoted as a radio single. As opposed to songs that are promoted but stall.
Why does anyone over the age of 11 care what's on the charts? That's around the time I lost interest and just started listening to the music I liked and the radio stations I liked, rather than giving a hoot whether it was "popular" or "number one".
Answer: They don't.
Exactly. Chart position is something from back in the American Bandstand days.
The artists and labels care about the charts, and they spend millions of dollars to influence the listeners to get their songs up the chart. Popularity equals money. Even today. An artist's success is based on the number of hits they have. Fans of artists want to see those artists have big hits to justify their love for those artists. It's a competition in the same way sports is a competition, and people want to see their favorite team or player win. Now, if you personally don't care about it, that's your business. But it's incorrect to say nobody cares.
While the average listener doesn't likely care much about the charts, those who like new music might not hear some of their favorite songs on the radio as long if they stall on the charts and start going back down. Songs that stall typically get rested sooner than songs that don't. From a social standpoint, you also might get a better idea of what your friends really like, especially if you're younger and peer pressure influences your music tastes. I doubt, in 1977, that many people admitted to liking "You Light Up My Life," but that it stayed at #1 for weeks would seem to have shown otherwise. If you liked that song but couldn't admit it, you could at least tell that your friends probably were in the same boat.
As the Big A mentions, artists and labels care about the charts because songs that chart higher tend to sell better.
The point is that your average listener; not radio nerds, artists, record companies, or professional station programmers, likely don't care about what ranking any particular song is at in a given week.
Depends on the format. Listeners to classic hits or stations that don't play currents live in their own cocoon built around the past. But listeners to CHR, Urban or Country are very aware of the charts, and those stations assist by letting them know.
There was a discussion about today's music (mostly referring to Pop) a few Sundays ago on WGUL here. I don't remember specifically them talking about charting but they were saying the industry is going through a time of stagnation. The biggest names are not selling like in some years past and some artists are going by the wayside because it's more of the same.
Many producers feel Pop no longer has a real meaning and is shrinking. In fact there are statistics that older songs are listened to more than new ones by the highest ever percentage.
"The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams. That rate was twice as high just three years ago. The mix of songs actually purchased by consumers is even more tilted toward older music. The current list of most-downloaded tracks on iTunes is filled with the names of bands from the previous century, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Police."
www.theatlantic.com
Many producers feel Pop no longer has a real meaning and is shrinking. In fact there are statistics that older songs are listened to more than new ones by the highest ever percentage.
"The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams. That rate was twice as high just three years ago. The mix of songs actually purchased by consumers is even more tilted toward older music. The current list of most-downloaded tracks on iTunes is filled with the names of bands from the previous century, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Police."
Is Old Music Killing New Music?
Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market. Even worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking.
Maybe a lot of today's pop does not have much demand?There was a discussion about today's music (mostly referring to Pop) a few Sundays ago on WGUL here. I don't remember specifically them talking about charting but they were saying the industry is going through a time of stagnation. The biggest names are not selling like in some years past and some artists are going by the wayside because it's more of the same.
Many producers feel Pop no longer has a real meaning and is shrinking. In fact there are statistics that older songs are listened to more than new ones by the highest ever percentage.
"The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams. That rate was twice as high just three years ago. The mix of songs actually purchased by consumers is even more tilted toward older music. The current list of most-downloaded tracks on iTunes is filled with the names of bands from the previous century, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Police."
Is Old Music Killing New Music?
Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market. Even worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking.
It may look that way, but what is really happening is that it's spreading out. You might have massive concentration of popularity among a handful of artists such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. But then there are a bunch of people who manage to make a living touring all the time, and airplay is secondary. So radio stations that were built around exciting new releases are finding those new releases are fewer and farther between. But it allows them to be more selective with who they play, and that's why some songs appear to stall on the charts. Some songs are running to stay in place, while another group just shoots right past them.
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