picture from Random Radio Jottings
In today's media news I spotted the story that the official UK charts announcement could be moved from Sunday teatimes. This is an outrage, they can't move the charts because the Sunday afternoon chart show on Radio 1 (other stations do a chart these days but the Radio 1 chart is the proper one) is a tradition, and institution, and as far as I am concerned I don't want to know what is this week's number one until just before seven o'clock and then I'll listen to Annie Nightingale's request show.
Actually, I couldn't give two shits. Neither could you.
This is an example of 'negative marketing' but the chart rundown isn't going to be as lucky as Dennis the Menace's stripy top or Heinz salad cream because the official chart no longer holds any significance. There was a time when we would all gather round the radio on Sunday at four o'clock to listen and find out what the week's big sellers were. Records used to have to sell millions in order to get to number one whereas now they only need to sell about ten copies so where is the thrill of the chase? With Top of the Pops no longer around what is the incentive? The only time that the charts suddenly become the focus of everyone's attention is the last one before Christmas so we can see if this year's 'wacky' attempt to subvert the charts (something I predicted in 2007) has had any effect; we all remember Christmas 2009 and 'Killing In The Name' but we don't really give a shit about that either if the truth be told, we just don't want the X-Factor winner to take the lead.
It's weird that the story about the charts should come the day after I posted a blog about how radio is losing its grip, but it goes to support my point that radio isn't for the kids anymore and although it is a shame you can't fail to see why. There was an episode of Happy Days in the second series called Ritchie's Flip Side in which Ritchie Cunningham gets his own radio show and suddenly becomes the most popular kid in school with everyone listening in their cars. This was the era of Wolfman Jack and Alan Freed and the portrayal of the DJ as a Godlike figure among the youth was an accurate one, (almost every car being driven in American Graffiti - the best film George Lucas ever made - was tuned in to Wolfman). Pirate radio stations gained an easy popularity over here because you didn't hear pop music on the BBC so the kids worshipped a group of outlaws (and potential future Sex Offenders Register signatories) on the high seas, and when the pirates closed down these DJs ended up on Radio 1. There's a history lesson right there, Radio 1 was once significant.
In the age of downloading and streaming, the charts are blurred now. We would have to (and there was talk of this coming true) not only count physical sales and legal downloads, but try and harness Soundcloud, Reverbnation, YouTube. Spotify and others. Although I once attempted to introduce my daughter to the joys of listening to the charts on Sunday teatime and writing down the top ten and taping it, (I still have the cassettes and notebooks from this aborted idea) it soon fizzled out. Deep down I was trying to re-live a part of my weekend ritual and that was the mistake. Emily was no more interested in the hit parade than she would have been watching Bullseye.
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