If you’re a Canadian indie music, there are some new charts you need to watch
Music charts are how the industry keeps score, tracking how well artists and songs do when it comes to radio, streams, sales, and overall consumption. But not all charts are created equal or can be used by anyone.
Danny Fournier of Edmonton’s Oddball Productions found himself so frustrated by the lack of data when he came to tracking the progress of indie artists across the country that he decided to take matters into his own hands. I quote:
Traditionally, music charts are ranking lists based on the popularity of songs and/or albums. There are a variety of different kinds of charts ranking music. Some of the more common charts are based on physical sales, digital downloads, streams, video views and radio airplay.
When it comes to radio airplay, it is easy to find charts reporting what songs are getting the most airplay on commercial radio stations and college/community radio stations. Billboard, Rolling Stone, Music Canada, Mediabase, Nielsen BDS, and !earshot are just some of the entities that rank and share what is getting played on the radio on a weekly basis. But amongst all of these charts one music broadcasting group had no representation (in Canada). Independent Online Radio.
In the current digital age the impact of online radio has grown. With dedicated and engaged listeners, independent artists are finding new audiences and followers through online radio. Some of these online radio stations generate their own charts, but currently in Canada there is no National chart ranking which artists are getting the most airplay across Canada on Canadian online radio stations.
We hope to change that with the introduction of the Canadian Independent Online Radio Chart and the Canadian Artists Online Radio Chart.
The rankings on these charts are determined by tabulating and comparing what is being played on the Canadian online radio stations we are monitoring and charts posted by the individual stations.
How do the two charts differ?
The Canadian Independent Online Radio Chart ranks which artists are getting the most airplay on online radio stations. While the Canadian Artists Online Radio Chart also ranks which artists are getting the most airplay, it only ranks Canadian artists.
Where will these charts be posted?
Both charts will initially be posted every Tuesday on the Might As Well Blog About It Blog. If the demand is there, we will move the charts to their own website and look at adding additional charts reporting on the airplay at Canadian Online Radio Stations.
What other plans do you have for these charts?
We also hope to use these charts to draw more attention to the various online radio stations that are broadcast from here in Canada. In time, we hope to be officially recognized at the National Online Radio Chart, similar to how other charts are acknowledged by various grants and other aspects of the Canadian Music Industry that can in turn help artists reach that next level.
If you would like any further information on these charts or Why Independent Online Radio Is Important, feel free to contact us through the options below. Danny Fournier
ODDBALLPRODUCTIONS
[email protected]
www.oddballproductions.ca
