UK music charts explained

The UK music charts are a collection of charts that reflect the music-buying habits of people within the United Kingdom. Most of them are produced by the Official Charts Company.

Main charts

All-genre charts

• UK Singles Chart - The official singles chart of the United Kingdom. It uses physical and download sales, and (since July 2014) a factor for audio streams.^[1]
• UK Albums Chart - The official albums chart of the United Kingdom. It uses physical and download sales, and (since March 2015) a factor for audio streams.^[2]
• The Official Big Top 40 from Global - Non-OCC singles chart introduced in 2009, compiled from iTunes sales, Apple Music streams and Global radio airplay.^[3]
• UK Singles Downloads Chart - Singles chart based purely on downloads. Introduced in 2004.^[4]
• UK Album Downloads Chart - Albums chart based purely on downloads. Introduced in 2006.^[5]
• Official Audio Streaming Chart - Chart based purely on song plays on digital streaming services.^[6]
• Official Albums Streaming Chart - Chart based purely on album plays on digital streaming services.^[7]
• Official Physical Singles Chart - Chart based purely on physical single sales.
• Official Music Video Chart - Chart based purely on the UK's biggest music videos of the week, based on sales of DVDs, Blu-rays and other physical formats.^[8]
• Official Vinyl Singles Chart - Chart of the biggest selling vinyl singles.^[9]
• Official Vinyl Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling vinyl albums.^[9]
• Scottish Singles Chart - Regional chart. Reflects how sales towards the UK Singles Chart are faring in Scotland.
• Scottish Albums Chart - Regional chart. Reflects how sales towards the UK Albums Chart are faring in Scotland.
• UK Independent Singles Charts - Chart of the biggest selling independent singles.
• UK Independent Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling independent albums.
• Official Soundtrack Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling film/TV soundtrack and musical theatre albums.

Afrobeats

• Official Afrobeats Chart - Chart of the biggest selling Afrobeats and Afroswing songs.

Asian

• Asian Music Chart - Chart of the biggest selling Asian singles.^[10]
• Official Punjabi Music Chart - Chart of the biggest selling punjabi singles.

Classical

• Official Classical Artist Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling classical music albums which have 60% or more of their playing time dedicated to "classical or traditional" music.
• Official Specialist Classical Chart - Chart of the biggest selling specialist classical albums which have all of their playing time dedicated to "classical or traditional" music.
• Official Classical Compilation Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling classical music compilation albums.

Country/Roots

• Official Americana Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling Americana albums.^[11]
• Official Country Artists Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling country music albums.
• Official Country Compilations Chart - Chart of the biggest selling country music compilation albums.
• Official Folk Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling folk music albums.

Dance

• UK Dance Singles Chart - Chart of the biggest selling dance singles.
• UK Dance Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling dance albums.

Hip Hop/R&B

• UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart - Chart of the biggest selling hip hop and R&B singles
• UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling hip hop and R&B albums.

Jazz/Blues/Gospel

• Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling jazz and blues albums.
• Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart - Chart of the most popular christian and gospel albums in the UK.^[12]

Rock/Metal

• UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart - Chart of the biggest selling rock and heavy metal singles.
• UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart - Chart of the biggest selling rock and heavy metal albums.

Other charts

Further genre, format and regional charts are produced by OCC and other compilers.

Classic FM introduced a classical music chart and the annual Classic FM Hall of Fame. In response, BBC Radio 3 introduced a specialist classical chart that lists only "serious" classics, and devoted some of its Tuesday morning programming to this chart.^[13]

On March 10, 2024, the UK Country Airplay chart debuted, the first ever genre-specific airplay chart. Monitored by Radiomonitor and the UK wing of the Country Music Association, chart rankings collate information from a range of participating radio stations to identify the most listened to country music single in the UK each week. The chart itself is posted on Holler Country.^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: UK's Official Singles Chart to include streaming data for first time. 22 June 2014. Kreisler. Lauren. Official Charts Company. 22 June 2014.
2. Web site: UK's Official Albums Chart to include streaming data for first time. Copsey. Rob. 11 February 2015. Official Charts Company. 17 June 2015.
3. Web site: Loreen enters UK chart “The Sky VIP Official Big Top 40” with “Tattoo” . ESCXTRA.com . 18 May 2024.
4. News: Record industry produces first chart of legal downloads. Wells. Matt. 2 September 2004. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 17 June 2015.
5. Web site: Album chart allows downloads from Sunday. West. Dave. 9 April 2006. Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. 23 July 2015.
6. Web site: Official music streaming chart launching in UK. Mark. Langshaw. 10 May 2012. Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. 17 June 2015.
7. News: Album charts to count streamed songs. 12 February 2015. BBC News. BBC. 24 November 2015.
8. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/music-video-chart/ Official Music Video Chart Top 50
9. News: Vinyl records get into groove with own charts. Siddique. Haroon. 13 April 2015. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 29 December 2015.
10. Web site: 16 October 2019. BritAsia In Conjunction With The Official Charts Company Launch - The UK Punjabi Chart. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210127191138/https://dailyentxpress.com/britasia-in-conjunction-with-the-official-charts-company-launch-the-uk-punjabi-chart. 27 January 2021. 13 October 2021. Daily Ent Xpress.
11. News: Mumford and Sons fail authenticity test as first UK Americana chart launches. The Independent. Independent News & Media. 29 January 2016. 4 February 2018.
12. Web site: Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart Official Charts. Official Charts Company. July 3, 2023.
13. Web site: BBC - Podcasts and Downloads Rights Restrictions. bbc.co.uk.
14. Web site: Conner Smith tops UK's first ever Country Radio Airplay Chart. Tom. Eames. March 11, 2024. Smooth Radio.