Off the Charts: The Implications of Incorporating Streaming Data into the Charts

Abstract

Collins and O’Grady explore the impacts of digitisation on music charts. Focusing on streaming platforms such as Spotify, the chapter questions the continued relevance of calculating charts based on sales when consumer data offers far more nuanced information that measures the popularity of music based on use. The authors firmly situate the current opportunities for reconfiguring charts within a history of the music industries that is characterised by transformations and continuities.