Singles revival pins hopes on new rules.

New chart rules aim to give physical singles sales a shot in the arm

Retail

The physical single is to be given new support in its battle with digital downloads, though a series of new chart rules aimed at encouraging creativity and new sales.

Just in time for the crucial fourth-quarter approach to Christmas, new regulations will come into effect on September 16 allowing new formats such as USB memory sticks to count towards the chart for the first time.

Other new rules, concerning such formats as one- and two-track CD singles, DVD and dual-disc singles, seven-inches and 12-inches, have also been agreed by the Official Charts Company and the Chart Supervisory Committee after what OCC chart director Omar Maskatiya says were lengthy debates. "Everyone's aim is to stem the decline of physical singles sales, in allowing labels to be more creative in terms of how they present formats in the new digital age," he says.

There was general, across-the-board agreement between labels and retailers in terms of the urgency of taking action, in an effort to stem the decline in a market whose sales dropped by 39.6% in the first six months of 2007 to 4.20m units, while the number of stores now stocking singles has also sharply declined. However, Maskatiya says the two sides bring different perspectives on what needs to happen.

"The starting point was really from the perspective of those retailers still stocking singles," he says. "Their approach was to throw out the rule book. From a label perspective, they looked at it as a market that still made up 10% of singles sales and, while there was a willingness to back some of the changes, they didn't want to go all the way."