Thursday, June 21, 2007

Top 40 Music

Top 40 Music
Reaching number one in the charts is a big achievement, especially in America where the competition is fierce. Since the appearance of the music chart, top 40 music has dominated the radio airwaves and TV chart shows. Fans eagerly await the new listings to see if their favorite band has made it into the chart.
The music business is very fragmented now and there are all sorts of genres and sub genres. All purpose chart shows still exist but are less popular now. Fans of a particular type of music can tune into the MTV channel that provides it. In addition to the general charts for singles and albums, there are charts for R&B, country music and classical music. Top 40 music has never been so varied and contains guitar bands, hip hop artists and dance music etc.
The way that charts are compiled in the UK is changing and legal downloads are now taken into account. Some people never walk into a record store and buy over the counter, preferring to use the Internet instead. This new method will change the face of music charts. There is a phenomenon known as the 50 pounds man. He fits a demographic that describes a man between 35 to 50 years old, who has that amount of money to spend on CDs a month. He may buy new music or he may replace his scratchy vinyls from years ago with new CDs. Even 50 pounds man is starting to be computer savvy and downloading. With all age groups downloading, top 40 music will be totally different.
The charts are an international concern and it may be very lucrative to have a hit record in Japan or Germany. Trends come and go, music gets re-cycled and everyone waits for the next big thing to come along. Reality talent shows, such as American Idol and Pop Idol and X Factor in the UK have had an impact on the music scene. The winners and runners up of the shows have a short burst of success, often reaching the coveted number one spot, but they rarely have any staying power and generally fade into obscurity. Some winners have gone into acting careers.
There is still room however for the old warriors in top 40 music. Some artists have careers that span decades, such as David Bowie, Elton John and Paul McCartney. The ones that stick are often those who write their own material. These are the gifted songwriters, musicians who are not reliant on fashion or slick production techniques. Fans will have their own ideas on who will still be around in twenty or thirty years time from the current crop of artists.