UK Site Aims To Give Neglected Singles Their Day At Top Of The Charts

New website itshouldhavebeennumber1.co.uk launched today with the goal of giving singles that
missed #1 in the UK a second chance to find their place at the top of the charts. The site is run by UK digital music download innovators 7Digital.

Then starting Monday 2/12 visitors can buy a download of Oasis’s 1995 single ‘Roll With It’ in an effort to get the track, which originally topped at #2, up to #1. The single was released at the height of Oasis’s rivalry with fellow Britpoppers Blur, and was "famously pipped to the post" (Hypebot: I love the language in these UK press releases!) by Blur’s ‘Country House’.  Sales February 12-17 count towards the official UK chart the following Sunday. All profits generated go to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. 

The site also encourages visitors to suggest singles that they’d like to see #1 like The Sex Pistols ‘God Save the Queen’ which was rumoured to have been the UK’s biggest-selling single but kept off the top spot to prevent "causing offense".  Surprisingly some big acts like Depeche Mode and AC/DC never had a #1 and now their fans can give them one. (More on how the campaign works after the jump.)

But How Will It Work?

Changes to the chart rules that came into effect on 1st January 07 have
made itshouldhavebeennumber1.co.uk possible as download sales alone now
count towards the charts – an artist no longer needs to have a physical
CD to sell through the shops.

As well as meaning that the charts are a truer reflection of what
people are buying – download sales account for 79% of single sales –
the rule changes are also expected to liven up the charts in other ways.

Doing without a costly physical format release means that any unsigned
band with a healthy fanbase can have a crack at the charts.  Unsigned
band Koopa recently entered the charts at 31 following the release of
their single ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ on download sites such as
7digital.com and indiestore.com.

Back catalogue tracks that are selling well will also appear in the
charts. This means it is likely that Christmas classics, such as The
Pogues ‘Fairytale of New York’ will chart annually in the run up to the
festive season.

The itshouldhavebeennumber1.co.uk download store is being powered by digital media delivery company 7digital.com.