The Fascinating World of Indie Charts

Music lovers are all too aware of the music industry charts which may or may not have an impact on an artist’s career. When assessing the sway established charts like Billboard have on influencing listener’s choices in music, and whether or not those listeners will end up spending money on buying an artist’s music, just because that artist has made it onto the billboard’s top 20, a question should pop into any music strategist mind, and that is, how relevant are the mainstream charts today? In a world where musicians have to keep track of the numbers of Spotify streams, FaceBook likes, Instagram follows and YouTube subscriptions, is topping the mainstream charts still viewed as a major accomplishment in comparison to getting 2M views on TikTok? Many would still answer with a resounding yes. British charts like Top of the Pops are no longer a reflection of record sales and popularity rather, it is a cultural institution equivalent to what American Bandstand and Soul Train used to be in the US. However, it’s worth mentioning that whereas shows like Soul Train, American Bandstand and Pop in Germany which was once a major force in the European music scene have all ran out of steam along time ago. TOTP has survived through the years because of its dynamic transformation capabilities and being able to keep up with the latest music trends. Facts such as Robbie Williams securing a Christmas number 1 album in the UK this year which was knocked off by Rod Stewart who became the oldest person in the UK to have a Number 1 Christmas album still grabs the attention of headlines. Nevertheless, there is another world that exists. A world of ethnocentric music, indie artists and DIY musician. Welcome to the world of Indie charts. First, there is the Ethnocloud Indie charts, these charts are categorized by the different regions of the globe and their musical influences. The charts are divided into audio and video charts. For example, there are the North American top 40 and also the West European Top 40 Ethnocloud audio and video charts. In this world of indie charts having a number 1 Christmas song on the N1M Canadian Christian pop charts is very much a celebrated accomplishment. The same goes for being in the top 10 of the Canadian Latin Pop charts and the easy listening Indie Music charts. Although many of the artists on these indie charts are undervalued by mainstream music buyers, there can be no doubt that technological progress and factors such as globalization are increasingly bridging the divide between artists featured on mainstream charts like Billboard and those artist featured on Indie charts. In addition to this, established musicians like Nile Rodgers are gaining new followers by collaborating with other musicians featured on these indie charts. Known for giving Madonna her success with the Like a Virgin album and remixing George Michael’s first posthumous single, Nile who is estimated by celebrity networth.com to have accumulated a net worth of 70 Million Dollars still has clout in the international music industry with royalty cheques still rolling in from the disco era and Studio 54 heydays. However, what remains to be seen is the rising of a breakthrough artist who achieves iconic status as a result of successfully dominating the Indie charts.