Canadian Singles Chart
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan
http://www.soundscan.com/about.html. The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam!
Canoe
on Thursdays.
Originally, when the chart was started in 1996
, there were a total of 200 positions (with the top 50 being published by Jam!). However, because of the reduced singles market in Canada, only the top 10 positions now appear on the SoundScan chart (SoundScan has a policy that at least 10 copies have to be sold in order to make its singles chart).
Since the early 1990s, single sales in Canada have decreased dramatically, and most songs were not available as commercial singles. As a result, the chart rarely reflected the listening habits of Canadians. In perhaps the most notorious example, Elton John
's charity single "Candle in the Wind '97"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight
" stayed in the top twenty for three years. By 2004, sales in Canada declined even further, because of the growing popularity of digital download
ing of music. As a result, Canadian sales are not as substantial as they had been before in the 1990s and early 2000s, and singles remained on the chart for even lengthier periods of time.
Starting in 2005
, Nielsen SoundScan compiled a Digital Tracks chart, based on download sales from Napster
, puretracks
, iTunes Canada
, and Archambault
. In 2006, SoundScan introduced the Digital Songs Chart, combining all versions of each song and ranking them accordingly (different versions of each song appeared separately on the Digital Tracks Chart). The Digital Songs Chart appears on CANOE
and also appears at Billboard.biz.
Billboard introduced their own singles chart for Canada, called the Canadian Hot 100
, on 7 June 2007. It is based on digital download single sales data from Nielsen SoundScan
and radio audience levels from Nielsen BDS
.
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
http://www.soundscan.com/about.html. The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam!
Jam!
Jam! is a Canadian website, which covers entertainment news. It is part of the CANOE online portal, owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division....
Canoe
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
on Thursdays.
Originally, when the chart was started in 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
, there were a total of 200 positions (with the top 50 being published by Jam!). However, because of the reduced singles market in Canada, only the top 10 positions now appear on the SoundScan chart (SoundScan has a policy that at least 10 copies have to be sold in order to make its singles chart).
Since the early 1990s, single sales in Canada have decreased dramatically, and most songs were not available as commercial singles. As a result, the chart rarely reflected the listening habits of Canadians. In perhaps the most notorious example, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's charity single "Candle in the Wind '97"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight
Something About the Way You Look Tonight
"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" is a song by Elton John, released in 1997 as the first single from The Big Picture. The song and its video were dedicated to the memory of Gianni Versace, murdered that year....
" stayed in the top twenty for three years. By 2004, sales in Canada declined even further, because of the growing popularity of digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
ing of music. As a result, Canadian sales are not as substantial as they had been before in the 1990s and early 2000s, and singles remained on the chart for even lengthier periods of time.
Starting in 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
, Nielsen SoundScan compiled a Digital Tracks chart, based on download sales from Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, puretracks
Puretracks
Puretracks is a Canadian online music store, which launched officially on October 14, 2003. Puretracks works as a behind-the-scene music partner. Now a division of Somerset Entertainment, owned by Fluid Music, Puretracks has U.S...
, iTunes Canada
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, and Archambault
Archambault
Archambault, a Quebecor Media company, is the largest music retailer in the province of Quebec, Canada, as well as a major retailer of books, DVDs, periodicals, musical instruments, sheet music, games, toys and gift ideas. Its e-commerce site, www.archambault.ca, is the largest French-language...
. In 2006, SoundScan introduced the Digital Songs Chart, combining all versions of each song and ranking them accordingly (different versions of each song appeared separately on the Digital Tracks Chart). The Digital Songs Chart appears on CANOE
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
and also appears at Billboard.biz.
Billboard introduced their own singles chart for Canada, called the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, on 7 June 2007. It is based on digital download single sales data from Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
and radio audience levels from Nielsen BDS
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
.
See also
- List of Canadian number-one singles of 2001–07
- List of number-one music downloads of 2010 (Canada)
- Number one Hot Canadian Digital Songs of 2011
- RPM MagazineRPM (magazine)RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
- charted singles from 1964-2000.
External links
- Top 50 Digital Singles — A source which includes albums, singles, and radio charts.
- Canadian Top 50 Singles — A source which includes albums, singles, and radio charts.