R.I.P, POP PICKERS....

Following on from my last chart-related post, there was a disturbing development recently. All- conquering pop muppet Ed Sheeran released his new album - ÷ or Divide - and, due to chart rules that now allow any downloaded or streamed track to enter the SINGLES chart, every track from said album entered and took over the Top 20. Even Sheeran himself seemed a bit alarmed by this, commenting that something was not quite right. Indeed. Surely the compilers of the charts are failing to comply with the trades description act when the SINGLES chart is full of songs that are not officially released as singles, whether physical, downloads or streams? It's an appalling state of affairs, and it's about time that the people behind The Official Charts company either changed the rules or dropped the SINGLES part of the chart name and just called it the Top 100 Tracks or Songs.

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