First Official Charts launched in South Africa based on streaming data – Music Business Worldwide

IFPI‘s national member organization in South Africa, The Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA), has launched the first Official South African Music Charts (TOSAC), based on streaming data.

The new charts will aggregate data from Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, and data is aggregated by Barcelona headquartered BMAT.

Spotify launched in the market in 2018, while Apple Music and Deezer have available there since 2015 and 2013, respectively.

Charts on the platform include the Weekly TOP 200 Tracks, which takes into account all tracks streamed in South Africa, including both local and international music.

Meanwhile, the weekly Top 100 Local ZA Tracks will only include tracks wherein at least one of the credited artists is from South Africa.

The chart week will run from Friday to Thursday and only digital streaming numbers will be taken into account.

The number of streams shown in the charts is always weighted, so that subscription streams have more relevance than ad-funded streams.

Currently, no track exclusion policy or Accelerated Decline method is being applied.

“This represents a significant milestone and a much-needed step up to aligning with popular forms of music consumption for the local music industry.”

Sean Watson, the Chairperson of RiSA

Sean Watson, the Chairperson of RiSA, said: “We are incredibly excited to be launching such a pioneering platform for the South African music industry and audiences, across different genres.

“This represents a significant milestone and a much-needed step up to aligning with popular forms of music consumption for the local music industry.

“Our intention is to provide all South African music enthusiasts and general consumers with a platform that they can ‘own’ and one that reflects their own relationship with local and international music and their consumption patterns, irrespective of their taste in music.”

Nhlanhla Sibisi, RiSA

Added Nhlanhla Sibisi, the CEO of RiSA: “We have a robust music industry in our country, and our people have a natural thirst for music. We have also seen an undeniable shift in how people consume music in the past few years, with more and more audiences making use of streaming services than before. We are thus excited to put in place an offering that not only recognises that but is set to help drive the growth of our industry.”

Sibisi continued: “We understand the competitive nature of the digital streaming space and that consumers are spoiled for choice with access to local and international music charts as well as digital streaming apps.

“Our intention is to provide all South African music enthusiasts and general consumers with a platform that they can ‘own’ and one that reflects their own relationship with local and international music and their consumption patterns, irrespective of their taste in music.

“We also plan to consistently develop TOSAC platform and tailor it to accommodate our constantly changing consumer needs.”

“The launch of The Official South African Music Charts is a great milestone for music in South Africa and for the development of the industry across the continent.”

Frances Moore, IFPI

Frances Moore, CEO of IFPI said: “The launch of The Official South African Music Charts is a great milestone for music in South Africa and for the development of the industry across the continent.

“The charts will provide music fans, artists and record labels with a window into music streaming in one of the world’s most vibrant and dynamic markets.

“IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) would like to congratulate its national member organisation RiSA, the company members and the contributing streaming platforms for this important achievement.”Music Business Worldwide