Charting in the UK as an artist can instantly broaden your reach. Take the time to register your music with Official Charts to give you an opportunity to make a global music footprint. After all, you want as many people as possible discovering you and your music.
Official Charts (OCC) founded in England, United Kingdom compiles data from digital and physical sales. OCC provides a number of genre specific charts on a weekly basis.
Once you have a Tornado account (which we will talk about in the next section), you can configure all of the metadata for your music. You will want to make sure that you register your releases at least 2 weeks before your music goes live.
Kantar
So lets get into registering your music.
For physical formats you will need a catalogue number and Universal Product Code (UPC) code for your music. For digital formats you will need International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and UPC codes.
Both physical and digital formats can be registered through an online application called Tornado. You can email chartsproduct@kantar.com to request a Tornado account.
Kantar will need the following information
- Catalog number
- Barcode
- Artist
- Title
- Record
- Company Hierarchy
- Published Dealer Price
- Release Date
- Details of each track
Physical formats of the product will need to be sent to Kantar at the following address.
Kantar, c/o The Chart Unit
Millward Brown UK
Olymus Avenue
Tachbrook Park
Warwick, CV34 6RJ
Lightning Live
Lightning Live is the official mechanism to report physical sales to OCC.
You will be given a Lightning Live Pre-Event Registration Form. Events will need to be registered 2 weeks prior to the event. The form will be emailed to the following addresses.
- Official Charts (operations@officialcharts.com)
- Millward Brown (lightning@kantar.com)
There is a fee for events which is described below.
- £50+VAT ($65.215 dollars) per event for the first 2 events
- £30+VAT ($39.129 dollars) per event thereafter for events on the same tour
One thing to note, is that the charting period for Official Charts is Friday through Thursday.
You will need to report your sales via post event email notification “settlement sheet” which will be sent to the following addresses.
- lightning@kantar.com
- operations@officialcharts.com
The email will include final sign off from the label, venue and/or management reps. In addition, the email must contain the following by noon of the next day.
- Act Name
- Event Date
- Venue Name
- Location
- Postcode
- Product
- Quantity Sold
You will also need to report sales via the Lightning Live Portal.
It’s Worth It
The registration of your music and the daily reporting of physical sales can be tedious tasks. It is important to understand the benefits of laying down the infrastructure and working on getting your music heard to listeners in the UK. Being able to have your music charted in the UK can open doors to the future.