Rules for the EURO
200™
Chart
Introduction:
These
Chart Rules exist to determine eligibility for entry into the Euro 200™ Chart. The aim of the Rules
is to protect the integrity of the Chart and to ensure that they are an
accurate reflection of the popularity of each recording.
The Rules apply equally to all companies
issuing and/or distributing recordings. It should be noted that record
companies and distributors remain free to package and market their products in
any way they choose. However, records which do not comply with the Rules will
not be eligible to be included in the Chart.
The Chart Rules are issued by APC-stats in
conjunction with the Chart management. The Euro 200™ Chart management is
responsible for interpreting and applying the Chart Rules. The Chart manager of
the Euro 200™ may refer any matter concerning the interpretation of the Chart
Rules.
Sales (CD-tracks and downloads) &
Airplay:
All sales data about singles and downloads
used to compile the Chart, must be recorded as a result of a genuine purchase
by a genuine consumer. Airplay data is supplied by more than 1500 major radio-
and TV-stations from all over the European Union and streaming data from 31
states in the EU/UE. The data is calculated over a period of fourteen
days. (weekly refreshed).
No record company, distributor, retailer,
Artist or other party should act or encourage others to act in any way designed
to distort, or which has the effect of distorting the Chart by achieving a
higher or lower Chart position for a record than it would otherwise achieve.
Actions which will be considered a breach
of these rules include:
a) promoting the sale of any record by supplying a
dealer with records by another artist free of charge or upon terms more
favourable than would be the case but for that promotion;
b) purchasing records
or causing records to be purchased other than as a genuine consumer
purchase;
c) multiple purchases
of records on behalf of other persons;
d) interference with the operation of sales recording
machines or other equipment or computer software used to compile the Charts or
collect or collate its information or in any other way being a party to the
submission of false or inaccurate data to the Chart compiler;
e) offering money or
other benefits to a dealer contingent upon a record entering any of the Charts
or attaining a minimum chart position;
f) procuring the sale of a record in conjunction with a
non-related or excessive gift, which gives the consumer
a product, voucher or benefit or anything else which is either
unrelated to the record concerned or of a value in excess of the value (normal
retail price) of the record without that gift;
g) any other
activity intended unfairly to influence Chart positions.
Where the Chart management has reason to
believe that a record is the subject of any of the above types of activity, it
will, at its discretion, either remove identifiable irregular sales
transactions from the data used to compile the Chart, or exclude the record
from the Chart with immediate effect.
Track Definitions:
In principle, all tracks of a CD album,
released in the European Union qualify for the Euro 200™ through airplay data.
Also downloads of individual album tracks,
which are not officially released by the record company, be counted.
Tracks in different languages, of an
artist being sold in several states of the European Union, are put
together.
Since January
1, 2024, the editorial staff of the EURO200 has used a minimum length for a
music track to be included in the weekly charts compiled by apcchart.com. The
minimum length of a track is set at 100 seconds (excluding fading). You can see
here which tracks are not
included in our charts since January 1, 2024 for the above reason.
We assess a track as suitable for the Euro
200™ as it is available as:
“1 Track” CD, “1 Track+” CD, Album-track,
“Maxi”-track, “Maxi” Dual disc-track,
“Maxi” Vinyl disc-track, “7-inch”, (Vinyl up to
7) Digital Audio Track, Digital Single Bundle, (Bundle must feature lead song
as audio track) or Remix Single-track (One song title and any number of
remixes of that featured title). Criteria for Combining
Sales.
a) For chart purposes, the sales of different formats
are combined where they can reasonably be held to be variants or alternative
formats of the same piece of product.
b) Sales of different formats and variants of a single
are combined for chart purposes where each format contains the featured
song(s), and not the featured song(s) from any other chart single. Labels may
include previously unreleased remixes or alternative versions of a current Top
100 single on a new release providing the version used has not previously
appeared on a chart eligible release.
c) There is no maximum of physical formats or of bundle
formats for each title which is eligible for the singles chart.
Revised
rules at January 1st, 2024.