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 25 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 consumera 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. 

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” Dualdisc-track, “Maxi” Vinyldisc-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 April 1^st, 2009.