The UK Country Radio Airplay chart has officially launched, and it’s a groundbreaking moment for country music enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. Announced on Sunday, March 10, 2024, the inaugural chart coincided with the final day of the C2C Festival 2024. This exciting development marks a significant milestone for the UK country music community.
What Is the UK Country Radio Airplay Chart?
The UK Country Radio Airplay chart is the first genre-specific radio chart in the UK, specifically focused on country music. It draws inspiration from the US Mediabase and Billboard country radio charts, adapting their successful models to the UK context. The chart serves as a key measure of which songs are being enjoyed most frequently by listeners across the country.
How It Works:
Each week, the chart features the Top 20 songs based on radio airplay. The selection is taken from a pool of new releases, ensuring that the chart reflects current trends and interests within the genre. Songs released more than three years ago are discounted to maintain relevance.
Data is compiled from a variety of UK country radio stations, including:
- Absolute Radio Country
- BBC Radio 2 – The Country Show with Bob Harris
- CountryLine: The Big 615
- Downtown Country Radio
- Smooth Country Radio
Airplay metrics will be gathered from Friday through midnight on the following Thursday, with the chart accessible to the public each Sunday at 5pm GMT. The chart will be featured live on Absolute Radio Country on Sundays, hosted by Baylen Leonard. The show starts at 4pm.
Industry Collaboration
The UK Country Radio Airplay chart is a collaborative effort between Radiomonitor and the CMA’s UK Task Force. Spearheaded by Alexandra Hannaby, Head of Big Machine Label Group, this project aims to increase recognition and exposure for country artists in the UK. “I’m thrilled for the launch of the UK Country Radio Airplay Chart, a significant milestone for Country music in the UK”, said Alexandra, “we’re paving the way for increased recognition and exposure for country artists in the UK and I’m excited to see its impact unfold.”
Milly Olykan, the Country Music Association’s VP of International Relations and Development, emphasizes the importance of this initiative in broadening country music’s presence in the UK mainstream, saying “This is an incredibly exciting time for country music in the UK. From the genre experiencing a 40% growth in consumption throughout the last year, to the volume of tickets sold to Country festivals and tours increasing at a record pace, it’s apparent the Country is broadening significantly into the mainstream in the UK. This new radio chart will provide another exposure opportunity to further elevate Country artists and allow for greater engagement with fans”
The First Number-One Song
The debut chart crowned “Creek Will Rise” by Conner Smith as its first number-one song. This achievement signifies a promising future for country music in the UK, and fans can look forward to weekly updates on the chart’s top performers.
Countrymusic will be adding the chart soon, but in the meantime, we present the Top 10 Country Music Singles Chart from iTunes and the Top 10 Country Music Album Chart from iTunes