Global Reggae Charts – May 2017

Boomrush Promotions

Release date: Friday, May 12th, 2017

Today, the Global Reggae Charts premiere. The charts are the first attempt to get a picture of what currently matters in reggae music across the globe. Felix Rühling, founder of the German reggae promotion and production service company Boomrush, initiated the project. He explains: “Reggae is one of the best known genres worldwide. But for someone who’s new to the music, it’s relatively tough to find the music that’s currently popular.Our goal is to change this.”

The approach Global Reggae Charts takes, differs from other charts. Most charts, like the Billboard 100, are based on a combination of physical and digital sales and, nowadays, streams. The Global Reggae Charts in comparison are based on votes by reggae radio hosts (radio in the broad sense; regular online shows also qualify). As many relevant reggae releases today are free releases, distributed to fans via SoundCloud & Co., Rühling regards this approach as the more natural fit. It was, for instance, used by the well-regarded CMJ college radio charts.

Currently, the charts are still in beta mode. The first edition is based on a small sample of early-access voters. Rühling says: “We have to get the system right first. So we tested the voting process and worked on the data analysis first. The next step is to grow the voter base. Having something to show should be very helpful with that.” To that end, a new edition of the charts will be released every month from now on. They can be accessed on the website and are published as an eMagazine.

The first edition features Top 20 single and Top 10 LP charts. Once the voter base has reached a sizable level, country- or region-specific charts are also on the to-do list, according to Rühling. The magazine also contains some additional content besides the charts. Readers will find interviews with Nattali Rize – whose album Rebel Frequency tops the LP charts – as well as Maken from polish national radio – Czwórka. “It’s important to me to be as transparent as possible”, Rühling explains, “thus, we’ll present a featured voter in every edition”.

The charts are online and can be found at www.globalreggaecharts.com. Voter registration is now open as well. Visit the site for all the details.