This is a bit funny, but also a bit bizarre. Dramatico Entertainment chief Mike Batt has told Billboard he is a bit pissed off about new chart rules in Germany which mean that one of his artists - that Katie Melua chick - has been kept off the number one spot there by a popular comedy DVD.
A comedy video is beating Melua in the album charts because of some slightly odd chart rules that came into effect in Germany back in July. First, positioning in the German music charts, which are compiled by a company called Media Control, are now based on revenues generated rather than units shifted. This means that if your release is retailing at a higher price (and DVDs are generally more expensive than CDs) then you don't need to sell as many copies as something retailing at a lower price in order to get the same chart position.
Second, although a music release must contain at least 50% of actual music to count in the music charts (though music videos can be included in that 50%), comedy CDs do not need to have any music content to get a chart rating. Recognising the popularity of comedy in the German market, Media Control rules now say that "comedy productions which predominantly consist of the spoken word are eligible for inclusion in the charts if they are recordings of stage productions". And that rule seems to apply whether the comedy release is just a sound recording, or is, as in this case, a video recording.
All of which means that comedian Mario Barth's 'Männer Sind Primitiv' DVD, which happens to come bundled with an equivalent CD, is currently topping the German music charts. As it retails for 18-20 euros, while Melua's new album 'Pictures' retails at 13.45 euros, Barth's release does not need to sell as many units to get to the top of the chart. And because of the German chart's comedy rules, it can appear alongside Melua in the music chart despite the lack of music.
While the new chart rules have proven uncontroversial in Germany, Batt of UK based Dramatico says he thinks it is mad that spoken word comedy CDs are appearing in the music charts. He told Billboard: "I don't think its fair to have a spoken word DVD with absolutely no music on it beating [other albums]. This is not anything to do with music. The whole chart has been disadvantaged. It's a music chart, surely? If they want a chart for comedy, let them have a chart for comedy. If they want one for spoken language as opposed to music, that's fine. But where do you stop? Let's put vegetables and grocers in the chart then, and we'll get beaten to No 1 by how many shipments of potatoes go out of the supermarkets. I'm certainly going to make a complaint. It's like being beaten into the No 2 spot by a shipment of bananas. It has nothing to do with records. There's no malice in this, but I don't think it's fair".
Actually he has a very good point there. Fruit and veg should be included in the music charts. What better way to get all those obese kids I was reading about last night eating more healthy than having bananas and broccoli competing with Sugababes and Stereophonics in the charts?