Canadian music charts

The oldest Canadian music chart was CHUM Chart, which debuted on May 27, 1957, under the name CHUM's Weekly Hit Parade by Toronto radio station CHUM AM. It was considered the de facto national chart of Canada until 1964, when RPM magazine was founded and CHUM lost its special status and became just a regular single-station chart. RPM (1964–2000) was the oldest music industry publication in Canada and was considered the country's "music bible".{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/another-music-mag-bites-the-dust/article25434280/|title=Another music mag bites the dust|work=The Globe and Mail|date=14 March 2001 |accessdate=13 April 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/rpm-story.aspx|title=The RPM story|first=Library and Archives|last=Canada|date=April 16, 2013|website=www.bac-lac.gc.ca|accessdate=13 April 2020}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eU-iNvwywHQC&pg=PA230|title=Whatever Happened To-- ?: Catching Up with Canadian Icons|first1=Mark|last1=Kearney|first2=Randy|last2=Ray|date=September 30, 2006|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=9781550026542 |via=Google Books}} It published Canadian national record charts from June 22, 1964 until its final issue on November 13, 2000. RPM also created Juno Awards,{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/juno-awards-emc/ | access-date=27 November 2013 | encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia | title=Juno Awards | first=Steve | last=McLean | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014738/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/juno-awards-emc/ | archive-date=3 December 2013 | df=dmy-all }} which remains the biggest music award ceremony in Canada and their equivalent of Grammy Awards in the United States.{{Cite news |last= |date=2023-05-02 |title=Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot has died at 84 -CBC |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-singer-songwriter-gordon-lightfoot-has-died-84-cbc-2023-05-02/ |access-date=2023-05-02}}

In the 1960s, the Canadian music industry was disparate and regionally focused, and English-speaking Canadian artists were often overlooked in favour of American acts. To encourage a more national focus and ensure that domestic artists were promoted across Canada, the Maple Leaf System (MLS) was set up in 1969. The MLS produced its own national singles chart,{{cite magazine|first=Ritchie|last=Yorke|title=From the Music Capitals of the World" > "Toronto|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-AgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Maple+Leaf+System%22+singles+chart&pg=RA1-PA50 |magazine=Billboard|date=15 May 1971|page=50|access-date=2 December 2019}} which Billboard magazine reproduced as Canada's entry in its weekly Hits of the World section.{{cite magazine|author=Tomko, Andy (charts dir.)|title=Billboard Hits of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wgEAAAAMBAJ&q=Maple+Leaf&pg=PA29|magazine=Billboard|date=5 June 1971|page=52|access-date=1 December 2019}} The MLS struggled to achieve widespread support in Canada, however, particularly as participating radio stations failed to give the nominated Canadian records the requisite national airplay.{{cite web|first=Richard|last=Green|title=RPM, 1964–2000: The Conscience of Canada's Music Industry|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/rpm-story.aspx|date=February 2015|publisher=Library and Archives Canada|access-date=2 December 2019}}

In 1983, The Record magazine began publishing Canadian music charts to rival RPM. The Retail Singles chart of The Record was based on a national sample of single sales reports given by Canadian retailers and rack jobbers.{{Sfn|Lwin|2000|pp=11–14}} The chart was associated with Canada in the Hits of the World section of American magazine Billboard. The Record ceased publishing the chart due to a lack of sales reports owing to declining single sales in the country.{{Sfn|Lwin|1996|p=9}}

In November 1996, Nielsen SoundScan started compiling sales charts in Canada.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA52 |date=28 December 1996|title=Canadian Business Has Troubled '96 12/28/96|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=108|issue=52|page=52|issn=0006-2510}} When the chart was started in 1996, there were 200 positions (with the top 50 being published by Jam! and the top 10 being published by Billboard). By the late 1990s, physical single sales in Canada had greatly declined. In April 1999, Billboard described Canada's singles market as "dire" and Doug Spence, Director of the Canadian operations of Soundscan, said: "there's no singles market here".{{cite magazine|date=17 April 1999|title='Candle' Still Burning on Canada's Chart|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=111|issue=16|page=60, 64 |issn=0006-2510|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pg0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60}} Due to the limited amount of commercially available physical singles, singles began remaining on the chart for lengthy periods of time. Elton John's charity single "Candle in the Wind '97"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" spent 45 weeks at number one despite selling only one million copies in its first two years of release in the country.{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} Entertainment {{!}} Elton's candle burns in Canada |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/471353.stm |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}} It stayed in the top twenty for three years.{{cite magazine|date=2 September 2000|title=Chart Beat 09/2/00|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=112|issue=33|page=102|issn=0006-2510|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA102}}

With of the growing popularity of digital music downloads in the mid-2000s, physical single sales in Canada declined further, and in March 2006, Billboard reported that most of the then-recent number-one singles on the Canadian Singles Chart had sold less than 200 copies.{{cite magazine|date=4 March 2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4xQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Canadian+Digital+Song+Sales&pg=PA47|title=Canadian Digital Chart Bows; Jaheim's Third Charms 03/04/06|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=118|issue=9|page=47|issn=0006-2510}} In March 2006, Nielsen Entertainment Canada created the Canadian Digital Songs Chart, which tracked sales of digital music downloads, and Billboard stopped publishing the Canadian Singles Chart in favor of the new chart. However, the chart continued to be published on Jam!.{{cite web |url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/SINGLES.html |title=SINGLES : Top 20 |date=June 3, 2010 |work=Nielsen SoundScan |publisher=Jam! Canoe |accessdate=February 18, 2015 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20100607120353/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/SINGLES.html |archivedate=June 7, 2010}}

Billboard introduced their own singles chart for Canada, the Canadian Hot 100, on June 7, 2007. Similar to the US Billboard Hot 100, the chart is based on digital download single sales and streaming data from Nielsen SoundScan and radio audience levels from Nielsen BDS.{{cite magazine|title=Billboard Launches Canadian Hot 100 Chart|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1051685/billboard-launches-canadian-hot-100-chart|date=June 7, 2007|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 2, 2013}}

• RPM 100 Albums
• RPM Country Albums
• The Record Top Albums
• Billboard Canadian Albums

• CHUM Chart (1957–1986)
• RPM Top Singles (1964–2000).
• CRIA Top 50 singles (September 1977 to 1980){{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=akUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA28 |title=Diversity is the Key to Maple Leaf Market |author=David Farrell |magazine=Billboard |date=October 29, 1977 }}
• CBC Singles chart (starting 1980)
• The Record Retail Singles chart (1983–1996)
• Nielsen SoundScan retail singles chart (1996–2006)
• Billboard Canadian Hot 100 (2007–present)
• Music Canada Top 20 Tracks

{{reflist|40em}}

• {{cite book|author-link=Nanda Lwin|last=Lwin|first= Nanda|title= The Canadian Singles Chart Book – Music Data Canada |date=August 1996|isbn= 1-896594-09-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Lwin|first= Nanda|title= Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide – Music Data Canada|pages= 384|date=September 1999|isbn= 1-896594-13-1}}
• {{Cite book|last=Lwin|first=Nanda|author-link=Nanda Lwin|date=2000|title=Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide|publisher=Music Data Canada|isbn=1-896594-13-1}}

• [https://radiowest.ca/surveys.html Western Canadian (and north-western USA) charts at radiowest.ca]

{{Canadian Singles}}

{{Canadian Albums}}

{{Record charts}}

Category:Canadian record charts