Thursday · 7pm UK How the charts work
Methodology · v1.0

How SHHC ranks music

Headline positions measure new consumption during the chart period, not lifetime popularity. SoundCloud and YouTube are separate charts and are never combined in this version of the methodology.

Exact public counters

Where an exact public integer is available, weekly score is the current public counter minus the previous chart-period counter. On SoundCloud, the visible interface may abbreviate a number such as 12.4K while the public track page data still exposes the exact integer; SHHC uses that exact public value rather than estimating from the abbreviation.

Example: 2,551 → 2,614 = 63 weekly plays.

Abbreviated counters

If a platform exposes only an abbreviated public value and no exact public integer is available, SHHC scores only the movement that is visible publicly. The public chart marks this with a tilde (~) so the estimate is never presented as hidden exact data.

Example: 43.4K → 43.5K = ~100 visible plays. If the displayed number does not change, the score for that period is zero.

Delayed visible movement

If an abbreviated counter stays flat across multiple periods and later moves, the newly visible increment can be smoothed across the elapsed chart periods. Already published charts are not rewritten merely because hidden precision becomes visible later.

Ties and zeroes

Equal scores share a rank using competition ranking. Two entries tied at #5 are both displayed as =5 and the next position is #7. Zero-score assets are not used to fill a Top 10.

Baselines

New assets require a baseline before they can chart. Consumption already present before SHHC begins monitoring the asset never counts as weekly movement. An accepted submission therefore enters monitoring first and can only score after a later full measurement period.

Corrections

Material factual or data-processing errors can be corrected transparently using preserved evidence. Later access to better hidden precision does not silently rewrite historical charts.

Independence

SHHC is an independent project and is not affiliated with SoundCloud, YouTube or the Official Charts Company. Inclusion establishes measurement eligibility; it is not an endorsement.