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.

What the chart covers

SHHC ranks positive measured movement among eligible releases currently known to and actively monitored by SHHC. The monitored universe grows through submissions, discovery and verification; SHHC does not claim that every eligible Scottish hip-hop release is already present.

Genre scope, declarations and filters

SHHC publishes one broad Scottish hip-hop/rap chart per measured platform rather than separate headline charts for drill, grime, trap or other related styles. Genre labels displayed by SHHC come from artist-controlled or authorised source metadata; SHHC does not listen to a recording and assign a genre by editorial judgement.

Where an authorised source uses a known textual variant, SHHC may normalise that wording mechanically for filtering while preserving the original source declaration. If no qualifying genre declaration is available, SHHC does not invent one. Genre filters are views of the same measured chart: they preserve the underlying weekly scores and overall positions and are not separately published SHHC charts.

Exact public counters

Where an exact public integer is available, weekly score is the current public counter minus the previous chart-period counter. Where a platform's permitted data access provides an exact public counter even when its visible interface abbreviates that number, SHHC uses the exact counter rather than estimating from the abbreviation.

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.

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 chart movement. Once a valid baseline exists, an active monitored asset can score from the next measured endpoint; its first measurement window may be shorter than a full week.

One scoring asset per release and platform

A release may have more than one official upload on the same platform, such as an official audio, music video or visualiser. SHHC designates only one active chart-scoring asset for that release on that platform at a time, so alternate official uploads cannot create multiple positions for the same release in the same platform chart.

Track age does not expire chart eligibility

SHHC does not remove a monitored track from chart consideration because it is more than 30 days old. The original release date is catalogue information, not a chart cutoff. A historical track can chart or return to the chart whenever its measured platform counter shows positive movement during a chart period.

The recency limits used by SHHC discovery sweeps are intake controls only: they help keep proactive discovery manageable and do not define chart eligibility once a track is accepted and monitored.

If a track has charted before, drops out, and later returns on renewed movement, SHHC marks it as a re-entry rather than a new entry. Its previous peak and total weeks charted are preserved.

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.