I'm just kind of curious about U.K. Chart trends for singles.  I'm a bit uninformed but from what I usually have seen, most singles in the U.K. will peak quickly and then kind of free fall, if that makes sense?  Is this the norm?

 

also, would a top 20 peak generally be considered a hit in the U.K.?  I only ask because with many songs that I see charting high on the charts there, they seem to not spend so much time on the charts overall.  This leads me to believe a peak at #17 isn't super impressive because it barely had longevity.

 

Apologies for any confusion in how I'm articulating this question, lol.  It's just something I've observed over time and was wondering if it's indicative of how U.K. listeners stream/purchase their music (songs get tired quick and they're onto the next thing).

Well, it depends. Before the digital era, singles used to debut at it's peak and then fall down the charts pretty quickly and the charts weren't stagnant. With the explosion of digital downloads songs spent more weeks on the chart but then with streaming the chart became so stagnant and songs spent a looooot of weeks on it. That stupid new rule makes older songs fall down quickly though.

Top 20 is easily achievable now but it could be a nice sized hit providing it had good longevity

 

There's a new accelerated decline chart rule meaning that songs can drop off very hard and suddenly. Any song that has been charting for 10 weeks or longer and declines in sales for 3 consecutive weeks will have it's streaming halved in order to keep the chart fresh and make it easier for newer songs to chart higher. This is why top 20 is a lot easier now.

 

It's also worth mentioning that this new rule has only been in place the last couple of months.

Having read your post again, like the other user stated, up until 2014 songs would peak fast and drop off in the UK because of the release format.

 

Songs would be played on radio for approximately 6 weeks with an iTunes pre-order in place before being released to iTunes. This caused a front loaded chart run and each week you would have a new big release causing a quick turn over of #1s. Labels would be quite strategic with their release date so you wouldn't very often see big artists going head to head in the same weeks.

 

But yeah, it just depends what year of the chart you are referencing. Pre-2014 when streaming wasn't factored into the chart and songs were repressed in their sales to ensure a high peak. Or more recent months where the chart introduced that ridiculous new rule.