The Official Charts Company has announced the first Official Folk Albums Chart, to be launched in partnership with English Folk Expo’s Manchester Folk Festival and supported by Showcase Scotland Expo.
The first chart will be revealed on 17 October 2020 at a live-streamed event hosted by Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio presenter of The Folk Show. The event will feature performances from top UK and Irish folk artists, with more details to be announced.
This free event will be live-streamed on the Manchester Folk Festival Facebook page at 8pm on Sat 17th Oct. facebook.com/McrFolkFest
The monthly chart is compiled using physical and digital album sales, downloads and streams, from UK and Irish musicians releasing folk albums within the past 18 months. The chart is to be released on the first Monday of each month on OfficialCharts.com, englishfolkexpo.com and to subscriber mailing lists. A monthly Official Folk Albums Chart playlist will also be available to stream on Spotify.
The Official Folk Albums Chart follows the launch of July’s inaugural Official UK Afrobeats Chart which joined a list of genre-specific charts – including Americana, Jazz & Blues and Progressive – all genres characterised by a high percentage of independent releases.
“I’m absolutely thrilled about the launch of the Official Folk Albums Charts presented by Manchester Folk Festival” says Tom Besford, Chief Executive English Folk Expo. “As a genre, folk covers thousands of artists at all career stages and it’s really exciting to see this represented for the first time by the Official Charts Company. For many artists, being recognised through chart placement can be an important step in raising their profile and building new audiences. Now more than ever, English Folk Expo and our valued partners including Showcase Scotland Expo are delighted to work with the Official Charts Company to develop initiatives like this to help to promote folk music.”
More details, including FAQs and links can be found here: https://www.englishfolkexpo.com/official-folk-albums-chart/
Live-streamed on the Manchester Folk Festival Facebook page at 8pm on Sat 17th Oct. facebook.com/McrFolkFest