One of the curiosities of modern pop’s landscape is that no one knows any longer how to measure success. An artist can be a huge live draw, but make no impact on the charts; they can be consistent chart-toppers but minnows among the streamers; they can stream by the bazillion, but have no live following to speak of. The metrics of success are so unrelated to each other that anyone can prove anything these days: any band can be the biggest young band in Britain right now.
Yard Act are one of those biggest young bands in Britain. Their debut album was a No. 2 hit at the start of this month. Properly big, right? Well, no, perhaps not. For one, it stayed in the chart for only two weeks. If you look at the streaming stats, Yard Act’s biggest track has been played on Spotify a little over a million times, which is nothing: around a third as much as a single that entered the chart at No.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in