'Top of the Pops' producer says singles chart is nothing more than a racket

The executive producer of Top of the Pops has called for an overhaul of the singles charts, claiming the music industry's key marketing tool is "dysfunctional" and making people "cynical and jaundiced" towards pop music.

Chris Cowey, who has restored Top of the Pops as Britain's most successful television music show since he took over in 1997, says that the charts are "controlled by record companies" and need urgent reform to regain credibility.

He said: "The Top 40 chart is dysfunctional. The Official Top 40 doesn't provide us with a list of the most popular songs in the country and that's a problem. It's controlled by record companies. Most of the Top 10 singles are new entries there because of clever marketing practices employed by record companies, not because they are popular."

Mr Cowey wants the singles chart to be based on the value rather than volume of record sales to prevent record companies catapulting bands to the top of the charts with cut- price singles. To reflect modern listening habits he wants the official singles charts to take account of other exposure such as internet downloads and the amount of times singles are played on radio and TV.

The official singles chart is run by the Official UK Charts Company, which is jointly owned by trade associations the British Phonographic Industry and the British Association of Record Distributors.

Despite its long history, Top of the Pops is still one of the music industry's most important promotional tools. Nine years ago BBC executives considered scrapping the show but it is now Britain's top-rated music programme, reaching music fans in 98 countries and earning the BBC up to £20m a year in merchandising.

Some commentators are unsure Mr Cowey's proposals will improve the way the charts are compiled. Although in the 1960s and 1970s record labels were frequently accused of bribing retailers to exaggerate sales, the number of records sold is computerised and well policed these days.

David Roberts, editor of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, said: "Basing a chart on sales is the simplest way to run things and the easiest to understand. When you get a mixture of airplay and sales like in the US it is to the detriment of the chart.

"They clearly have not got it right because you can have album tracks in the Billboard Top 100 that have not even been released as singles and it is totally confusing. You also have to ask who is influencing the level of airplay – that is where corruption can genuinely flourish."

Mr Roberts also suggested that music competition rules prevented record companies from offering discounts large enough to achieve a high chart position based on price alone.

But Mr Cowey remains adamant more could be done to improve the quality of chart music. "There's so much great music around, and people are listening to it, but the charts are often full of crap,'' he said.

He stops short of naming bands but commentators say the show is in danger of being flooded with TV spin-off acts such as Hear'Say, Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius.