Mariah Carey, who currently holds the most #1s for a solo artist, has been accused of it.
The crime she (or more fittingly, her record company) allegedly committed is withholding the releases of her singles to "force" a #1 when it normally wouldn't. Its being called "chart rigging".
The question is, is it actually wrong?
Take for example, Mariah's latest #1 single "Touch My Body". The song was officially sent to radio on February 19th, with some receiving the song on the 12th. The video was released a few weeks later, to much fanfare. Despite the demand, there was no digital release. Many release dates were sent around the internet, but yet, there was no sign of it on iTunes or Amazon.com. Then, on March 24th, a month after it was first released, iTunes put the song on the front page as a new release. Withon an hour, the song shot up to #1 on the iTunes, knocking Leona Lewis off the top and keeping fellow diva Madonna at #2 with her song "4 Minutes". A week later, when the Billboard chart was released, "Touch My Body" easily shot up from #15 to the summit. Some charge that Mariah's 18th chart-topper was easier to attain because of the high-surge downloads caused by a high-surge of downloads. There seems to credibility to the argument; after two weeks at the top, TMB fell to #5. The song saw a significant decline in iTunes sales a week earlier. Apparently, both of her record companies (Sony BMG and Island Def Jam) have used the practice of suppressing a single's release before. Despite low airplay chartings, singles like "Heartbreaker" and "My All" hit #1 based on high sales.
If it is a real practice, then Mariah certainly isn't the only one. Rihanna's single "Take a Bow" was sent to radio in mid-March; its now late April and there is no download available. The single is currently rising on the Mediabase radio chart, and chances are, when the single is available to download, Rihanna will get to #1 again.
From what I've learned and observed, I wouldn't call "chart rigging" necessarily unfair. It makes good business sense; letting a song build in radio and video popularity before releasing the single would most likely yield a #1 chart position. However, another question is then asked. Why would the record companies use this type of practice if they had faith in the music they're putting out? Mariah is one of IDJ's most successful artists (her last album sold 10 million worldwide). Why would they hold back a single release to gather the most sales instead of just release it outright. Logic and history dictate that it would've gone to #1 either way. Then again, Mariah's single "Bye Bye" has apparently flopped on the iTunes chart.
I think "chart rigging" is a form of insurance to guarantee a successful single. It may seem unfair to artists who do a regular release, but at the end of the day, the song is still being bought. In fact, I think that the practice gives other releases a bit of an edge. A delay-released song is one that people have hear for weeks and weeks. In the fickle music industry, its terribly easy to get tired of a song. A fresh release to both radio and internet would more likely inspire higher interest and higher downloads because of it. True, had Mariah not delayed TMB's release, Madonna would've scored her 12th #1 single. That still didn't stop the success of "4 Minutes"; it was Madoona's highest charting single in 8 years.
"Chart rigging" definitely exists, but I don't believe it is as unfair as people are making it.
For more on the issue, visit Payola, Chart Rigging Or Both? You Be The Judge!
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