It’s the end of an era for the charts.
After nearly two decades, Martin Talbot is stepping down as chief executive of the Official Charts Company, Music Week can reveal.
Since 2007, he has overseen almost 1,000 No.1 singles and albums at the Official Charts Company.
Talbot has taken the decision to step away from the company which he has steered through a period of massive change in the entertainment sector, as it prepares to launch a new state-of-the-art data system later this year, following the largest infrastructure investment in the company’s history.
The new platform, built under the scope of a new contract with Kantar finalised in spring 2025, is designed to build on the company’s reputation as a market-leading entertainment charts & data company and further drive its UK and international business, across music and film.
Under Talbot’s leadership since 2007, the company (a joint venture between the BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association) has navigated the transition from physical to digital consumption, while also securing its first international contracts to produce the official charts in Ireland and France over the past decade.
Talbot has overseen the creation of the company “arrows & one” branding in 2011 and its development since then into a recognised entertainment brand, which has provided the foundation for the No.1 Awards programme.
He has also overseen the negotiation of five successive BBC contracts and confirmation of almost 1,000 No.1s in the Official Singles Chart and Official Albums Chart. In the week Talbot joined the Official Charts Company in October 2007, Foo Fighters had the No.1 album with Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, while Sugababes were on top of the singles chart with About You Now.
Talbot started his career in the music industry joining Music Week as reporter in 1990, moving on to write for the NME in 1993, before returning to the Music Week group where he held the role of editor of international weekly music title Fono and, latterly, Music Week itself.
Martin Talbot said: “It has been a privilege to head the Official Charts for the best part of two decades, to establish it as a leading entertainment brand and player in the international market. But, with the company ready to take its next step forward with a brand new state of the art data platform later this year, I feel it is time to step away.”
He added: “When I joined Official Charts, legitimate downloading was only a couple of years old, the download market was five years away from its peak, streaming was yet to emerge and vinyl sales were at an all-time low. To have steered the ship which has tracked and navigated that evolution from the inside has been hugely rewarding.”
It has been a privilege to head the Official Charts for the best part of two decades
Martin Talbot
Talbot will move on towards the end of April.
“I firmly believe I am leaving the business in the hands of the best young team in the business – Becca Monahan [commercial director], Chris Austin [operations director] and Lauren Kreisler [digital & brand director],” he said. “I have no doubt that they can help take the business to new heights over the coming months and years. I will miss working with them all immensely, but I look forward to admiring the company’s achievements from a distance.”
Proper Music Distribution’s Drew Hill, chair of the board, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Martin for his outstanding leadership and commitment over the past 18 years. Under his stewardship, the company has grown significantly, navigated major industry shifts and made the investments that will underpin its future success. We are extremely grateful for his contribution and wish him every success in his next chapter.”
Kim Bayley, chief executive of ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Martin over the past 18 years. Martin has led the Official Charts through a period of enormous change in the retail landscape and built a world-leading data business which provides an exceptional service to our membership and the wider industry. I have an enormous respect for Martin both professionally and personally and will miss working alongside him and wish him all the best for the future.”
Dr Jo Twist, CEO of BPI, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Martin in my time at the BPI and on behalf of the label community we thank him for navigating the Official Charts Company through so much change in the industry. Under his leadership, the OCC has made huge progress as a consumer-facing brand and the Official Charts remain and will continue to be one of the most important and highly regarded data sources for the recorded music sector.”
The Official Charts Company provides the UK's only official music and video charts, as seen at OfficialCharts.com, including among its licence partners Music Week, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, Folk Expo, Greatest Hits Radio and Amazon, among others.
Its charts are combined purely from sales and streaming information gathered across all key distribution (or entertainment) channels including all major high street retail chains, independent stores, supermarkets, mail order internet retailers and digital music and streaming service providers.
The market research sample equates to 99% of the total UK singles market; 98% of the total UK albums market and 90% of the total UK DVD market.
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