[4] In the United Kingdom, its charts include ones for singles, albums and films,[5] with the data compiled from a mixture of downloads, purchases (of physical media) and streaming.

[6] The OCC is operated jointly by the British Phonographic Industry and the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) (formerly the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD)) and is incorporated as a private company limited by shares jointly owned by BPI and ERA.

CIN took over as compilers of the official UK charts in 1990,[8] and the company has continued in that role, as the OCC, since 1994.

[9] In December 2020,[10] the OCC announced it was taking over the contract from German company GfK, in compiling the French music charts for Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP)/National Union of Phonographic Producers (SCPP) with the OCC taking over on 1 January 2021.

[22][23] Beginning in 2017, the Official Charts Company changed its methodology for calculating the Top 40, intending to more accurately reflect the rise in music streaming.

The chart highlights UK's biggest Asian songs of the week, based on sales and streams across a seven-day period.

[26][27][28] In 2022, the success of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" after its use in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things brought a challenge against the rules introduced in 2017.

The rules were intended to prevent streaming of older songs potentially keeping them on the chart for years.

As the OCC is jointly operated by the BPI and the ERA, a Chart Supervisory Committee is in place with panel of representatives from both the record industry and from retailers.