LGBTQ Music Chart Sets Record Straight on Voting, Delays and Fan Complaints

The LGBTQ Music Chart team addresses confusion around voting delays, Outed On Friday rules, re‑entry boosts, software bugs and publishing issues, reminding fans that the entire chart is run voluntarily and fully based on votes.

The LGBTQ Music Chart is firing back at rumours, confusion and the occasional diva meltdown — and they’re doing it with the blunt honesty only a volunteer‑run queer institution can deliver.

The team behind the chart aren’t sitting in some glossy media office with corporate backing. Every single member works full‑time in their day job and still pours 10–15 unpaid hours a week into keeping the chart alive. They do it for one reason: love for the LGBTQ community and its artists. No salaries, no shortcuts, no secret industry machine — just graft, passion and a stubborn belief that queer music deserves a platform.

And for those still baffled by the voting schedule, the system hasn’t changed since the radio show launched in 2022. Votes cast in Week 15 determine the chart for Week 17 — a 14‑day delay that exists because the radio show is prepared Monday to Thursday of the airing week. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s logistics.

Another myth the team is keen to crush: being chosen for Outed On Friday! does not guarantee a chart placement. If the No. 50 track has 500 votes and an Outed On Friday! pick has 499, it simply won’t make the cut. To soften the blow, the first week on Outed On Friday! gives each vote double value. The following week, artists must earn twice as many votes to match that boost. It’s a helping hand — not a free ride.

And if your song isn’t on the chart, it’s because the votes weren’t there. The system is automated, impartial and brutally honest. After 14 days off the chart, a track is permanently out — a rule that’s been in place for years, even if some returning artists still insist «something must be wrong». It isn’t. Sometimes a song drops out and returns the next week. That’s the power — and chaos — of fan voting. Even when your song had many votes.

The team recently introduced a re‑entering tag, giving returning songs a 1.5x vote boost. A bug briefly labelled some Outed On Friday! tracks as re‑entries, but the glitch actually benefited those artists — and was fixed as soon as it was spotted.

Yes, there are bugs. Yes, the software is updated twice a week. And yes, the entire operation is run in the team’s spare time. Advertising revenue currently covers one month of annual service costs — the rest comes straight from private pockets. So when publishing runs late, it’s not sabotage or favouritism. It’s life.

The team is also considering a shift to team‑picked songs only, meaning no public submissions. Nothing has been decided, and any change would be announced at least two months in advance. They know it could make things harder for some artists — personal taste is a dangerous kingmaker — which is why the debate is ongoing.

And for fans struggling to vote, the advice is simple: clear your browser cache, try a private window and remember that the anti‑cheat system blocks suspicious votes. Shared internet connections mean shared IP addresses — and only one vote per IP is allowed. That’s not bias. That’s security.

The message from the LGBTQ Music Chart team is loud and clear: they’re doing their best, they’re doing it for free and they’re doing it for the community. The least the community can do is understand how the system works — and keep the votes coming.

Sometime we do misstakes and we try to fix them as fast as possible. We are all human.

This article reflects feedback and complaints shared by a few members of our audience.