UK to get downloads chart

NEW YORK (BPI) - The UK's first legal download chart will launch on 1 September, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) announced yesterday.
The Chart will be drawn from a number of download sites in the UK including Mycokemusic.com, Apple's iTunes, Napster, MSN, Playlouder, Virgin and 7 Digital Media.

However it is understood will be largely fed by OD2 powered services, which (due to the licenses granted to them by the majors) means that the choice of tracks available for purchase will be very different from that available in the high street.

A sample chart released by the company showed 15 of the top 20 downloads were either current or previous top 40 singles, while three were forthcoming singles and two were exclusive downloads not available in any other format - including the number one ranked "Bam Thwok" from the Pixies, number two would have been Maroon 5 with This Love, followed by Outkast with Hey Ya!.

An OCC statement comments: "The rapid growth of legal download music sites has shown the music industry that downloading is the future."
"Accessing music through legal downloading is a major part of the future of music and should be represented with its own chart. The launch of the Official Download Chart this September demonstrates the growing maturity of the legal download market in the UK," told British Phonographic Industry chairman Peter Jamieson. "What this test data shows is that they are generating a new way of listening to music."
The OCC's Omar Maskatiya said: "It's the most significant development in the charts since the advent of the compact disc."