Official UK Top 100 streaming chart launched
It’s Top of the Pops reloaded for the 21st century – the music industry is launching its first official Top 100 streaming chart reflecting the new generation of online musos.
The chart will rank the top 100 songs that are “streamed” online, which means they are listened to or watched online rather than downloaded to a computer.
It will be compiled weekly using data from the UK’s leading streaming websites including Spotify, Deezer, Napster, We7 and Zune, as well as the mobile phone start-up Charts Now.
Launching on Monday at www.officialcharts.com, the chart reflects the growing interest in this new generation of music services.
In the last year an estimated 2.6bn audio streams were delivered in the UK, while BPI surveys show that record label revenues from streaming services jumped by 30 per cent to £35m – some 4.5 per cent of all music industry revenues.
Brit Award winner Ed Sheeran (pictured) is top of the pops as the most-streamed artist of 2012 so far. The English singer is followed by Lana Del Rey, David Guetta and Rihanna.
Sheeran’s most-played tracks are lead by Drunk, Lego House and The A Team, which are all among the 20 most-streamed tracks of 2012 to date.
Ed Sheeran said: “Amazing to hear that I am the most streamed act of 2012. Streaming services and online in general have always been an important way for me to get music out to my fans. A new Official Streaming Chart that recognises another way of enjoying music can only be a good thing.”
The most-streamed track of the year so far is Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye FT Kimbra, ahead of David Guetta FT Sia’s Titanium and Jessie J’s Domino.