BBC Launches Downloaded Music Charts

PReDiToR writes "The BBC today aired its first chart rundown of downloaded music. 'The Official UK Download Chart is based on the most popular, legally downloaded tracks in the UK. It's compiled from the sale of permanently owned single track downloads and doesn't include streamed downloads, subscriptions or free downloads.' The Chart played on Radio 1, the UK's most listened to station, and will be a regular feature."

Nitpick alert

[T-Kir]

I RTA earlier, but IIRC Radio 2 is the most listened to radio station in the UK, not Radio 1.

Yes I know, nitpick alert... but the subject matter is relating to chart positions :-)

Official Downloads Sites:

[usefool]

At the bottom of the article is a list of "Official Downloads Sites", it'll be interesting when we can get the sales figures from each one of them for the complete chart.

• iTunes
  
• Napster
  
• MyCokeMusic
  
• Streets Online
  
• 7 Digital Media
  
• Playlouder
  
• MSN Music
  
• Big Noise Music
  
• HMV
  
• Virgin
  
• Tiscali Music
  
• Sonic Selector
  
• Wanadoo
  

Re:Wouldn't it be cool

[Varitek]

Did you read the list ?

Have you heard of all of the list?

It's all manafactured stuff

No, of course you haven't, otherwise you wouldn't have called Goldie Lookin' Chain 'manufactured'

Re:peel

[WolfWithoutAClause]

Um. Strictly accurately, there is! He's a DJ on radio-1, and there's a 'play live' music button :-)

Re:Nitpick alert

[ed_g2s]

YRC: Radio 1: 9.73 million Radio 2: 13.43 million Radio 3: 2.02 million Radio 4: 9.51 million Radio Five Live: 6.15 million

Re:peel

[PReDiToR]

Try the "listen" link on the Radio 1 page, there is a Real download which happily plays through RealAlternative.

If it streams, you can cache/save it =)

Re:Good Statistic??

[BasilBrush]

The Radio 1 chart is the standard chart by which all UK hits have been measured since the 1960s. There are a few other UK charts out there, but they are unimportant in comparison. You need to be number 1 on the Radio 1 chart to be considered an official number 1 song.

This new download chart is from the same place, so can be considered official as far at the UK industry and music fans will be concerned.

On top of that it is compiled from multiple online music stores, and will presumably be monitored for abuse by any company trying to manipulate the result, just as the main chart is.

Illegal dloads

[StevenHenderson]

Until the number of legal downloads FAR surpasses illegal ones, I will get my info from that list [bigchampagne.com]

Re:Wouldn't it be cool

[emm-tee]

Yeah, they entertain. They wouldn't claim anything else. They come from a shit town, and they take the piss out of it, themselves, and anyone else that strays near. They've been making records for years, giving them to their mates, having a laugh.

Now the media has picked up on the comedy (and genius), so they get their moment of fame. I think they're pretty realistic about it though. As they say, they're out for a laugh, they fully expect to be back working the tills in supermarkets before long.

They're fucking funny though. If you don't knows it, download some of their stuff, it's funny as fuck. Their website is http://www.youknowsit.co.uk/ [youknowsit.co.uk].

iTunes is no match for iRATE

[MichaelCrawford]

iRATE radio [sourceforge.net] is a GPL'ed MP3 downloader and player. From the page:

iRATE radio is a collaborative filtering system for music. You rate the tracks it downloads and the server uses your ratings and other people's to guess what you'll like. The tracks are downloaded from websites which allow free and legal downloads of their music.

According to iRATE's sourceforge statistics [sourceforge.net], it has had 15,344 downloads.

I've been using iRATE for a little over a year now, and have downloaded about a thousand tracks with it. If I were a typical user, then that would suggest that iRATE users all together have downloaded about fifteen million songs, thus far surpassing iTunes' puny one million download total.

Now, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Some of iRATE's downloads were existing users fetching updates, and not everyone who uses it keeps using it. But it clearly shows that free, legal downloads are potentially dwarfing the paid downloads being tracked by the BBC.

Note that the RIAA doesn't get a penny from iRATE's downloads. They can't complain either, because the copyright holders - the musicians themselved - give permission to us to download their tracks when they post them on MP3 hosting services like the Internet Underground Music Archive [iuma.com].

I discuss not only iRATE but a lot of other places to get free music downloads in my article Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads [goingware.com]. Share the link with all your buddies who use p2p.

Thank you for your attention.

Re:A SHit Chart...

[Tomeck]

Radio one DJs don't choose their own tracks, for this very reason. They have a play list, and other people choose what music is to be played when. You can view the current playlist at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/playlist/alist.s html

If the people who choose the playlist are bribed or not is a different matter, the acusation you just made is libelous.

Slightly inaccurate...

[draxil]

"Radio 1, the UK's most listened to station"
Yeah right! For the sake of our national dignity I would like to point out that radio one is only the third most listened to BBC station:

station / Share of listening %
BBC Radio 1 8.0
BBC Radio 2 16.2
BBC Radio 3 1.1
BBC Radio 4 11.0

Source rajar [rajar.co.uk]