The Official Charts Company (OCC) is taking the first steps towards tracking new areas of music consumption, with the launch of what is believed to be the world's first music subscription chart.
The Official Subscription Plays Chart ranks the most played tracks by UK users of subscription services, based on plays data supplied by Napster, Omnifone (which operates the Music Station service, currently run through Vodafone), HMV and Nokia Music Store.
Initially, the data will comprise a weekly Top 500 most-played tracks for industry use, with top-line market stats for each week. The data will be incorporated into the OCC’s definitive online database in 2009, providing subscribers with a wide range of functionality and additional data breakdowns. As this is developed, OCC is also committed to adding data from additional subscription services, as they come on stream in the UK.
OCC managing director Martin Talbot says the launch of the chart is a major step both for the OCC and the music industry at large:
"We are not aware of another chart which tracks subscription usage like this anywhere in the world, so this is a genuine first,” he says.
Talbot adds, “The data which is emerging from this weekly survey is a fascinating insight into the behaviour of subscription service users, and emphasises the benefits of such services in offering the opportunity to sample from a vast range of music.
“And, for an organisation such as OCC (which gathers data both for the creation of charts and industry-focused intelligence on music consumption), the provision of this kind of data is an essential next step after several decades of tracking sales of vinyl, cassette, CD and digital downloads."
The new chart reflects a form of consumption pattern similar to the Official Singles Chart, with the two charts dominated at the top level by many of the same tracks. But the Official Subscription Plays Chart underlines the greater tendency to experiment among users of subscription services, as well as listening to entire albums – all the tracks from new albums by Glasvegas, The Script, Kings Of Leon and The Verve, as well as Elbow’s new Mercury winner, The Seldom Seen Kid, register high within the Top 500.
Across the four subscription services, OCC is tracking an average of more than 3.2m plays per week, across 340,000 unique tracks. This compares to around 2m single track download sales per week, across an average of 250,000 unique tracks, per week.
Gary Warren, HMV, said:
“The development of the Official Subscription Plays Chart can only bring positive attention to the music industry. Subscription activity is a growing pastime for many consumers and gives great low cost access to any music content the listener has a desire to experience.
“I frequently use my own HMV subscription account to access new music and sample recommendations from friends before adding new CDs to my collection. The new chart is a goldmine for spotting early trends.”
Rob Lewis, Omnifone, said:
“As the international music market evolves, consumers will come to expect subscription based unlimited music services as part of their digital music experience. The OCC’s introduction of the Official Subscription Plays Chart is testament to the success of today’s subscription based unlimited download services including our own multi-award winning direct-to-mobile service MusicStation. With subscription based music service revenues set to eclipse a-la-carte revenues globally within the next five years the Official Subscription Plays Chart is set to chart the future of digital music consumption.”
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Notes to Editors
1. Figures quoted from this release must be credited to the Official Charts Company
2. The Official Charts Company is a joint venture between UK record labels body the BPI and ERA (Entertainment Retailers Association) and is responsible for the commissioning, marketing, distribution and management of the UK’s industry standard music and video charts.
3. The Official Charts Company compiles its charts from sales information from over 6,200 retailers including all major high street retail chains, independent stores, supermarkets and internet retailers. This market research sample equates to 99% of the total UK Singles market; 98% of the total UK Albums market and 85% of the total UK DVD market.
For further information, contact the Official Charts Company on 020 7478 8500 or visit
www.theofficialcharts.com