The UK's first official music download chart is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 1 when it launches later this year.
The UK's first official music download chart is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 1 when it launches later this year.

The new rundown will be compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) using information from legal music download sites such as Napster, iTunes and Mycokemusic.com.

Details have yet to be finalised but it is understood R1 could broadcast the chart midweek, when it is launches on 1 September.

The music industry will hope to benefit from the publicity around the new chart, as sales of CD singles fell by more than 32% in the last 12 months.

This has been partly attributed to the rise in illegal download sites, which allow computer users to share music across the internet.

But the industry is fighting back with the launch of legal services such as Apple's iTunes, which sold 450,000 tracks last week.

The launch of the new download chart is tied to a two-year sponsorship deal between the OCC and Coca-Cola, which sponsors the official UK singles and albums chart, broadcast on R1.

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