The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday.[1]
Irish boy band Westlife achieved the first number one on the UK Singles Downloads Chart with "Flying Without Wings" in September 2004.
The main chart contains the Top 200 downloads (which are published in UKChartsPlus), with the top 100 published on the OCC website. The chart only uses sales of permanent digital downloads, that is single-download tracks on non-subscription online music stores. Some downloading services offer a monthly fee plan where generally an unlimited number of tracks can be downloaded within a month for a certain price. Tracks downloaded in those instances do not qualify.[citation needed]
Before the inauguration of the download chart, only sales of physical formats—such as CD, vinyl and cassette tape—contributed towards a single's position on the UK music charts. From the late 1990s onwards, these sales began to significantly decline.[2] By the start of 2004, they had dropped to their lowest level in over 35 years, with singles needing to sell only 35,000 copies to reach number one.[3] One year later, a limited edition re-release of "One Night" / "I Got Stung" by Elvis Presley topped the chart with 22,000 copies, making it the lowest selling number-one single at that time.[4] Conversely, the music download market was growing considerably: during the same 2004–05 period, sales of downloads grew by 743%, and overtook physical sales in December 2004.[5][6] The following year, the UK's online music revenue reached £42.1 million.[7]
As a result of this growth, the OCC were commissioned in 2004 to compile a new music chart based solely on the UK's download sales, which was initially sponsored by Coca-Cola.[8] A "sample" download chart was trialled for 10 weeks, with the first number one being "Bam Thwok" by American rock band Pixies.[9][10] After this ten-week period, the UK Official Download Chart was launched on 1 September 2004, with Irish boy band Westlife achieving the first official number one.[11] The group topped the chart with a live version of their 1999 single "Flying Without Wings", a move that UK chart commentator James Masterton branded a "stunt".[12]
Sales of downloaded singles were finally incorporated into the UK Singles Chart on 17 April 2005,[2] initially on the condition that physical copies were available to buy at the same time.[2][13] In April 2006, the UK Official Download Chart was expanded to include an album chart. The first album to top the chart was This New Day by English alternative rock band Embrace.[14] By 2007, the UK had become Europe's largest consumer of online music, with almost 78 million tracks being downloaded that year; by 2012, this figure had more than doubled.[7][15]
The single with the longest stay on the Downloads Chart is "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley, which stayed the top spot for 11 weeks. On the week end 26 December 2009, "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine became the fastest-selling download of all time.[16] As of 9 September 2014, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams is the most downloaded song in UK music download history.[17]
In 2006, McFly became the first band to have two number one singles with "Star Girl" on both the UK Downloads Chart and the UK Singles Chart at the same time.
Criteria for inclusionedit
The track must have a maximum playing time of 15 minutes.
PDDs (Permanent Digital Downloads) must be bought by the retailer at a minimum of 40p per track, or 32p if the record company does not publish a set dealer price. The retailer may sell tracks at a loss at its own discretion.[citation needed]
^ abcYoungs, Ian (12 April 2005). "How downloads will change the chart". London: BBC News. from the original on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
^"Single sales drop to all-time low". London: Newsround. 2 February 2004. from the original on 30 May 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2005.
^Wray, James (16 January 2005). "Elvis Takes Record But With Few Records". Monsters and Critics. from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
^"Coca Cola to sponsor pop charts". London: BBC News. 1 December 2003. from the original on 30 July 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
^Miles, Stuart (28 June 2004). "Official downloads chart to be launched in UK". Pocket-lint. from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
^Oates, John (28 June 2004). "Pixies top UK download chart". The Register. from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
^"Westlife top first download chart". London: BBC News. 1 September 2004. from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
^Masterton, James (5 September 2004). . London: LAUNCHcast. Archived from the original on 8 September 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
^(PDF). London: Official Charts Company. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
^"Adele and Ed Sheeran push digital albums sales over the 100 million milestone". London: Official Charts Company. 3 August 2012. from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
^"1 billionth singles download is sold in the UK!". London: Official Charts Company. 9 April 2013. from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
^Sexton, Paul (21 December 2009). Smith, Danyel (ed.). "Rage Against the Machine Beats 'X Factor' to U.K. Xmas No. 1". Billboard. New York City: Prometheus. ISSN 0006-2510. OCLC 3695401. from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
^Copsey, Rob (9 September 2014). "Pharrell's Happy now the UK's most downloaded track of all time". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
^"Tony Christie still top download". London: Newsround. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^(PDF). London: Official Charts Company. January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^Cleland, Gary (12 December 2007). "Amy Winehouse tops year end iTunes chart". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 6412514. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^"Lady Gaga crowned queen of the downloads". The Daily Telegraph. London. 7 September 2009. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 6412514. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^Copsey, Rob (1 January 2015). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of 2014". Official Charts Company.
singles, downloads, chart, compiled, official, charts, company, behalf, music, industry, since, july, 2015, chart, week, runs, from, friday, thursday, with, chart, date, given, following, thursday, irish, band, westlife, achieved, first, number, with, flying, . The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company OCC on behalf of the music industry Since July 2015 the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday with the chart date given as the following Thursday 1 Irish boy band Westlife achieved the first number one on the UK Singles Downloads Chart with Flying Without Wings in September 2004 The main chart contains the Top 200 downloads which are published in UKChartsPlus with the top 100 published on the OCC website The chart only uses sales of permanent digital downloads that is single download tracks on non subscription online music stores Some downloading services offer a monthly fee plan where generally an unlimited number of tracks can be downloaded within a month for a certain price Tracks downloaded in those instances do not qualify citation needed An album equivalent the UK Album Downloads Chart was launched in April 2006 Contents 1 History 2 Criteria for inclusion 3 Most downloaded by year 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editBefore the inauguration of the download chart only sales of physical formats such as CD vinyl and cassette tape contributed towards a single s position on the UK music charts From the late 1990s onwards these sales began to significantly decline 2 By the start of 2004 they had dropped to their lowest level in over 35 years with singles needing to sell only 35 000 copies to reach number one 3 One year later a limited edition re release of One Night I Got Stung by Elvis Presley topped the chart with 22 000 copies making it the lowest selling number one single at that time 4 Conversely the music download market was growing considerably during the same 2004 05 period sales of downloads grew by 743 and overtook physical sales in December 2004 5 6 The following year the UK s online music revenue reached 42 1 million 7 As a result of this growth the OCC were commissioned in 2004 to compile a new music chart based solely on the UK s download sales which was initially sponsored by Coca Cola 8 A sample download chart was trialled for 10 weeks with the first number one being Bam Thwok by American rock band Pixies 9 10 After this ten week period the UK Official Download Chart was launched on 1 September 2004 with Irish boy band Westlife achieving the first official number one 11 The group topped the chart with a live version of their 1999 single Flying Without Wings a move that UK chart commentator James Masterton branded a stunt 12 Sales of downloaded singles were finally incorporated into the UK Singles Chart on 17 April 2005 2 initially on the condition that physical copies were available to buy at the same time 2 13 In April 2006 the UK Official Download Chart was expanded to include an album chart The first album to top the chart was This New Day by English alternative rock band Embrace 14 By 2007 the UK had become Europe s largest consumer of online music with almost 78 million tracks being downloaded that year by 2012 this figure had more than doubled 7 15 The single with the longest stay on the Downloads Chart is Crazy by Gnarls Barkley which stayed the top spot for 11 weeks On the week end 26 December 2009 Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine became the fastest selling download of all time 16 As of 9 September 2014 Happy by Pharrell Williams is the most downloaded song in UK music download history 17 In 2006 McFly became the first band to have two number one singles with Star Girl on both the UK Downloads Chart and the UK Singles Chart at the same time Criteria for inclusion editThe track must have a maximum playing time of 15 minutes PDDs Permanent Digital Downloads must be bought by the retailer at a minimum of 40p per track or 32p if the record company does not publish a set dealer price The retailer may sell tracks at a loss at its own discretion citation needed Most downloaded by year editYear Single Artist Record label Ref 2004 Vertigo U2 Universal 18 2005 You re Beautiful James Blunt Warner 19 2006 A Moment Like This Leona Lewis Sony 20 2007 Grace Kelly Mika Universal 21 2008 Hallelujah Alexandra Burke Sony citation needed 2009 Poker Face Lady Gaga Universal 22 2010 Love the Way You Lie Eminem featuring Rihanna Universal citation needed 2011 Someone Like You Adele Beggars citation needed 2012 Somebody That I Used to Know Gotye featuring Kimbra Universal citation needed 2013 Blurred Lines Robin Thicke featuring T I and Pharrell Universal citation needed 2014 Happy Pharrell Williams Sony 23 2015 Uptown Funk Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars Sony citation needed 2016 7 Years Lukas Graham Warner 24 2017 Shape of You Ed Sheeran Warner 25 2018 This Is Me Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble Warner 26 2019 Dance Monkey Tones And I Sony citation needed 2020 Blinding Lights The Weeknd Universal 27 2021 Bad Habits Ed Sheeran Warner 28 2022 As It Was Harry Styles Sony 29 See also editLists of UK Singles Downloads Chart number ones List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Downloads Chart UK Singles Chart UK Album Downloads ChartReferences edit Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 14 July 2015 a b c Youngs Ian 12 April 2005 How downloads will change the chart London BBC News Archived from the original on 9 January 2007 Retrieved 26 May 2012 Single sales drop to all time low London Newsround 2 February 2004 Archived from the original on 30 May 2006 Retrieved 26 May 2005 Wray James 16 January 2005 Elvis Takes Record But With Few Records Monsters and Critics Archived from the original on 14 October 2012 Retrieved 26 May 2012 Schott Ben Cock Starkey Claire 2005 Chapter V Music amp Cinema In Schott Ben ed Schott s Almanac 2006 1st ed London Bloomsbury p 129 ISBN 978 0 7475 8307 3 OCLC 62292696 Retrieved 26 May 2011 Downloads overtake single sales London BBC News 7 January 2005 Archived from the original on 11 January 2010 Retrieved 26 May 2012 a b Schott Ben Cock Starkey Claire 2007 Chapter V Music amp Cinema In Schott Ben ed Schott s Almanac 2008 1st ed London Bloomsbury p 142 ISBN 978 0 7475 8469 8 OCLC 271877788 Retrieved 11 April 2012 Coca Cola to sponsor pop charts London BBC News 1 December 2003 Archived from the original on 30 July 2004 Retrieved 26 May 2012 Miles Stuart 28 June 2004 Official downloads chart to be launched in UK Pocket lint Archived from the original on 10 February 2012 Retrieved 27 May 2011 Oates John 28 June 2004 Pixies top UK download chart The Register Archived from the original on 20 May 2012 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Westlife top first download chart London BBC News 1 September 2004 Archived from the original on 4 January 2009 Retrieved 26 May 2012 Masterton James 5 September 2004 Chart Commentary from James Masterton London LAUNCHcast Archived from the original on 8 September 2004 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Digital Download Factsheet PDF London Official Charts Company 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 17 January 2010 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Adele and Ed Sheeran push digital albums sales over the 100 million milestone London Official Charts Company 3 August 2012 Archived from the original on 4 August 2012 Retrieved 3 August 2012 1 billionth singles download is sold in the UK London Official Charts Company 9 April 2013 Archived from the original on 12 April 2013 Retrieved 22 April 2013 Sexton Paul 21 December 2009 Smith Danyel ed Rage Against the Machine Beats X Factor to U K Xmas No 1 Billboard New York City Prometheus ISSN 0006 2510 OCLC 3695401 Archived from the original on 26 May 2013 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Copsey Rob 9 September 2014 Pharrell s Happy now the UK s most downloaded track of all time Official Charts Company Retrieved 20 January 2015 Tony Christie still top download London Newsround 6 April 2005 Retrieved 12 April 2012 Digital Download Factsheet PDF London Official Charts Company January 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 3 March 2007 Retrieved 12 April 2012 Coleman Maureen Superstar Leona on Simon Jedward that shock attack and playing Belfast Belfast Telegraph Belfast Independent News amp Media Retrieved 12 April 2012 Cleland Gary 12 December 2007 Amy Winehouse tops year end iTunes chart The Daily Telegraph London ISSN 0307 1235 OCLC 6412514 Retrieved 12 April 2012 Lady Gaga crowned queen of the downloads The Daily Telegraph London 7 September 2009 ISSN 0307 1235 OCLC 6412514 Retrieved 12 April 2012 Copsey Rob 1 January 2015 The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of 2014 Official Charts Company The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2016 Official Charts Company The Top 40 biggest songs of 2017 on the Official Chart Official Charts Company The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2018 Official Charts Company Copsey Rob 4 January 2021 The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2020 Official Charts Company Retrieved 8 January 2024 Griffiths George 4 January 2022 The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2021 Official Charts Company Retrieved 8 January 2024 Griffiths George 4 January 2023 The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2022 Official Charts Company Retrieved 8 January 2024 External links editOfficial Singles Downloads Chart at the Official Charts Company The Official UK Top 20 Download Chart at MTV UK Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title UK Singles Downloads Chart amp oldid 1215764724, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
