UK Singles Downloads Chart: Difference between revisions

[[File:Nobel Peace PricePrize Concert 2009 Westlife2.jpg|thumb|Irish boy band [[Westlife]] achieved the first number one on the UK Singles Downloads Chart with "[[Flying Without Wings]]" in September 2004.]]

Before the inauguration of the download chart, only sales of physical formats—such as [[CD single|CD]], [[gramophone record|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.<ref name="Youngs">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4433071.stm|title=How downloads will change the chart|last=Youngs|first=Ian|date=12 April 2005|publisher=[[BBC News]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109050155/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4433071.stm|archive-date=9 January 2007|url-status=live|access-date=26 May 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_3452000/3452399.stm|title=Single sales drop to all-time low|date=2 February 2004|publisher=[[Newsround]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060530110457/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_3452000/3452399.stm|archive-date=30 May 2006|url-status=live|access-date=26 May 2005}}</ref> One year later, a limited edition re-release of "[[One Night (Elvis Presley song)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/music/news/article_3598.php/Elvis_Takes_Record_But_With_Few_Records|title=Elvis Takes Record But With Few Records|last=Wray|first=James|date=16 January 2005|publisher=[[Monsters and Critics]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014221958/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/music/news/article_3598.php/Elvis_Takes_Record_But_With_Few_Records|archive-date=14 October 2012|url-status=live|access-date=26 May 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schott|first1=Ben|author-link1=Ben Schott|last2=Cock-Starkey|first2=Claire|editor1-first=Ben|editor1-last=Schott|editor1-link=Ben_SchottBen Schott|title=[[Schott's Almanac|Schott's Almanac 2006]]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mL04HAAACAAJ|access-date=26 May 2011|edition=1st|year=2005|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-7475-8307-3|oclc=62292696|page=129|chapter=Chapter V. Music & Cinema}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4155385.stm|title=Downloads overtake single sales|date=7 January 2005|publisher=[[BBC News]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111094057/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4155385.stm|archive-date=11 January 2010|url-status=live|access-date=26 May 2012}}</ref> The following year, the UK's online music revenue reached {{£|42.1&nbsp;million|link=yes}}.<ref name="Schott 2008">{{cite book|last1=Schott|first1=Ben|author-link1=Ben Schott|last2=Cock-Starkey|first2=Claire|editor1-first=Ben|editor1-last=Schott|editor1-link=Ben_SchottBen Schott|title=[[Schott's Almanac|Schott's Almanac 2008]]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTeNFYI_t5wC|access-date=11 April 2012|edition=1st|year=2007|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-7475-8469-8|oclc=271877788|page=[https://archive.org/details/schottsmiscellan00bens/page/142 142]|chapter=Chapter V. Music & Cinema}}</ref>

Sales of downloaded singles were finally incorporated into the UK Singles Chart on 17 April 2005,<ref name="Youngs"/> initially on the condition that physical copies were available to buy at the same time.<ref name="Youngs"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://theofficialcharts.com/docs/Digital%20Download%20Factsheet_Jan_2007.pdf|title=Digital Download Factsheet|year=2007|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117153056/http://theofficialcharts.com/docs/Digital%20Download%20Factsheet_Jan_2007.pdf|archive-date=17 January 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=26 May 2013}}</ref> In April 2006, the UK Official Download Chart was expanded to include an [[UK Album Downloads Chart|album chart]]. The first album to top the chart was ''[[This New Day]]'' by English [[alternative rock]] band [[Embrace (English band)|Embrace]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/adele-and-ed-sheeran-push-digital-albums-sales-over-the-100-million-milestone-1517/|title=Adele and Ed Sheeran push digital albums sales over the 100 million milestone|date=3 August 2012|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804231327/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/adele-and-ed-sheeran-push-digital-albums-sales-over-the-100-million-milestone-1517/|archive-date=4 August 2012|url-status=live|access-date=3 August 2012}}</ref> By 2007, the UK had become Europe's largest consumer of online music, with almost 78&nbsp;million tracks being downloaded that year –; by 2012, this figure had more than doubled.<ref name="Schott 2008"/><ref name=Billionth>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/1-billionth-singles-download-is-sold-in-the-uk-2152/|title=1 billionth singles download is sold in the UK!|date=9 April 2013|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412054337/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/1-billionth-singles-download-is-sold-in-the-uk-2152/|archive-date=12 April 2013|url-status=live|access-date=22 April 2013}}</ref>

The single with the longest stay on the Downloads Chart is "[[Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)|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.<ref>{{cite journalmagazine|last=Sexton|first=Paul|date=21 December 2009|title=Rage Against the Machine Beats 'X Factor' to U.K. Xmas No. 1|journalmagazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=[[New York City]]|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media|Prometheus]]|editor1-first=Danyel|editor1-last=Smith|editor1-link=Danyel Smith|issn=0006-2510|oclc=3695401|access-date=26 May 2013|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266349/rage-against-the-machine-beats-x-factor-to-uk-xmas-no-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526175258/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266349/rage-against-the-machine-beats-x-factor-to-uk-xmas-no-1|archive-date=26 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 9 September 2014, "[[Happy (Pharrell Williams song)|Happy]]" by [[Pharrell Williams]] is the most downloaded song in UK music download history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/pharrells-happy-now-the-uks-most-downloaded-track-of-all-time-3108/|title=Pharrell's Happy now the UK's most downloaded track of all time|last=Copsey|first=Rob|date=9 September 2014|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref>

|align=center|<ref name="Year 2007">{{cite news|title=Amy Winehouse tops year end iTunes chart|first=Gary|last=Cleland|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572296/Amy-Winehouse-tops-year-end-iTunes-chart.html|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|Telegraph Media]]|location=[[London]]|issn=0307-1235|oclc=6412514|date=12 December 2007|access-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>

|align=center|<ref>{{Cite news|title=Lady Gaga crowned queen of the downloads|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/6147367/Lady-Gaga-crowned-queen-of-the-downloads.html|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|Telegraph Media]]|location=[[London]]|issn=0307-1235|oclc=6412514|date=7 September 2009|access-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>

|[[Tones Andand I]]

|align=center|<ref>[{{Cite news|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-songs-of-2020__29264/ "|title=The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2020"].|last=Copsey|first=Rob|date=4 January 2021|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]].|accessdate=8 January 2024}}</ref>

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304053841/http://www.mtv.co.uk/music/charts/official-uk-download-chart The Official UK Top 20 Download Chart] at [[MTV UK]]