Virgin to launch online music chart ahead of Radio One

by Sam Matthews,, Brand Republic 23-Aug-04, 08:00

LONDON – Virgin Radio is to broadcast weekly chart rundowns using Napster online sales figures from August 29, beating BBC Radio One to the punch.

Radio One signed a deal with the Official Chart Company earlier this month to broadcast a similar chart of the most popular downloads. It will make its debut on September 1.

The Virgin Chart will count the 20 most popular songs downloaded by Napster users from a catalogue of 750,000 tracks each week. The show will air every Sunday from 7pm and will be presented by Ben Jones.

Virgin Radio, owned by the Scottish Media Group, said it had also forged a marketing partnership with Napster as part of the deal.

The companies will offer listeners promotions and competitions such as the chance to shadow Robert Smith from The Cure when he becomes Napster's guest programme director.

John Pearson, the chief executive of Virgin Radio, said: "This groundbreaking chart with Napster puts Virgin Radio at the innovative edge of the radio industry. Napster is the premier online music partner in the UK and this is the first step in what will become a much broader partnership."

Leanne Sharman, the vice-president and UK general manager at Napster, said: "As well as hitting our core demographic and having millions of listeners, Virgin Radio has more than 1m unique online visitors a month, making it an ideal brand partner for Napster.

"Partnerships are key to our approach and Virgin Radio shares the same brand values, target audience and commitment to innovation as Napster."

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