List of UK Album Downloads Chart number ones of the 2000s
The UK Album Downloads Chart is a weekly music chart that ranks the most downloaded albums in the United Kingdom. During the 2000s, the chart was compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British music industry, and was based solely on Sunday-to-Saturday sales of non-subscription music downloads from selected online stores.[1] The most successful artist of the decade was the British band Snow Patrol, who spent eight weeks at number one with their albums Eyes Open and A Hundred Million Suns. The record label that spent the most weeks at number one was Island Records – with an artist roster that included Florence and the Machine, Amy Winehouse and Keane, Island spent 22 weeks at number one with nine different albums.
Before the advent of music downloads, only sales of physical formats—such as CD, vinyl and cassette tape—contributed towards positions on the UK music charts. The first chart to record sales of downloads was the UK Singles Downloads Chart, which was launched in September 2004 to list weekly sales of single downloads.[2] Downloaded singles were growing considerably at this time, rising ten-fold in the first half of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004.[3] As single downloads grew in popularity, so did album downloads[4] – 1.8 million albums were downloaded in 2005; a further 825,000 were downloaded during the first three months of 2006.[5][6]
As a result of this growth, on 9 April 2006 the OCC began to include download sales alongside physical sales when compiling the UK Albums Chart.[7] That same day, the OCC also launched a dedicated weekly chart based solely on sales of album downloads in the UK. Approximately 64,000 albums were downloaded during the week of the chart's launch, of which just under 2,000 were of This New Day by the British band Embrace, the chart's first number one.[8][9] By the end of 2006 nearly 2.8 million album downloads had been purchased, which comprised 1.8% of the total album sales.[10] The following year the UK's online music revenue grew to €42.1 million, which made the nation Europe's largest consumer of online music.[11] By the end of the decade over 25 million albums had been downloaded and the market comprised 12.5% of total album sales.[12] Following Embrace, a further 99 artists topped the chart; fifteen did so with two albums. Including original soundtracks and compilations, a total of 121 albums reached number one during the 2000s. As of February 2015[update], the UK Album Download Chart continues to be published each week by the OCC.[13]
Number-one albums
edit| No. | nth album to top the UK Album Downloads Chart |
|---|---|
| re | Return of an album to number one |
| † | Most-downloaded album of the year[8] |
| Contents |
|---|
| 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010s → |
| Contents |
|---|
| 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010s → |
By artist
edit
Twelve artists spent four or more weeks at the top of the UK Album Downloads Chart during the 2000s. The totals below include only credited performances, and do not include appearances on original soundtracks or compilation albums.
| Artist | Number-one albums | Weeks at number one |
|---|---|---|
| Lily Allen | 1 | 4 |
| Arctic Monkeys | 2 | 5 |
| Coldplay | 1 | 5 |
| Duffy | 1 | 5 |
| Newton Faulkner | 1 | 5 |
| Florence and the Machine | 1 | 6 |
| Keane | 2 | 4 |
| Kings of Leon | 2 | 4 |
| Leona Lewis | 2 | 5 |
| Snow Patrol | 2 | 8 |
| Take That | 2 | 7 |
| Amy Winehouse | 1 | 4 |
By record label
editNine record labels spent eight or more weeks at the top of the UK Album Downloads Chart during the 2000s.
| Record label | Number-one albums | Weeks at number one |
|---|---|---|
| A&M Records | 3 | 8 |
| Columbia Records | 6 | 8 |
| Fiction Records | 3 | 9 |
| Island Records | 9 | 22 |
| Parlophone | 3 | 9 |
| Polydor Records | 6 | 14 |
| Syco Music | 5 | 9 |
| Vertigo Records | 5 | 8 |
| Warner Bros. Records | 10 | 12 |
Download sites
editDuring the 2000s, the UK Album Downloads Chart was compiled by the OCC using data from the following music download websites:[15]
- 7digital
- Big Noise Music
- Bleep
- City 16
- easyMusic
- HMV
- iTunes
- KarmaDownload
- Metacharge
- MSN Music
- The Music Engine Service
- MyCokeMusic
- Napster
- OD2
- Playlouder
- Recordstore
- Sonic Selector
- Tesco
- Tiscali Music
- Virgin
- Wanadoo
- Wippit
- Woolworths
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Official Music & Video Charts Compiled by The Official UK Charts Company". London: The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. 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.
- ^ Schott, Ben; Cock-Starkey, Claire (2005). "Chapter V. Music & Cinema". In Schott, Ben (ed.). Schott's Almanac 2006 (1st ed.). London: Bloomsbury. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7475-8307-3. OCLC 62292696.
- ^ "Album chart to include downloads". London: BBC News. 7 April 2006. Archived from the original on 10 April 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Bychawski, Adam (7 April 2006). McNicholas, Conor (ed.). "UK album chart to go digital". London: NME. Archived from the original on 9 April 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Morrissey tops merged album chart". London: BBC News. 9 April 2006. Archived from the original on 10 April 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ McKenzie, Scott, ed. (10 April 2006). "Morrissey Earns Third No. 1 U.K. Album". Billboard. New York City: VNU Business. ISSN 0006-2510. OCLC 466385193. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (22 April 2006). McKenzie, Scott (ed.). "Half a Century Old, Britain's Album Chart Goes Digital". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 15. New York City: VNU Business. p. 8. ISSN 0006-2510. OCLC 466385193. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "British Stars Dominate as Digital Sales Break 100 Million Barrier" (PDF). London: British Phonographic Industry. 3 August 2012. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ Schott, Ben; Cock-Starkey, Claire (2007). "Chapter V. Music & Cinema". In Schott, Ben (ed.). Schott's Almanac 2008 (1st ed.). London: Bloomsbury. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-7475-8469-8. OCLC 271877788.
- ^ "Adele and Ed Sheeran UK's biggest digital albums ever – all the stats". Music Week. London: United Business. 3 August 2012. ISSN 0265-1548. OCLC 795955446. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". London: Official Charts Company. 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Top 40 UK Album Downloads Archive". London: Official Charts Company. 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015. (Customise archive search by altering the "change date" setting)
- ^ "The Official UK Download Chart: 06.06.2007". London: BBC Radio 1. 6 June 2007. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
External links
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