from The Guardian

 

Music Week, the influential trade title, will this week publish a chart based on the internet listening habits of the social networking site Last.fm, the first time the magazine has included data from an online supplier. The move is an indication of the increasing influence of online social networks on the charts, and an acknowledgement of the ability of a group of musical tastemakers to predict future stars.

 

Last.fm has become something of a cult among music obsessives since it was founded five years ago. Users download a desktop program that tracks every song played through their computer's music player. They can then build their own customised "radio stations" based on tracks they like, and link to similar artists recommended by others. To music industry watchers, however, it's the data generated by the site's 20 million enthusiasts that is priceless. Last.fm's weekly charts, the site claims, are much more significant for the industry than reviews or even sales data, which cannot trace how often tracks are listened to once they have been bought. In addition, they say, they are less subject to huge marketing spends and targeted buying which critics say can distort the traditional charts.

 

"Our users are on street level and they pick up music as it happens," said Last.fm spokesman Christian Ward. Referring to the early popularity on the site of Gnarls Barkley, he said: "That's the kind of thing these charts reflect and that's priceless to the industry. It's beyond our control what happens in these charts, and artists can't be artificially 'bumped up' the chart." Music Week's acting online editor Adam Benzine said Last.fm's data is important because the magazine needs to show "the most relevant, influential voices" in the industry.

 

full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/22/1

thanks for the story