The UK's first Official Streaming Chart has arrived!

Music streaming will come of age next week when the UK industry comes together to launch the first Official Streaming Chart!

The new Top 100 rundown will be compiled by the Official Charts Company with data from the nation’s leading streaming services - including Spotify, Deezer, Blinkbox Music, and Napster and new mobile phone start-up ChartsNow - supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) and record labels association The BPI. The Official Streaming Chart will be the first chart which ranks audio streams from both ad-funded and subscription streaming services in the UK, to reflect the growing interest in this new generation of music services.

The first Official Streaming Top 100 will be unveiled at 13:00 hrs on Monday May 14, 2012 at www.officialcharts.com. It will also be published weekly in music industry business title Music Week andfeature on the streaming services contributing to the chart each week.

Ed Sheeran is the runaway leader as most-streamed artist of 2012 so far (up to the end of April). He is followed by Lana Del Rey, David Guetta and Rihanna. Sheeran’s performance is lead by his tracks Drunk, Lego House and The A Team, which are all among the 20 most-streamed tracks of 2012 to date.

Ed Sheeran commented, “Amazing to hear that I am the most streamed act of 2012. Streaming services and online in general have always been an important way for me to get music out to my fans. A new Official Streaming Chart that recognises another way of enjoying music can only be a good thing.”

The most-streamed track of the year so far is Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye FT Kimbra, ahead of David Guetta FT Sia’s Titanium and Jessie J’s Domino.

Below is the Official Streaming Chart’s Top 20 most streamed artists of 2012 to date, with the Official Singles Chart’s most purchased artists of 2012 to date alongside for comparison.

© 2012 the Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

The popularity of music streaming has grown significantly over the past 12 months. Official Charts Company estimates indicate that 2.6bn audio streams were delivered in the UK last year, while BPI surveys indicate that label revenues from streaming services increased by 30% to £35m in 2011, some 4.5% of total music industry revenues.

The UK audio streaming sector has also taken a series of significant steps forward over the past year – Spotify has dramatically grown its subscriber base, French-founded service Deezer has launched in the UK, while US streaming giant Rhapsody bought established UK player Napster at the beginning of this year.

In addition to the launch reporting audio streaming services, the Official Charts Company is also in advanced discussions with key video streaming services to collect their data with the aim of creating a different, standalone video streaming chart.

Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot says, “This is a true coming-of-age moment for music streaming in the UK. Services such as Spotify, Deezer, Blinkbox Music, and Napster. have been building their audiences over the past few years and are now delivering millions of audio streams every week to hundreds of thousands of music fans. For the first time, from next week, we will have transparency on exactly what they are listening to on these new services.”

For the full press release, click here.