WATCH out McFly. Teenage girls will lose their grip on the pop scene next week when the Top 40 transforms into a male-dominated download chart.

Single track sales rose by 48 per cent year-on-year, the British Phonographic Industry said yesterday, on the back of a music download revolution.

British digital sales have risen from 261,000 to 4.5 million tracks, more than offsetting a collapse in CD single sales. But the industry also said that male buyers account for 96 per cent of music download spending.

Digital music-buyers are not only male but also much older than traditional singles purchasers. Although the under-25s still account for 39 per cent of the declining CD singles market and 26 per cent of album sales, they make up just 7 per cent of download sales.

Next week the charts enter a new era when download sales, still dominated by Apple’s iTunes store, are combined with singles for the first time.

The bestselling download of the year so far is Dakota by the Welsh rockers Stereophonics. Vertigo by U2 was last year’s download chart-topper.

McFly, the guitar-toting boyband screamed at by young girls, had the bestselling CD single this year after Tony Christie’s surprise return with (Is This The Way To) Amarillo? The boyband fares less well with downloads, however.

It costs record companies about £500,000 to create and market a “pop” act for the teenage girl-led singles market. Artists are swiftly written off, however, if they do not produce hits. Companies are investing in bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Coldplay, whose audiences cross the boundaries of age, gender and musical genre.

Razorlight, the NME favourites, are tipped to have the first combined No 1 with their Somewhere Else single/download release next week.

Dance music is a strong download seller with the Chemical Brothers and the Ministry of Sound club’s record company regularly appearing in the digital chart. Dance music is the popular iPod accompaniment for workouts in the gym.

Hit singles are no longer vital to drive album sales, the industry noted, with Joss Stone, Norah Jones, and Jamie Cullum selling millions without dominating the Top 40.

The industry wants smaller, independent online stores and record companies included in the new chart so it is not dominated by large corporations. Music sold through mobile phones will be added this year.

DOWNLOAD TOP FIVE

1 Dakota, Stereophonics

2 Galvanize, Chemical Brothers

3 Get Right, Jennifer Lopez

4 Over and Over, Nelly featuring Tim McGraw

5 What You Waiting For, Gwen Stefani

SINGLES TOP FIVE

1 (Is this the way to) Amarillo, Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay

2 All About You/You’ve Got a Friend, McFly

3 Get Right, Jennifer Lopez

4 Over and Over, Nelly featuring Tim McGraw

5 Like Toy Soldiers, Eminem

www.timesonline.co.uk/music
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