[Shaun]

http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/62616

The Official Charts Company (OCC) have said it has "no immediate plans" to include data from streaming services such as Spotify in the UK Singles Chart.

Earlier today, it was reported by Techradar that Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart will now use stats from sites including Spotify, Rhapsody and Rdio to compile its chart placings, as well as download sales and radio play.

However, speaking to NME, OCC managing director Martin Talbot said that it would continue to determine its rankings on sales figures as streaming is "still an emerging service" in the UK.

He said:

We have no immediate plans to incorporate streaming information into the Official Singles Chart. In the UK, our Official Charts have always been based purely on genuine sales – unlike in the US, where the Billboard Hot 100 has long since mixed with airplay information.


He went on to add: "Streaming information is simply an extension of this methodology. Also, in the UK we are continuing to see a surge of interest in buying singles – 2011 was a record year for single sales, with 178m unites sold throughout the year, the highest ever, 10% up on 2010 and still growing in 2012 – while streaming is still an emerging service for UK music fans."

Spotify continues to be a divisive service within the music industry. Last month (February 2), its CEO and founder Daniel Ek claimed that it was helping the music business enter a "golden age" as people who share music online are more likely to buy more tracks and albums, and insisted that there was "not a shred of evidence" to suggest that musicians could boost their sales figures by not being on the service.

However, figures such as U2's manager Paul McGuinness have criticised the service in the past by claiming that artists are reluctant to embrace Spotify as they are unable to see its "financial benefit" and don't view it as a legitimate business model.