Music Blogs

Global Radio will relaunch the flagship chart show aired on its FM pop stations, the show I continue to insist on calling "The Network Chart Show with Kid Jenson", because I am old. The all-new chart will be compiled based on radio airplay stats and download sales, though, crucially, the top ten will be based just on downloads from iTunes, and will be calculated live during the actual show.

In fact the initial top ten will be announced at the start of the show, with updates given during the programme as listeners are encouraged to go online and buy their favourite tracks via the Apple music store to boost a song's overall chart position. Or something like that. Most importantly this chart is going to be big. Yes, big. Bigger than any other chart you've ever come across before. We know this because the new programme will be called the 'Big Top 40 Show' instead of 'Hit40UK', which was, let's face it, always a rubbish name for a chart.

Confirming the revamped chart show, Global Radio programming man Richard Park told reporters: "Everybody here is extraordinarily excited about the potential of being involved in first real-time chart, where the listener can do what viewer does on 'American Idol' - they can help create a star. With 96% of sales in the UK's official chart now being from downloads alone, it's important we reflect the future of purchasing music, and there is no more significant partner [in that domain] than iTunes".