The new UK music chart ruling, sanctioning the eligibility of digital releases regardless of whether the music is available in shops, is already making a difference with a number of acts re-entering the charts via digital sales.
Snow Patrol's hit 'Chasing Cars' peaked at number six last July, and has this week re-entered the top 10. The song has become somewhat of a multimedia phenomenon, mainly due to exposure it received in the hit television program 'Grey's Anatomy'.Another multimedia hit has been Gary Jules' version of the Tears For Fears tune 'Mad World'. The track was a chart hit after featuring prominently in the 2001 cult film 'Donnie Darko'. Digital downloads have ushered it into the charts again, this time on the back of its use in the advertisement for the Xbox 360 game, 'Gears Of War'.
Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' - arguably the flagship song for the digital era, after it topped the singles chart in April on digital sales alone - has also re-entered the chart, along with Nelly Furtado's 'Maneater'.
'Chasing Cars', 'Mad World', 'Crazy' and 'Maneater' are all deleted titles in the physical format.
"These changes have given the singles chart a new lease of life," said Official UK Charts Company spokeswoman Merial Blackburn. "It now reflects exactly what singles the consumers are buying, regardless of whether they are downloaded or bought as a physical single."
