Radio 3 To Broadcast Specialist Classical Chart For First Time

This week BBC Radio 3 will broadcast highlights from the Official Specialist Classical Chart results. It will be the first time in the station's history that it has broadcast a weekly chart.
The Top 20 Official Specialist Classical Chart is compiled on a weekly basis and the results are released on Mondays.
On Mondays at 5.00pm Radio 3's afternoon drive-time programme In Tune will reveal the chart and play a track from the No. 1 disc. On Tuesdays from 8.00-8.30am, Radio 3's flagship Breakfast programme will explore the chart in more detail with clips and comments.
The Official Specialist Classical Chart was launched in February 2009 and was developed by the Official Charts Company in conjunction with the BPI Classical Committee. The chart was designed to focus on new classical releases, highlighting the sales of repertoire which is 100% classical and has been released within the last two years. Compilations and soundtracks are excluded from the chart.
This week the Official Charts Company revealed that the sales of Specialist Classical music across all formats increased by 80% across the first twelve weeks of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.
Specialist Digital Classical Sales rose 25% between 2008 and 2009 and are on track for another large increase this year.
Breakfast presenter Rob Cowan commented: "The great thing about this new initiative is that it allows us to keep tabs on what people are actually buying. It should prove thoroughly entertaining and enlightening and I'm sure it'll scupper some crusty old preconceptions!"
Roger Wright, Controller of BBC Radio 3, added: "The Specialist Classical Chart will be a new and significant part of our Radio 3 programming, providing our listeners with more insights into the classical music recording market. Building a Library with expert analysis in CD Review is a long standing part of our schedule and I am delighted that we will now extend our recommendations for further listening in our breakfast and drivetime programming."
(BMcN)