NME & Music Week to begin publishing Official Record Store Chart

NME & Music Week to begin publishing showcase for UK’s coolest record shops, plus the Official Record Store Top 20 Biggest Selling Albums Of 2013 So Far revealed!

The Official Charts Company has teamed up with NME and Music Week to bring enhanced exposure to the Official Record Store Chart.

The Official Record Store Chart was launched last year as part of Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent retail across the UK.

The rundown is compiled from sales of albums from around 100 independent record retailers who participate in Record Store Day UK, including pioneering shops such as Rough Trade, Eastern Bloc, Rise, Jumbo, Sound It Out and Avalanche. The next Record Store Day is scheduled to take place in April 2014.

From this week, latest news about the chart will be announced on NME.com and OfficialCharts.com each Tuesday – with the full Top 40 featuring every week in the new-look NME, Music Week and online home OfficialCharts.com.

Over the past month, releases by acts including Chvrches, Arctic Monkeys, Mazzy Star and Kings of Leon have featured on the Official Record Store Chart. This week’s Number 1 is Haim with their acclaimed debut album, Days Are Gone.

A year to date version of the Official Record Store Chart also indicates that - unlike the best-selling albums by Emeli Sande and the cast of Les Miserables over on the Official Albums Chart - in the UK’s independent record outlets, it’s the likes of David Bowie, Daft Punk and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds who reign supreme.  See the full year-to-date Top 20 best sellers of 2013 below.

NME editor Mike Williams – whose first new look mag also features David Bowie, as its cover star - says, “NME is a huge supporter of independent record stores and Record Store Day, and we’re delighted to incorporate the Official Record Store Chart into the new look NME, which launches this week. The Official Record Store Chart shines a light on the amazing work done by independent records stores up and down the UK, and celebrates the independent ethos that drives so much of the brilliant music being made in 2013, which is something NME believes in 100%. The fact that it’s compiled just like NME’s original chart which launched in 1952 is an added bonus.”

Official Charts Company Managing Director Martin Talbot adds, “Independent record shops are more important than ever in helping introduce music fans to new, interesting music, so we are delighted that NME and Music Week are helping us in supporting that.”

You can see the Official Record Store Chart’s Top 20 biggest selling albums of 2013 so far below:

The Official Record Store Biggest Selling Albums Of 2013 So Far Top 20

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