Song #1 based on music downloads

Hitwise Press Release

Song #1 based on music downloads

April 4th, 2006 - London, Hitwise, the leading online competitive intelligence service, takes a look at the increasing popularity of music downloads. The Telegraph reported today that "pop history was made when a song reached the top of the singles' chart based solely on computer-download sales". Crazy by Gnarls Barkley has been creating a bit of a stir online after the song aired in an ad for Zane Lowe's BBC Radio One show.

Hitwise data reveal that the share of UK Internet searches for "crazy" increased 31% last week. Tune Tribe and 7 Digital seem to have benefited most from the frenzy, with major music sites missing the opportunity to attract visits from the online hit single. Tune Tribe received 9% of visits from searches for "crazy" over the past four weeks, well ahead of online music rivals. Gnarls Barkley's website attracted 41% of visits from searches for "gnarls barkley", while 5% went to 7 Digital, 5% to Manchester Online, and 4% to MySpace, on which Gnarls Barkley has a personal page.

The search terms sending the largest volume of visits to Tune Tribe last week were "gnarls barkley" and "crazy" and the site has climbed from a ranking of 700 among music sites two weeks ago to 522 last week. The site's market share of UK visits more than tripled comparing the 29th of March to the 30th. This is a prime example of a small, nimble online player benefiting from smart and responsive online marketing.

ENDS

For up to date analysis on online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence-Analyst Weblogs at weblogs.hitwise.com.

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