May 10, 2012 7:52

Ed Sheeran is most streamed artist of 2012 in the UK

Lana Del Rey, David Guetta and Rihanna also riding high in inaugural rundown

Photo: PA

Ed Sheeran has been revealed as the most streamed artist of 2012 in the UK as the Official Charts Company prepares to launch a weekly rundown of the most-listened to tracks on services such as Spotofy, Napster and Deezer.

Lana Del Rey, David Guetta, Rihanna and Coldplay also featured in the Top Five of the list, while Gotye's 'Somebody That I Used To Know' has been revealed as the most streamed track of the year so far. Jessie J's 'Domino' and Guetta's collaboration with Sia 'Titanium' have also proved popular.

Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company, described Monday's (May 14) launch of the chart as a "real coming of age moment" for music streaming in the UK.

He added:

Services such as Spotify, Deezer, Napster and We7 have been building their audiences over the past few years and are now delivering millions of audio streams every week to hundreds of thousands of music fans. For the first time, from next week, we will have transparency on exactly what they are listening to on these new services.

Not satisfied with launching the chart, the Official Charts Company is now looking to incorporate video streaming into its data and is in "advance discussions" about launching another chart of this nature.

The new chart has been launched with support from mobile phone start-up ChartsNow and industry bodies the Entertainment Retailers Association and the BPI. It will be published weekly.

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