This Slate article discusses the upcoming Billboard Top Digital Download chart which was previewed in the July 12th edition of Billboard Magazine.
Most notable about the results are the relatively few numbers needed to push a song to #1 at this point in time. Understandably, the numbers will grow over time, but according to the article, the top song for the first week (Crazy in Love) had a total online sales of approximately 1,500.
The author speculates that small efforts could influence the results at this early stage:
- In the short run, though, the numbers are so modest that a well-coordinated effort by a band with a devoted fan base and at least one song for sale on iTunes, Liquid Audio, Rhapsody, or one of the other services included in SoundScan's numbers could theoretically push that song to No. 1.