British Music Charts Set for Changes as iTunes Downloads Added

B ritainis top 40 will look significantly different next week when single purchases from online music stores are tallied alongside CD single sales.

Online music stores, dominated by the iTunes Music Store, have a predominately male and older audience, according to The TImes, which means the boy bands favored by teenage girls who buy their singles in droves will likely be bumped down or off the charts completely.

While thereis some overlap between download and CD single sales -- two of the songs in the top five of both categories are the same -- boy band McFly, which currently holds the number two spot on Britainis Top 40, is expected to fall a number of places.

The top two downloads, songs by Stereophonics and Chemical Brothers, have a significantly different sound that the top two CD singles, tracks by Tony Christie and McFly.