Busted lead pocket charge

Music Week, November, 2004 by Paul Williams

Ringtones could soon be figuring in the UK singles countdown as Universal awaits a final decision on a move to allow its three-inch pocket format into the chart.

Bard and the BPI have already separately agreed in principle for the discs--which combine the main recording of the particular track with a code giving access to an official ringtone--into the chart on initially a six-month trial basis. However, it now awaits formal ratification from the Charts Supervisory Committee.

The expected rule-change, which will allow ringtones as an added extra on any single, follows a lengthy campaign spearheaded by Universal sales director Brian Rose, who used the platform of his company's London sales conference in September to press for an amendment.

"It shows...