Coketunes NZ Closes As Digital Downloads Included In Charts

Starting next week New Zealand’s Recording Industry Association will include digital downloads in its music charts — a move which is expected to have a significant effect on the singles chart but a much smaller one on the albums chartm, reports the New Zealand Herald. While digital downloads are increasing in New Zealand one of the earlier online stores — Coketunes, run by Coca Cola — is closing down. A spokesperson from Coca Cola said that the site was launched because “a mass online music store with most of the major record labels on board” wasn’t available, and now there are others it is no longer necessary. “She says one of the main objectives of Coketunes was to channel the profits from the website back into a music fund to help promote emerging New Zealand artists…Only two received grants- singer Ladi6 got $15,000 for her debut album and the Madison Press received $12,000 worth of music equipment.” It has been suggested this apparent lack of profitability/success is the real reason the site is closing. It’s probably a little bit of both — the main aim of the site was almost certainly promotional, and Coca Cola has a different music promotion planned.

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