Rising indie stars get new charts

By Ian Youngs
Music reporter, BBC News

The Horrors have received acclaim for their second album Primary Colours

Two new music charts are to highlight rising alternative artists.

The independent breakers charts will feature acts who are not signed to major labels and who have never reached the mainstream top 20.

The likes of Bon Iver, Friendly Fires, The Horrors and Grizzly Bear are likely to feature when the new charts, for singles and albums, launch on 29 June.

That will coincide with an overhaul for the main independent charts, which were first published in 1978.

Artists who are not signed to the four major record labels will be eligible for the new countdowns.

Previously, the rules let in artists on labels with independent distribution.

Martin Talbot of the Official Charts Company said: "The independent record sector has changed beyond recognition since these charts were initially borne out of the punk/new wave surge of the late 1970s and early '80s.

"This new set of rules is designed to address those changes," he added.