( BW)(NY-NIELSEN-SOUNDSCAN) Nielsen SoundScan International Expands
European Digital Download Data Reporting

    Entertainment Editors/Technology Editors

    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2006--Nielsen
SoundScan International:

    --  32 Million 2005 European Digital Downloads, with James
        Blunt/You're Beautiful, Madonna/Hung Up, Daniel Powter/Bad
        Day, Sugababes/Push the Button, and Robbie Williams/Tripping
        Topping Sales

    Nielsen SoundScan International, the leading information system
that has tracked worldwide digital music sales since May 2005, has
added Free Record Shop, 7 Digital, and Belgian Music Online as data
providers to its international digital tracking system. With its
extensive list of data providers, Nielsen SoundScan International data
is the only comprehensive aggregation of Pan-European digital music
sales. This week's Pan-European Digital Tracks Chart is to follow.
    The addition of these new providers to its European reporting
panel, along with the existing providers such as iTunes, Sony Connect,
CDON.com, and OD2 and its affiliates, including MSN, Virgin, MTV,
Mycokemusic.com, Panasonic, and Tiscali, confirms Nielsen SoundScan
International's dominance as the most comprehensive digital music
information system worldwide. Nielsen SoundScan International
currently tracks digital sales data from more than 110 download
services in 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and has
begun to monitor data in Australia and Japan.
    Since May 2005, Nielsen SoundScan International has monitored more
than 36 million downloaded tracks in Europe, with the United Kingdom
accounting for more than 50%. James Blunt/You're Beautiful,
Madonna/Hung Up, Daniel Powter/Bad Day, Sugababes/Push the Button, and
Robbie Williams/Tripping led 2005 European digital sales. Data from
Nielsen SoundScan International's digital tracking system comprises
the only recognized Pan-European Digital Tracks Chart, which has been
featured weekly in both Music Week and Billboard magazines since
October 2005.
    Nielsen SoundScan in North America has been the exclusive data
source for digital music sales in the U.S. and Canada since June 2003.
In 2005, Nielsen SoundScan reported more than 359 million North
American digital track sales.


Pan-European Digital Tracks Chart
(Week Ending: January 22, 2006)

                Artist                            Title
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 ARCTIC MONKEYS                  WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN
 2 NOTORIOUS B.I.G.                NASTY GIRL (FEATURING DIDDY...)
 3 ASHCROFT*RICHARD                BREAK THE NIGHT WITH COLOUR
 4 BEYONCE FEAT. SLIM THUG         CHECK ON IT (ALBUM VERSION)
 5 MADONNA                         HUNG UP (ALBUM VERSION)
 6 YOUNG*WILL                      ALL TIME LOVE
 7 HI_TACK                         SAY SAY SAY (WAITING 4 U)
 8 ARCTIC MONKEYS                  I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DAN
 9 NIZLOPI                         JCB
10 SUNBLOCK                        I'LL BE READY
11 GONSALEZ*JOSE                   HEARTBEATS
12 SUGABABES                       UGLY
13 BLUNT*JAMES                     GOODBYE MY LOVE
14 EMINEM                          WHEN I'M GONE
15 BLACK EYED PEAS                 MY HUMPS
16 PUSSY CAT DOLLS                 STICKWITU
17 SUGABABES                       PUSH THE BUTTON
18 BLUNT*JAMES                     YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL
19 ORDINARY BOYS                   BOYS WILL BE BOYS
20 SHAYNE WARD                     THAT'S MY GOAL
21 MELUA*KATIE                     NINE MILLION BICYCLES
22 MATTAFIX                        BIG CITY LIFE
23 CLARKSON*KELLY                  BECAUSE OF YOU
24 COLDPLAY                        TALK
25 EDITORS                         MUNICH
26 SHAKIRA                         DON'T BOTHER
27 WILLIAMS*ROBBIE                 ADVERTISING SPACE
28 FALL OUT BOY                    SUGAR, WE'RE GOIN DOWN
29 BROWN*CHRIS                     RUN IT!
30 TEXAS                           SLEEP
31 DEAD OR ALIVE                   YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD)
32 ARCTIC MONKEYS                  SETTLE FOR A DRAW
33 WEST*KANYE                      GOLD DIGGER
34 MADONNA                         SORRY (ALBUM VERSION)
35 JUANES                          LA CAMISA NEGRA
36 BLIGE*MARY J.                   BE WITHOUT YOU
37 SUNBLOCK                        I'LL BE READY
38 POWTER*DANIEL                   BAD DAY (ALBUM VERSION)
39 NOVY* TOM                       YOUR BODY (RADIO EDIT)
40 MADONNA                         HUNG UP (RADIO VERSION)
41 PUSSY CAT DOLLS                 DON'T CHA
42 DHT                             LISTEN TO YOUR HEART (DHT)
43 HARD-FI                         CASH MACHINE (ALBUM VERSION)
44 ASHCROFT*RICHARD                BREAK THE NIGHT WITH COLOUR
45 HI_TACK                         SAY SAY SAY (WAITING 4 U)
46 BOB SINCLAR PRES. GOLEO FEAT.   LOVE GENERATION (RADIO EDIT)
47 WEST*KANYE                      JESUS WALKS
48 KAISER CHIEFS                   I PREDICT A RIOT
49 FIFTY CENT                      WINDOW SHOPPER
50 SIMPSON*ASHLEE                  BOYFRIEND

    About Nielsen SoundScan:

    Nielsen SoundScan International, a service of Nielsen
Entertainment, is the source authority for digital music sales
information and a sister service of Nielsen SoundScan.
    Nielsen SoundScan is the source authority for retail music sales
information, aggregating sales data from more than 20,000 retailer
locations in the U.S., accounting for more than ten million sales
transactions per week, representing more than 90% of retail music
product sales in the U.S. The weekly Billboard Magazine music charts
are based on Nielsen SoundScan information.
    Nielsen Entertainment comprises the following businesses: National
Research Group (NRG), EDI and EDI International, Television Services,
SoundScan, Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), RingScan, Music Control,
VideoScan, Market Navigator, BookScan, BookData, and Interactive
Entertainment, and utilizes the full portfolio of sister companies
including Nielsen Media Research (television ratings) and Nielsen Net
Ratings (Internet usage) to deliver a whole media point of view.
Nielsen Entertainment is part of VNU (www.vnu.com), a global leader in
information services for the media and entertainment industries.

    --30--TM/la*

    CONTACT: For Nielsen SoundScan International
             Larry Solters/Anna Loynes, 213-639-6167