Billboard 200 Chart to Incorporate Digital Track Sales, On-Demand Streaming Music

[MacRumors]

Billboard is planning a major overhaul of its Billboard 200 chart in the coming weeks, which will take into account the growing popularity of streaming music. Billboard's new methodology will shift away from simply tracking album sales, adding both digital track sales and streaming music into its algorithm.

Published weekly, the Billboard 200 is a chart that ranks the 200 best selling music albums in the United States. At the current time, the Billboard 200 chart only takes into account retail (both physical and digital) album sales, but the addition of digital track sales and streaming music from services like Beats and Spotify will allow the chart to give a clearer picture of overall popularity by taking into account consumption activity rather than measuring based on straight sales.

Beginning on December 3, and measuring data during Thanksgiving week, the Billboard 200 will count 10 individual song sales or 1,500 song streams as a standard album sale. Billboard plans to incorporate data from every major streaming audio subscription service, including Spotify, Beats Music, Google Play, and Xbox Music. Ad-supported radio services like Pandora and iTunes Radio will not be counted, as Billboard is only planning to focus on on-demand services.

"Adding streaming information makes the chart a better representation of music consumption activity," says Silvio Pietroluongo, VP of charts and data development at Billboard. "While an extremely valuable measurement, album sales would mostly capture the initial impulse only, without indicating the depth of consumption thereafter. Someone could listen to the album just once, or listen to one track or a number of tracks 100 times. We are now able to incorporate those plays as part of an album consumption ranking throughout one's possession of an album, extending beyond the initial purchase or listen."

According to Billboard, incorporating individual song sales and streaming music could see some artists moving up the charts, including Ariana Grande and Maroon 5, both of which have higher streaming and digital song sales than album sales.

The methodology change was done under the guidance of music industry executives, to represent the growing popularity of streaming music services. According to Nielsen and Billboard's mid-2014 Music Industry Report [PDF] on-demand streaming music sales were up 42 percent year-over-year, with streams surpassing 70 billion songs.

On-demand streaming music services are now in over a hundred countries, and the most popular streaming service, Spotify, now has more than 10 million subscribers. Non-paid radio-style streaming services like Pandora have also exploded in popularity, with Pandora hitting 76.4 million active monthly users back in August.

Apple's own streaming music service, Beats Music, had only 110,000 subscribers when it was purchased by Apple, but it may see an explosion in growth next year as Apple is said to be planning to rebrand the service with a lower price. It may also be incorporated into iTunes and bundled onto iOS devices directly.

Though Billboard has plans to update its Billboard 200 chart with new methodology that takes into account streaming music services, a pure album sales chart called Top Album Sales will also be published to maintain the existing Billboard 200 methodology. Genre album charts will also continue to be sale-based at the current time.

Article Link: Billboard 200 Chart to Incorporate Digital Track Sales, On-Demand Streaming Music

 

[William Gates]

They didn't already? What year is it?

 

[MacLawyer]

Too many players

Seems like everyone is jumping into the streaming music scene. I bet some drop out quickly; there are only so many slices in this pie.

 

[FieldingMellish]

That's what I call an algorhythm.

 

[ttss6]

I wonder how high U2 will rank now with the millions of downloads from their new album /s

 

[NMBob]

I wonder how high U2 will rank now with the millions of downloads from their new album /s

Is that why it's the Billboard *200*? So they will show up? "What happened to the Billboard 100?", he said, showing how much attention he's paid to the music industry lately.

 

[blizaine]

Taylor Swift might rethink her decision to remove herself from streaming services when she can no longer reach #1 on the charts as a result of this.

 

[jmbaker]

On-demand streaming music services are now in hundreds of countries

That's pretty wild, considering there are ~196 countries. I'm already skeptical.

 

[octothorpe8]

They didn't already? What year is it?

Seriously, am I reading this right. They're JUST NOW adding digital music sales?

 

[sshambles]

Why? Streaming generates almost ZERO $ in revenue for the artists.
Surely that doesn't amount for 'Sales'.

Proof? Here - http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/41211/Please-rethink-your-next-decision-to-steal-music-pleads-triple-j-Unearthed-winner

 

[Jschultz]

Seriously, am I reading this right. They're JUST NOW adding digital music sales?

I think they're going to start adding digital single track sales. It says they've already been counting retail digital sales. I assume that includes iTunes etc.

 

[sshambles]

Taylor Swift might rethink her decision to remove herself from streaming services when she can no longer reach #1 on the charts as a result of this.

I doubt it.

Make less money and be number 1, or make more money and not reach it.... depends on the artists perception of self I guess. (Or their record label).

 

[TsunamiTheClown]

Mainstream :/

 

[apparatchik]

That's pretty wild, considering there are ~196 countries. I'm already skeptical.

Maybe they're counting with the Apple™ methodology, where Réunion Island, Jersey and Gibraltar are additional countries

 

[JHankwitz]

Taylor Swift might rethink her decision to remove herself from streaming services when she can no longer reach #1 on the charts as a result of this.

Taylor will continue topping the charts for as long as she maintains her clean image, writes her own music, and manages her own affairs. She's got talent, looks, intelligence, and excellent business sense.

 

[brianvictor7]

Sadly, I have very little use for streaming music in the reverse black hole of an office I work in: no signal can get in.

 

[blacktape242]

wish good music was actually on the top 100 billboards....its all crap.

 

[uncle.zed]

Seriously Taylor Swift?

Christ, USA's so tacky.

EDIT:

By the way, this 1889 album is unavailable on both Spotify and Wimp.

 

[budselectjr]

Seriously Taylor Swift?

Christ, USA's so tacky.

EDIT:

By the way, this 1889 album is unavailable on both Spotify and Wimp.

Really? Must of missed that.

/s

 

[Waxhead138]

Why? Streaming generates almost ZERO $ in revenue for the artists.
Surely that doesn't amount for 'Sales'.

Proof? Here - http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/41211/Please-rethink-your-next-decision-to-steal-music-pleads-triple-j-Unearthed-winner

I don't really follow Billboard or chart trends, but I think the idea is simply to account for popularity of an artist, which could be easily done before just by accounting for album sales. Now the game has changed, so they're taking into account other trackable sources of artist demand. I don't think Billboard cares what these people clear every week, it's just a popularity gauge.

 

[captain cadet]

Nice to know the UK is still leading the way ( we did this a few months back!)

 

[Waxhead138]

wish good music was actually on the top 100 billboards....its all crap.

Amen to that. It took me awhile to figure out it wasn't just me getting older, but that most radio music (*most*) really is just worse than it was when I was younger. There are exceptions, but even those exceptions get tiresome when the stations beat the holy ba-jeezus out of them in heavy roatation.

I still feel like I'm half sounding like the "when I was your age" guy though lol.

 

[Sonic 1992]

LOL, Were they still counting CD Sales?


Who cares about Taylor Swift anyway. Just today's current flash in the pan.

I don't understand the deal with streaming at all! I love my iTunes Library, and it grows all the time.

Why they hell would I pay to stream the same stuff I already own?

My iPhone 6 Plus is with me at all times, So.... My iTunes Music Library with me at all times! No Problem!

 

[JamesPDX]

You're Listening to it Wrong...

I don't really follow Billboard or chart trends, but I think the idea is simply to account for popularity of an artist, which could be easily done before just by accounting for album sales. Now the game has changed, so they're taking into account other trackable sources of artist demand. I don't think Billboard cares what these people clear every week, it's just a popularity gauge.

You're thinking of the Grammy Awards! p

 

[Noiseboy]

Billboard is pointless and totally irrelevant, it serves little purpose and despite working in the music industry for 40 years I don't know anybody who pays it the slightest attention.
If they want to be relevant in some way they would be better served quantifying just how much each artist has been ripped off by the streaming thieves and then delivering that information to some professional body who can then sue the cr*p out of them. The artist (and by default myself) is always the one who suffers financially, first by the record companies and now by the streaming services.