Beginning in January, Billboard will update its chart methodology to narrow the ratio between paid/subscription streams and ad-supported streams from 1:2.5 to 1:1.5. The move follows Billboard and Luminate’s annual review of streaming revenue data used to inform methodology for the Billboard 200, Hot 100 and other album and song consumption charts, as well as streaming songs rankings.
The updated ratios are informed by an analysis of revenue from paid and ad-supported streaming. Through the move, Billboard aims to keep the charts aligned with the evolving economics of music consumption.
Currently, each album consumption unit equals one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.
Effective for the Billboard 200 and corresponding genre album consumption charts dated Jan. 16 (reflecting data from Jan. 1-7), each album consumption unit will equal 1,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Sales and download metrics will remain the same.
Billboard first incorporated streaming into its album charts in December 2014 with the all-genre overall Billboard 200. Previously, the chart was based on pure album sales. Since then, all of Billboard’s album genre charts have migrated to a consumption-based ranking — where album sales, streaming activity, and track purchases are blended together to rank the most popular albums of the week. As for the Hot 100, it first included streaming data in its methodology in 2007. Today, all of Billboard’s multi-metric songs charts (like the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, etc.) employ streaming data in their formula, alongside airplay and sales information.
