YouTube Challenges Billboard’s New Music Chart Formula
YouTube is pulling its data from Billboard for the publisher’s industry-leading U.S. music charts.
The decision is in response to a recent change Billboard made to its ranking formula, which adds more weight to paid, on-demand streaming compared with ad-supported, free streaming.
However, YouTube doesn’t like the new formula because it wants to eliminate differentiation between free and paid streams.
Billboard’s New Formula: A Win for Streaming?
Billboard justified its decision by saying the change will “better reflect an increase in streaming revenue and changing consumer behaviors.”
Meanwhile, YouTube is protesting the new formula, saying it will no longer provide data to Billboard after January 16, 2026.
Consequently, the ranking changes will be reflected starting with the charts published on January 17, which will include data from January 2-8, 2026.
The Impact of Billboard’s New Formula
Under the revised calculation, it will take fewer streams than before for an album to climb the charts.
Additionally, the ratio between paid/subscription and ad-supported on-demand streaming tiers will be adjusted to 2.5:1 for the Billboard Hot 100.
However, this change means paid streams will count 2.5x as much as ad-supported streams, which is still not what YouTube would prefer.
YouTube’s Move: A Negotiation Tactic?
By not cooperating with Billboard, YouTube’s music data won’t be considered in chart rankings, which could lead labels and artists to deprioritize publishing their music on YouTube.
Therefore, this move should be viewed as the negotiation tactic it is.
Moreover, YouTube is committed to achieving equitable representation across the charts and hopes to work with Billboard to return to its previous formula.
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