Billboard’s charts are increasingly weighted towards on-demand streaming, but not enough for YouTube

YouTube announced that it will no longer share data with Billboard for the creation of the Billboard Hot 100 and other charts because the video platform doesn’t believe they’re calculated fairly. The issue lies, per YouTube, with how Billboard weighs on-demand streams in its rankings: The publication weighs streams from paid music streaming services over ad-supported streams, and YouTube just so happens to run an ad-supported streaming service.

Much like getting a book on The New York Times Bestseller list, landing a spot on the Billboard charts doesn’t carry quite the same importance that it once did. When the majority of the media people consume is digital and on-demand, sales numbers aren’t a guaranteed indicator of success or popularity. That’s part of the reason why Billboard started including digital streams in its calculations way back in 2007, and why it announced plans to adjust how it weighs on-demand streaming just yesterday.

On Tuesday, Billboard announced that it would add more weight to streaming to “better reflect an increase in streaming revenue and changing consumer behaviors.” Billboard currently counts an “album consumption unit” as an album sale, which either breaks down to “3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams.” In the new ranking scheme that will go into effect in January 2026, “each album consumption unit will now equal 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams.”

“The change means that it will take 33.3 percent fewer ad-supported on-demand streams of songs from an album, and 20 percent fewer paid/subscription on-demand streams of songs from an album, to equal an album unit,” Billboard says. Put another way, things are moving in YouTube’s favor, just apparently not as quickly as the company wants.

YouTube characterizes pulling its data from Billboard as fighting for fairness and equality, but it’s equally connected to the platform’s demonstration of its own power. It already funnels billions of dollars to artists and labels from the money it makes on ads and subscriptions, but it clearly also wants the power to mint new chart-topping stars. “We are committed to achieving equitable representation across the charts and hopefully can work with Billboard to return to theirs,” YouTube says in its announcement. “Until then, if you’re curious about what music is making waves on YouTube, you can visit our charts here.”