More records broken by Drake. Is the singles chart broken too?

Drake has a new single, and after less than a week, it has broken multiple streaming records. His track “God’s Plan” now holds the title for Spotify’s and Apple Music’s one-day streaming records. A single breaking records on that scale would have been a major deal a few years back. Now, it’s more surprising if a new release from Drake doesn’t meet those milestones. That trend indicates that it’s time to change how we’re using chart rankings. Continue Reading

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Billboard charts to distinguish between free and paid streams starting in 2018

Billboard announced that will adjust how it weights streaming equivalents for its charts. Under the current system, Billboard only distinguishes between streams from on-demand platforms and streams from programmed services, with more weight given to the on-demand plays. Beginning in 2018, Billboard will begin weighting paid streams more heavily than free listening streams. Continue Reading

Billboard launching new Emerging Artists chart with streaming numbers

Billboard announced a revamp of its Emerging Artists chart. The new chart will be a break-out of the overall Billboard Artist 100 chart and replaces the weekly Billboard + Twitter Emerging Artists chart that debuted in 2014. The Emerging Artists will be identified by the same formula behind several other Billboard charts, with a combination of album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming, and social media buzz. Continue Reading

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Billboard incorporates Pandora data into Hot 100 chart

Billboard is adding Pandora streaming data to its rankings on the Hot 100 chart. The Pandora numbers now join Nielsen Music’s data about track sales, radio airplay, and on-demand streaming in determining placements. Pandora will also be used for streaming-based charts and the genre-specific charts that are based on the Hot 100 formula. This change will take effect beginning Jan. 31 (for charts dated Feb. 11). Continue Reading

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Drake, streams, and charts: Views’ success reinforces need for consistent metrics

Drake has been a huge force in the U.S. music scene this year with the release of new album, Views. Music Ally made some calculations and determined that the Canadian rapper’s latest album has hit some impressive milestones on both Spotify and YouTube. The numbers this album is putting up are yet another reminder of how critical it is for charts to consistently account for streaming data in assessing an album’s success. Continue Reading