Billboard parent company acquires Nielsen Music

Valence Media, the parent company for Billboard, has acquired Nielsen Music. This means the chart company and the source of its data will be united under one roof. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Nielsen Music launched in 1991 as Nielsen SoundScan. It has contributed the figures for Billboard’s charts since that year. Between 1999 and 2009, Nielsen and Billboard were both owned by Dutch media conglomerate Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen.

“By bringing Nielsen Music Products and Billboard back together, we’re answering the request from the music industry for a more coordinated, powerful, agile and global suite of independent measurement products,” said Deanna Brown, president of Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group, in a statement. “The new MRC Data division will leverage our scale and global, multimedia perspective to operate as a true accelerant for our music business colleagues and stakeholders.”

Billboard is still the most easily recognized chart company for many people. One of its competitors is Rolling Stone, which launched its own music chart system after its parent company made its own acquisition of an analytics specialist. PMC made an initial investment in BuzzAngle Music in July 2018, and Rolling Stone introduced charts powered by the rebranded business earlier this year.

Anna Washenko