Since 2013, Billboard has been using YouTube streams as one of the factors that help decide the magazine's charts. In Wednesday YouTube announced that it would no longer provide data to Billboard because of the "outdated" way that the magazine gives greater weight to paid-subscriber streams than to ad-supported ones. As of Jan. 16, YouTube will stop delivering data to Billboard.
In a blog post yesterday, the veteran music executive Lyor Cohen, currently global head of music for YouTube, wrote:
Billboard uses an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported. This doesn't reflect how fans engage with music today and ignores the massive engagement from fans who don’t have a subscription. Streaming is the primary way people experience music, making up 84% of U.S. recorded music revenue. We’re simply asking that every stream is counted fairly and equally, whether it is subscription-based or ad-supported — because every fan matters and every play should count.
A day before that announcement, Billboard announced a change in its chart tabulation, which leans more heavily toward streaming but which put even more weight on paid streams as opposed to ad-supported ones. (Billboard first began weighing paid streams more heavily in 2018.) It seems likely that the Billboard rule change was a result of negotiations with streaming services, and YouTube already didn't like the way Luminate, the in-house company that provides Billboard's data, does its math.
This could all be a negotiating tactic on the part of the famously tough Lyor Cohen. But if this change takes effect, it'll doubtless have a huge impact on the Hot 100, and it's likely to disincentivize artists from making music videos. In his blog post, Cohen writes, "We are committed to achieving equitable representation across the charts and hopefully can work with Billboard to return to theirs." He also points curious parties toward YouTube's own music charts.
