If you’ve been paying close attention the last few years, you’ll notice that Billboard has been making major changes to the way the album and single sales are calculated. The latest move is guaranteed to cause an uproar, as it has just been announced that now YouTube plays will count towards album sales.
It was just a few weeks ago when Billboard revealed a host of strict, new rules involving album/merchandise bundles—and now the popular Billboard 200 Albums Chart is also getting a fresh update. @Billboard will now allow all YouTube plays (including visual plays from streaming services such as Apple, Spotify, Tidal and Vevo) to be factored into the sales number of albums on the Billboard 200.
Counting YouTube plays towards the Billboard 200 comes five years after audio streams were officially counted back in 2014, introducing the shift away from a measure of pure sales to a more modern consumption model. The addition of YouTube plays will also impact other Billboard album genre charts, such as R&B/Hip Hop, Latin, Country and more.
Although YouTube plays have factored into the Billboard Hot 100 and other song-specific charts since February 2013, this is the first time they have been counted towards the album charts. It’s important to also note that only official licensed video content uploaded by or on behalf of rights holders will be counted for the Billboard 200 and other albums charts.
The changes to the Billboard 200 will officially go into effect January 18, 2020, which will reflect sales and streams for the period of January 3rd-9th.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
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