Billboard Finally Adds Streaming To All Genre Charts
In an overdue move, Billboard is finally using consumption methodology – sales + streams – to compute its many genre charts. The trade's iconic Top 200 has used the combined methodology for some time.
_________________________________
Revamped Billboard genre charts will now follow the Billboard 200 formula: 10 digital track sales from an album + 1 equivalent album sale, and 1,500 on-demand song streams from an album = an equivalent album sale. All sales and streaming data is compiled by Nielsen Music.
The first new charts will premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 31 for charts dated Feb. 11, and will reflect album sales, track sales and audio on-demand streaming data, tracked by Nielsen Music, for the week ending Thursday, Jan. 26.
Charts making the move to a consumption methodology include:
Top Country Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
R&B Albums
Rap Albums
Top Rock Albums:
Alternative Albums
Hard Rock Albums
Americana/Folk Albums
Top Latin Albums, plus:
Latin Pop Albums
Regional Mexican Albums
Tropical Albums
Latin Rhythm Albums
Top Dance/Electronic Albums
Top Gospel Albums
Top Christian Albums
Christian/Gospel Albums
Soundtracks
Top Catalog Albums
Holiday Albums
Billboard will also continue to publish pure album sales charts for these genres.
How is streaming counted as consumption?
Is supply decremented in any way?
I do support the notion that this is a service metric, but there is no consumption, supply not decremented at all.
Only time is being consumed, and this is on the part of the listener, not the supplier.
Odd rhetoric, this. Why complain? Because it is yet another sign that we cling to the old vine of product and consumers. We need to move on and think in new ways.