Why YouTube said goodbye to Billboard
YouTube will cease providing music-streaming data to Billboard for U.S. charts after January 16, 2026, protesting a revised formula that weights paid on-demand streams more heavily than ad-supported streams.
Billboard recently updated its chart-ranking methodology to assign greater value to paid and subscription-based on-demand streams relative to ad-supported free streams. The publisher stated that this adjustment aims to better reflect an increase in streaming revenue and changing consumer behaviors. Streaming has surpassed traditional album and song purchases as the dominant consumption method, prompting Billboard to recalibrate its rankings accordingly.
YouTube expressed opposition to the revised formula in a blog post published on Wednesday. The post described Billboard’s approach as relying on an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported ones. “This doesn’t reflect how fans engage with music today and ignores the massive engagement from fans who don’t have a subscription,” the post stated. YouTube emphasized that streaming constitutes the primary way people experience music, accounting for 84% of U.S. recorded music revenue.
The company advocated for uniform valuation of all streams. “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,” the blog post declared. YouTube argued that differentiation between free and paid streams fails to capture current listener habits, particularly given the substantial audience relying on ad-supported platforms.
The updated formula takes effect with charts published on January 17, 2026, incorporating data from the week of January 2-8, 2026. This alteration affects the Billboard 200 and all genre-based album charts. For the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard established a 2.5:1 ratio between paid or subscription streams and ad-supported on-demand streams.
Under the prior system, Billboard defined an album unit—the core metric for album chart positions—as equivalent to one album sale. It also equated 10 individual track sales from an album to one album unit. On the streaming side, 3,750 ad-supported official audio and video streams across an album’s songs equaled one album unit. Similarly, 1,250 paid or subscription official audio and video streams counted as one album unit. This setup implied a 3:1 ratio, where three ad-supported streams matched the value of one paid stream.
The revised calculation lowers the streaming thresholds required for an album unit. Billboard specified that it now requires 33.3 percent fewer ad-supported on-demand streams from an album’s songs and 20 percent fewer paid or subscription on-demand streams to equal one album unit. Specifically, 2,500 ad-supported streams now suffice for one unit, down from 3,750. This reduction amounts to 1,250 fewer streams, or precisely one-third less, confirming the 33.3 percent figure since 2,500 divided by 3,750 equals two-thirds of the original total.
For paid streams, the threshold drops from 1,250 to 1,000, a decrease of 250 streams or exactly 20 percent, as 1,000 represents 80 percent of 1,250. These changes make each paid stream 2.5 times more valuable than an ad-supported one, calculated by dividing 2,500 by 1,000. Although this narrows the gap from the previous 3:1 ratio, YouTube seeks no distinction at all.
By withholding data after January 16, 2026, YouTube ensures its streams no longer contribute to Billboard rankings. This action may prompt record labels and artists to reduce emphasis on releasing music to the platform, given its role in chart performance. YouTube positioned the decision as a negotiation strategy. “We are committed to achieving equitable representation across the charts and hopefully can work with Billboard to return to theirs,” the announcement concluded.