{"id":879139,"date":"2025-12-20T00:12:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T06:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/20\/youtube-will-stop-supplying-data-for-billboard-charts-citing-outdated-formula-on-ad-supported-streams\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T00:12:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T06:12:02","slug":"youtube-will-stop-supplying-data-for-billboard-charts-citing-outdated-formula-on-ad-supported-streams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/20\/youtube-will-stop-supplying-data-for-billboard-charts-citing-outdated-formula-on-ad-supported-streams\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube Will Stop Supplying Data for Billboard Charts, Citing \u201cOutdated Formula\u201d on Ad-Supported Streams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tYouTube<\/a> will stop supplying data to Billboard<\/a>\u2018s charts next month, the company\u2019s global head of music Lyor Cohen announced in a blog post on Wednesday, arguing that Billboard\u2019s formula for the charts doesn\u2019t put enough weight on ad-supported streams. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBillboard uses an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported. This doesn\u2019t reflect how fans engage with music today and ignores the massive engagement from fans who don\u2019t have a subscription,\u201d Cohen wrote Wednesday. \u201cStreaming is the primary way people experience music,\u00a0making up 84%<\/a>\u00a0of U.S. recorded music revenue. We\u2019re simply asking that every stream is counted fairly and equally, whether it is subscription-based or ad-supported \u2014 because every fan matters and every play should count.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe news comes a day after Billboard updated its chart formula to put more weight behind on-demand streaming overall. Billboard had actually announced that with their formula change, the gap in its weighting for paid and ad-supported streaming was actually narrowing from 1:3 to 1:2.5. But as YouTube has made clear, it wants the gap gone entirely. Cohen said YouTube will stop giving data to Billboard effective January 16, 2026. In the blog post, he directed readers to check out YouTube\u2019s own chart system.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAfter a decade-long partnership and extensive discussions, they are unwilling to make meaningful changes,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cWe are committed to achieving equitable representation across the charts and hopefully can work with Billboard to return to theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe dispute reflects a philosophical question in how music consumption should be measured in an era where significantly fewer people actually buy albums anymore. While YouTube argues engagement from ad-supported listening justifies an equal weighting, Billboard\u2019s formula maintains more value from fans who are still paying for their music in some form. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are so many ways a fan can support an artist they love. Each has a specific place in the music ecosystem,\u201d a spokesperson for Billboard said in a statement. \u201cBillboard strives to measure that activity appropriately; balanced by\u00a0various factors including consumer access, revenue analysis,\u00a0data validation, and industry guidance. It is our hope that YouTube reconsiders and joins Billboard in recognizing the reach and popularity of artists on all music platforms and in celebrating their achievements though the power of fans and how they interact with the music that they love.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spotify has both ad-supported and paid streams. All listening activity matters. But I think it\u2019s right to weight paid streams more. People paying ~$150 per year for music\u2026it means more, shows a greater level of fan intent, and is better for artists and the ecosystem. https:\/\/t.co\/A2qLDRNwE2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Hellman (@Hellmania) December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\n\tThe dispute has already inspired discussion online, where Spotify\u2019s head of music Charlie Hellman advocated for paid streams. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPeople paying ~$150 per year for music\u2026 it means more, shows a greater level of fan intent and is better for artists in the ecosystem,\u201d Hellman said.<\/p>\n

\n\tEditorial Note: Billboard is owned by Penske Media Corporation, which also owns <\/em>The Hollywood Reporter. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

YouTube will stop supplying data to Billboard\u2018s charts next month, the company\u2019s global head of music Lyor Cohen announced in a blog post on Wednesday, arguing that Billboard\u2019s formula for the charts doesn\u2019t put enough weight on ad-supported streams. \u201cBillboard uses an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported. This doesn\u2019t reflect how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":879140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98521,49,104640],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-879139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-supplying","category-youtube","category-youtube-videos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}