If Billboard was looking to reignite the streaming vs. sales debate, they succeeded with a recent announcement.
Indeed, just two years after announcing the inclusion of streaming data for Billboard 200 placements and 8 months after RIAA made a similar move, now the music Bible is adding new scriptures to its evolving process.
“…as of charts dated Nov. 5 [the current week’s chart], SoundCloud plays now contribute to the streaming data that informs the Hot 100 and other genre hybrid songs charts, in addition to the consumption-based Billboard 200 albums chart. Additionally, Amazon Music Unlimited Streams now count toward Amazon’s overall chart contributions, along with streams from the Amazon Prime service, which has long been part of the chart panel.”
Granted, the move isn’t that major of a feat in the grand scheme, but it’s certainly enough to get tongues wagging – especially on the Billboard 200 front. Luckily for the week’s current chart champions, however, the involvement of numbers from the two new digital services hasn’t shaken up things too much.
See the latest Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 below: