Billboard changing its main album chart, will count streaming services

[AgusPop 4,064]

Finally, counting sales only in 2014 is silly.

[mr.peter 3,515]

With time brings change. Change will always happen. in the 50's and 60's it was common for recording artist to just drop singles... Then albums became the the thing. Now singles are back ... and I'm sure albums will make a comeback one way or another. 

[AgusPop 4,064]

Ridiculous. Just because people have listened, it doesnt mean they liked it.

 

This new rule basically makes the BB 200 pointless

[daviddarko 144]

idk it's just so much degrading the artist like they aren't the important things here .... u do realize that after the rule come in power artists will start to focus even harder on their singles rather albums. We will have strong lead singles as Rihanna's and album full of fillers to go with the single, the space btw each album cycle will get shorter and shorter  (like Ariana - 2013 YT, 2014 ME, and she said to be prepairing for new 2015 release) artists will start releasing albums every other year. It's not that it will be a bad thing but the whole music in terms of quality will degrade even more ..... in other words in 10 years or some the albums will be released as addition to the single.

 

IDK about u but the music scene is pretty bad right now idk what will be in few years, I'm just not happy with it instead BB supporting the artist they are supporting the business and the company and it just doesn't sound right at least to me

 

[AbuHassan1992 766]

Not entirely sure how I feel about this. I also don't really understand how the streaming part works.

 

"SoundScan and Billboard will count 1,500 song streams from services like Spotify, Beats Music, Rdio, Rhapsody and Google Play as equivalent to an album sale." Does this mean 1500 streams of ANY song from the album counts as one song? So even if an album has a popular single but doesn't sell well - i.e. Ariana as mentioned in the article - it will remain high on the chart? Does that really reflect the popularity of the album though?

 

Hmm...

how can you not understand streaming?

[Retep 0]

I agree! A new chart to introduce the new methodology is much better. But then again, with streaming only becoming more vital and bigger, not just in the computation of the HOT 100 chart and elsewhere, but also in the certification programs of RIAA itself, at least in singles and digital tracks, I also understand where Billboard's coming from with this. I don't agree with them, but let's see. TEAs are being unfairly and immaturely used for bragging rights. It's about time they make use of them other than the usual what ifs.  

 

Also, do you mean ARIA, the one in Australia? Or you meant RIAA? If RIAA, stream equivalents are now part of their certification programs for gold, platinum, and diamond since last year, I believe. For them, 100 on-demand audio and/or video streams = 1 unit sold. It'll be interesting if ARIA and the other major charts in the world would follow this model or not. 

 

Yeah, I meant RIAA; the multiple certification associations always get me a bit mixed up . With this certification though it launched BR into diamond status for Gaga didn't it?

 

I can see your viewpoint though, they definitely need to iron out details of this chart more though or else the entire process will be abused like no other with ease. It just seems like a really messy system to me right now. With its logic and ease of abuse an artist like Psy, Carly Rae, and others will dominate a chart by throwing out any EP or album for a #1 should they strike with just 1 single. It just doesn't seem balanced out to me. If somehow they managed to monitor the listener going through an entire album and then equated so many full album streams then I could maybe see a bit more fairness. 

[Harry 26,836]

how can you not understand streaming?

 

Did you read only the first paragraph of my post?

[PicklePower 1,649]

Y'all are so closed-minded

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

So BB 200 is officially pointless now and doesn't even mean ACTUAL album sales now

[SISTERV 3,887]

yes if we were in 2010 ..... since BTW Gaga's streaming power is pathetic not only she has to focus more on singles now but she has to make herself literally viral in order to keep up with the new changes, right now  she's in her Jazz era which basically is only being streamed by her fans right now(those that bother to even listen to it) and by the time she releases her next album streaming will be even more important then right now idk just go and light a candle for our good sis

I disagree. If Do What U Want had this rule over it's head, it would have been a #1 hit that week. That single got so much streaming count it forced the label to turn it from promo into official. It just died quickly after bc it wasn't continuously promoted properly.

People are always curious to hear what Gaga is up to, and the only reason cheek to cheek is low in streaming is because it is covers that pander to an older audience that generally don't use spotify lol.

[ChasingTables 0]

So BB 200 is officially pointless now and doesn't even mean ACTUAL album sales now

[Klou 2,365]

That's my thing, I would better understand the streaming rule if it was more fairly integrated. A multitude of people listening to just Roar alone 1500 times and no other song is not the same as 1 person buying the entirety of Prism no matter how you spin it. This merely benefits already long established singles artists and those that manage to score those rare one hit wonders.

Just because someone purchases an album doesn't mean they will listen to all songs equally. I'm sure you have favorite songs on an album and may not listen to others.

How else are they supposed to incorporate the streaming? This had to be done because the Billboard 200 before this is essentially irrelevant. Streaming is how people are listening to music and is must be accounted for.

[Redstreak 6,653]

Just because someone purchases an album doesn't mean they will listen to all songs equally. I'm sure you have favorite songs on an album and may not listen to others.

How else are they supposed to incorporate the streaming? This had to be done because the Billboard 200 before this is essentially irrelevant. Streaming is how people are listening to music and is must be accounted for.

The BB 200 becomes irrelevant after this. It basically comes down to how viral is your new single, that's not an album chart. Streaming services can track what an individual listens to, they can track if someone is listening to a majority of an album or just picking one or two hit songs and it should reflect that accordingly. I don't buy an album unless I know I'm going to listen to a majority of it.

[craig 680]

The BB 200 becomes irrelevant after this. It basically comes down to how viral is your new single, that's not an album chart. Streaming services can track what an individual listens to, they can track if someone is listening to a majority of an album or just picking one or two hit songs and it should reflect that accordingly. I don't buy an album unless I know I'm going to listen to a majority of it.

 

A single selling 300k a week, which is increasing rare, will only count for 30k album sales.

If it tales 1250 streams to equal 1 album, a hit won't be worth that many album.

 

Anyone selling over 100k albums will overcome all that. Most weeks, over 60-75k will do.

Most huge singles are pre-album, so won't count for any album.

[Redstreak 6,653]

A single selling 300k a week, which is increasing rare, will only count for 30k album sales.

If it tales 1250 streams to equal 1 album, a hit won't be worth that many album.

 

Anyone selling over 100k albums will overcome all that. Most weeks, over 75k will do.

Most huge singles are pre-album, so won't count for any album.

But we're also in a climate where it doesn't take many actual album sales to be placed at the top anymore. Many spots even in the top 20 can differ by just a few thousand. I mean their own example of Ariana had her 27 spots higher this past week if that rule was already in affect. It can really shake up chart placements.