Billboard adds smart media albums to charts

[TaylorSwift 163,433]

Smart Media Albums are physical products that, once activated, direct consumers to a dedicated app or website where they can unlock album content using technologies such as QR codes, ultrasonic signatures, NFC. 

The Smart Media format initially gained widespread popularity in Asia, especially within K-pop fan culture, as a new avenue for superfans to purchase physical audio products and express their fandom. It is now expanding around the world and starting to catch on in the U.S. as more fans turn to physical forms of media.

These products offer access to music and may also include additional limited digital assets within a dedicated digital experience, as well as a specified range of physical assets contained inside the Smart Media Album package.  Examples of digital assets that may be included in a Smart Media Album experience include additional audio or video content, photos, lyrics and liner notes. As for additional physical items packaged within the Smart Media Album, they may include such items as cards, stickers, posters and liner notes.

Billboard is expanding chart eligibility to include qualifying Smart Media Albums in their album consumption and sales charts, leveraging Luminate's updated consumption data, now inclusive of unit sales for this new album format. Beginning with the Oct. 2–8, 2026, tracking week, select Smart Media Albums will be eligible for inclusion, reflecting Billboard's ongoing commitment to recognize new music technologies and ways in which fans are discovering, collecting and engaging with music and artists.

Eligible Smart Media Albums must be approved products from a select group of vendors/manufacturers and are limited to two eligible Smart Media versions (UPCs) per album release. The currently approved vendors/manufacturers are: IYK, KiTbetter, Serenade, Totem, WeVerse, Yoto and ZATAP.

https://www.billboard.com/business/business-news/billboard-smart-media-albums-chart-eligible-sales-format-1236334638/

[onTheBrink 1,673]

Oh I think that's sensible. I bought an Iconi Born This Way smart album once....it was this massive photo frame with a digital download of the album. No reason they shouldn't count towards stats

[River 128,504]

Taylor will announce something with this smart media album soon then, they always change the rules and getting ready for her new marketing plans 

[TaylorSwift 163,433]

5 minutes ago, onTheBrink said:

No reason they shouldn't count towards stats

Billboard already has a problem with variants, artists like Taylor Swift and Stray Kids are doing huge numbers and breaking records because the same fans are buying 30+ versions of the same album. Smart albums will make this even worse. If they want to add new formats, they should set a limit on the number of variants a single album can have.

[ALGAYDO 35,358]

2 minutes ago, TaylorSwift said:

Billboard already has a problem with variants, artists like Taylor Swift and Stray Kids are doing huge numbers and breaking records because the same fans are buying 30+ versions of the same album. Smart albums will make this even worse. If they want to add new formats, they should set a limit on the number of variants a single album can have.

Self-aware queen. We love to see it! 

[SavetheEarthNow 242]

💩 

[Mirrion Rizzons 12,757]

13 hours ago, TaylorSwift said:

Billboard already has a problem with variants, artists like Taylor Swift and Stray Kids are doing huge numbers and breaking records because the same fans are buying 30+ versions of the same album. Smart albums will make this even worse. If they want to add new formats, they should set a limit on the number of variants a single album can have.

I would love to see how much artists can sell without variants. On the one hand, if there’s only one version, more people will buy that one version. But then on the other hand, having multiple usually means that not every sale is from a unique buyer. 
 

Like let’s say Taylor drops 1 version of an album only and it sells 1.5m copies.

But with the variants she sells 2.9m (1.1m of the original copy, 1.8m of all the variants) 

Sales across the board for artists would plummet and a 150k-200k debut would be a huge smash for artists I reckon