YouTube’s decision to stop sharing streaming data for Billboard music charts could change the way we think about metrics
On Wednesday, YouTube announced that it would stop sharing streaming data with the billboard for their US music charts starting next year, citing what they describe as an “outdated” system that weights the streams of paying subscribers more favorably than those of ad-supported users. Lyor Cohenglobal head of music at YouTubesaid the system “does not reflect the way fans interact with music today and ignores the massive engagement of fans who don’t have a subscription.” The change occurred after billboard announced its intention to calibrate its measurements in order to better balance the weight of paid and advertising-financed flows. For the YouTubewhich says it will continue to track its own streaming metrics, the change was too little, too late.
Photo: Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA/Rolling Stone Brazil
In a press release, a representative of billboard said he hoped YouTube reconsider the change. “Our hope is that the YouTube reconsider and join billboard recognizing the reach and popularity of artists across all music platforms and celebrating their achievements through the power of fans and the way they interact with the music they love.
The machinations behind the calculations of billboard have been a constant source of controversy in the music industry. Already this year, the brand has introduced further changes to its charts, while artists have done everything from bundling concert merchandise to re-releasing deluxe editions of albums to game the system. (THE billboard and the rolling stone are both owned by the same controlling company, Penske Media Corporation.)
A major implication of the latest change in billboard it has to do with hip hop’s status on the charts. Earlier this year, a flood of discourse was unleashed when news leaked that, for the first time in decades, there were no hip hop songs in the Top 40 of the publication’s Hot 100 chart. Following the industry-wide rap feud in 2024, and with controversies over reporting and incarceration, many came to the conclusion that rap’s influence on popular culture was waning. Others have suggested that the genre is simply returning to its more subcultural roots.
The last change of billboardand the subsequent action of YouTubehighlight a more structural problem. Maybe rap isn’t any less popular than it used to be, and it’s actually our units of measurement that are wrong. That sentiment began to gain traction this week, when commentators noted that the rule change would place more emphasis on pure streams and predicted that that, in turn, would be a boon for rap’s place on the charts.
The movement of YouTubehowever, creates yet another complication. Without data from what is arguably the biggest player in the streaming world, the rankings billboard they risk crowding out the listening habits of young people, pushing the charts even further away from hip hop. THE YouTube continues to be a dominant streaming app among Gen Z and Gen Alpha in particular, and a quick look at the app’s music charts – the music video “FDO” of Shiesty Bearfor example, is today among the most successful – this shows how hip hop remains influential among young listeners.
Commenting on the decision of YouTube to stop sharing your data, the independent musician Russian argued that the change would reduce the influence of billboard compared to other platforms and metrics. “Once the YouTube not be counted, the billboard stops being THE bulletin board and becomes A bulletin board,” he wrote in an article on X.
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all. Younger listeners and those who may not be able to afford a subscription to a streaming platform are actually still listeners. And beyond the bragging rights of a number one record, having a more balanced metric for knowing which song is Really moving culture only makes things better for artists and listeners.
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