Overview
- YouTube stopped supplying its streaming data to Billboard in January 2026 after objecting that the charts gave paid-subscription streams more weight than free, ad-supported plays on its service.
- Billboard and data partner Luminate revised the chart methodology and reached an agreement with YouTube that will reinstate YouTube streams on Billboard charts beginning in 2027.
- YouTube’s global head of music, Lyor Cohen, confirmed the return in a company statement saying the new system better reflects how fans use both subscription and ad-supported services.
- The revision lowers the number of ad-supported video streams needed to count toward album units compared with the prior formula, a change expected to boost artists and genres with large free-video audiences.
- Some artists have pushed back publicly about the change — Drake called the move “cooked” on social media — and the industry is watching whether labels will alter video premieres and release tactics ahead of 2027.