Billboard will give ad-supported streams more weight in its US charts from January 2027, and YouTube will return its data to the rankings. The change narrows the gap between paid and free plays in calculating chart positions.
How the chart calculation changes
The ratio of subscription streams to ad-supported streams will move from 1:2.5 to 1:1.5. One album unit will equal:
- 1,000 subscription streams, unchanged from the current threshold.
- 1,500 ad-supported streams, down from 2,500.
The change begins with the Billboard 200 and genre album charts dated January 16, 2027, using data from January 1 to 7. It also applies to combined-consumption song charts, including the Hot 100, and streaming song charts. Sales and downloads are unaffected. No changes to Billboard’s global charts have been detailed.
Billboard reviews streaming revenue annually with Luminate and says the revised ratio reflects what each type of stream generates. The underlying revenue figures have not been published.
YouTube’s return
On December 16, 2025, Billboard announced a move from a 1:3 ratio, equivalent to 1,250 paid or 3,750 ad-supported streams per album unit, to the current 1:2.5 ratio. That change took effect with charts dated January 17, 2026, using data from January 2 to 8. The next day, YouTube announced it would stop supplying data after January 16, 2026. Its plays have been absent from charts dated January 31, 2026, onward.
At the time, Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, wrote that Billboard used “an outdated formula that gives more weight to subscription streams than ad-supported streams.” YouTube called for every play to count “fairly and equally,” whether paid or ad-supported. The new 1:1.5 ratio does not give them equal weight, but YouTube has agreed to return.
“We’re returning to the Billboard charts starting in 2027,” Cohen wrote in a November 9 update. “Billboard’s new methodology better reflects how fans engage with music today, across both subscription and ad-supported services.” YouTube first joined Billboard’s song charts, including the Hot 100, in 2013.
YouTube’s subscription business
Alphabet has said YouTube Music and Premium exceed 150 million subscribers, including free trials. In July, it said YouTube’s subscription business was growing faster than its advertising business. YouTube said in October 2025 that it had paid the music industry more than 8,000 million dollars from advertising and subscription revenue between July 2024 and June 2025.
