YouTube streaming data will count toward Billboard chart placements again in 2027, following a change that gives ad-supported streams more weight. YouTube withdrew its data from the charts in December 2025.
Under the updated method, three ad-supported streams will carry the same weight as two paid subscription streams. The previous ratio required five ad-supported streams to match two subscription streams.
Billboard adopted the five-to-two ratio at the end of 2025, changing it from three-to-two. Under the latest method, 1,500 ad-supported streams or 1,000 paid subscription streams will equal one album consumption unit on the Billboard 200.
YouTube reportedly has more than 2 billion free users each month. Its Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, said: “We are returning to the Billboard charts starting in 2027. Billboard’s new methodology better reflects how fans engage with music today across both subscription and ad-supported services.”
