New York (AFP)
The Billboard group will integrate the viewing of music videos on YouTube in its ranking of best-selling albums in the United States, to better take into account music consumption patterns today.
The rankings of musical titles, or singles, already took into account, since 2013, the number of views on the Google video platform, but this was not yet the case with the official weekly hierarchy of albums.
The Billboard 200, which contains the 200 best-selling albums every week, will also integrate the videos watched via the Spotify, Apple or Tidal platforms.
Only official videos will be taken into account, put online directly by the holders of the rights to the songs, or on their behalf, announced Billboard in a press release.
"Our goal is to be continuously responsive and to reflect the changing music landscape," said Deanna Brown, president of Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter, quoted in the press release on Friday.
"The popularity of musical styles such as Latin music, hip-hop or electro, which dominate the rankings on YouTube, will now be fully taken into account," commented Lyor Cohen, head of music at YouTube, also cited in the press release.
From 1940, date of creation of a national hit-parade in the United States by Billboard, to 2005, only the physical sales of discs were taken into account, before the downloads, then the online listenings were added in 2013.
The change will become effective in the ranking published on January 18, for sales, listening and viewing between January 3 and 9.
According to Billboard's criteria, 3,750 views on a free platform, such as YouTube, are equivalent to an album sale. For paid platforms, there are 1,250 views or views.
© 2019 AFP