Billboard’s revised album-streaming formula begins with the January 16, 2027 charts.

YouTube is returning to Billboard’s U.S. charts in 2027 following a change to how streaming activity is weighted. Billboard will narrow the difference between paid-subscription and ad-supported plays, giving the latter more influence across its major consumption rankings.

For albums, the new requirements begin with charts dated January 16, 2027, covering the January 1–7 tracking period. One album-equivalent unit will require 1,500 eligible ad-supported streams, down from 2,500. The requirement for paid/subscription listening remains 1,000 streams.

That adjustment increases the units generated by a fixed number of eligible ad-supported streams by approximately 67%. It does not change the conversions for album purchases or individual track downloads.

The Hot 100 will also reflect the revised streaming weighting, but its formula remains distinct from the Billboard 200. Songs are ranked using streaming, sales, and radio activity rather than album-equivalent units. Paid plays will continue to count more heavily than ad-supported ones.

Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, confirmed the platform would resume sharing data after withdrawing earlier in 2026 because of the previous weighting.

I think bringing eligible YouTube streams back adds something valuable to the conversation. Music videos can be a major part of how people connect with a record. If this encourages artists to give us more memorable visuals, I’m with it. Now we’ll see how much the new balance changes the weekly results.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.