YouTube and Billboard have reunited, and it feels so good. The popular video-sharing channel announced that streams will count toward the Billboard charts again in 2027.
On Monday (Nov. 9), YouTube’s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, said in a blog post that the platform’s streaming metrics will return to Billboard‘s charts beginning in 2027.
“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,” he wrote.
This news comes after YouTube decided to stop sending data to Billboard in January 2026 for inclusion in their chart rankings, claiming the publication uses an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported. Subsequently, the company created its own music charts for fans that wanted to know what was trending on the platform.
Following YouTube’s announcement, Billboard announced that effective Jan. 16, 2027 (based on data gathered on Jan. 1-7), the Billboard 200 chart will tally one album consumption unit as equivalent to 1,500 ad-tier streams or 1,000 paid subscription-based official video and audio plays from a project’s tracklist. Currently, the Billboard 200 considers each album consumption unit as equal to 2,500 ad-supported streams or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs on an album. Each album consumption unit equals one album sale or 10 individual tracks sold from an album.
So what does this mean for hip-hop artists?
According to Audiomack co-founder and music industry expert Brian Zisook, the “change to ad-supported consumption on DSPs will carry significantly more weight, leading to greater representation for hip-hop and Latin [music] on the Billboard charts.”
In the meantime, watch Billboard‘s video on how hip-hop changed the Billboard music charts during the genre’s 50-year history, below.
Watch Billboard News: How Hip-Hop Changed the Billboard Charts
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