"Songs streamed on YouTube will no longer count towards the Billboard charts, the platform announced in a blog yesterday (December 17). The change will take effect on January 16, 2026, according to Lyor Cohen, YouTube's global head of music. Cohen blamed a long-running dispute over Billboard 's decision to weight subscriber streams more favorably than ad-supported streams in its chart tallies."
"That shift equates a stream by a YouTube or Spotify subscriber to two and a half streams by a non-subscriber. Before that, the ratio was 3:1, meaning a free stream was worth even less. But Cohen maintains this an "outdated formula" that "ignores the massive engagement from fans who don't have a subscription." He notes that streaming makes up 84 percent of U.S. recorded music revenue and suggests that YouTube was pursuing a 1:1 ratio in streaming counts."
YouTube will no longer count songs streamed on its platform toward Billboard charts beginning January 16, 2026. The move follows a dispute over Billboard's weighting of subscriber streams more favorably than ad-supported streams. Billboard recently adjusted its formula to value ad-supported, on-demand streams at 2.5-to-1 relative to subscriber streams, down from 3-to-1. YouTube argues that free-user engagement is being undervalued and suggested a 1:1 ratio. Uncertainty remains about whether the disagreement also covers definitions of on-demand streams and the treatment of autoplays in chart tallies.
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