Billboard cuts ad-supported streams per album unit to 1,500 from Jan. 16, 2027, and YouTube says it will return to the charts

Billboard said on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, that beginning in January it will narrow the ratio between paid/subscription and ad-supported streams on its album and song consumption charts from 1 to 2.5 to 1 to 1.5. On the Billboard 200 and the matching genre album charts, one album-equivalent unit will equal 1,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand streams, down from 2,500 ad-supported streams, per Billboard Pro. The same day, YouTube said it will return its data to the charts in 2027.

What changes, and when

The new unit definition takes effect with the Billboard 200 and genre album charts dated Jan. 16, 2027, which reflect data from Jan. 1 to 7, per Billboard. Until then the current rates stay in force. Sales and download metrics do not change: one unit is still one album sale or 10 individual tracks sold from an album.

By our arithmetic, the new rate needs 40% fewer ad-supported streams per unit than the 2026 rate (1,500 instead of 2,500), so the same number of ad-supported streams will produce about 67% more units. Paid streams are unaffected.

Billboard said the change follows its and Luminate’s annual review of the streaming revenue data used to inform the Billboard 200, the Hot 100 and its other album and song consumption charts. The updated ratios, it said, are informed by an analysis of revenue from paid and ad-supported streaming, and the aim is to keep the charts aligned with the changing economics of music consumption. Billboard’s article says the narrower ratio applies to both album and song consumption charts, including the Hot 100, but it gives the Jan. 16 date only for the Billboard 200 and the genre album charts. Multi-metric song charts such as the Hot 100 combine streaming, radio airplay and sales, unlike the Billboard 200’s album-equivalent unit formula.

YouTube says it is returning

YouTube’s global head of music, Lyor Cohen, said in a blog post on Monday that the company’s streaming data will return to Billboard’s charts. He added a two-line update to YouTube’s original December 2025 announcement that it was pulling out: “We are returning to the Billboard charts starting in 2027,” per YouTube’s blog post. The update adds that Billboard’s new methodology “better reflects how fans engage with music today across both subscription and ad-supported services.”

YouTube’s data stopped counting toward Billboard’s charts beginning with the charts dated Jan. 31, 2026, after Billboard announced that paid streams would be weighed against ad-supported streams at 1 to 2.5, per Billboard. YouTube was first included in Billboard’s song charts in 2013 and in the Billboard 200 in 2019, Billboard said. Stereogum, which also covered the announcement, reported that the new Billboard 200 requirement begins with the Jan. 16, 2027 chart.

What we do not know yet

• When YouTube data returns: the sources we read say “starting in 2027” and “resuming in 2027” but give no date. Billboard’s Jan. 16 date applies to the new unit rate, and we have not seen it tied to YouTube’s return.
• How rankings will move: Billboard’s articles do not project which albums gain or lose. The effect will depend on each release’s mix of sales, paid streams and ad-supported streams.
• Exact dates for song charts: Billboard’s article names the Billboard 200 and genre album charts dated Jan. 16; we did not find a separate date for the Hot 100.

For how a unit is counted today, the January 2026 change and the full rule history, see our explainer, How Billboard counts an album unit, which we updated to cover this change.

Part of our coverage of Billboard charts and music data explained.