This is pretty interesting.
You know that incredibly complex group of sources that tallies the data for the Billboard charts? Apple is now part of it.
Music magazine Billboard has quietly added Apple Music to the list of streaming services factored into its music charts, which are often treated as the main gauge of popular music in the United States.
The Apple Music data is now part of the Billboard 200 album chart as well as the Hot 100 singles list and various other rankings, the magazine said. The Billboard 200 incorporates “track equivalent albums” and “streaming equivalent albums” alongside conventional sales numbers.
Other sources Billboard currently uses include Amazon Prime, Google Play, Medianet, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Tidal, Spotify, Groove Music Pass (until recently Xbox Music), and the soon-to-be-defunct Beats Music. Apple is no longer taking new Beats Music subscribers, and is actively working to migrate them over to Apple Music.
The addition adds legitimacy to Apple’s presence in the music industry. Sales at the iTunes Store have long counted towards song and album charts, and indeed iTunes sales are often considered a major metric on their own, given Apple’s dominance in the digital download market.
stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider