Despite a widely circulated report that YouTube plays would be added to Billboard’s chart calculations, no firm decision has been made, industry sources tell Hypebot. In fact, given the backlash, it may not happen at all.
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A reported decision to add YouTube plays, including user generated videos, to Billboard’s chart calculations, drew heavy backlash yesterday from a music industry already upset that the Google owned video giant was paying rightholders a fraction of what other streaming services do.
But the report from Hits Daily Double appears to have been premature
Talks between the record labels and Billboard over what data should be included in future charts are ongoing, a source told Hypebot on Monday, and no decision about the inclusion of data from YouTube has been made. Other industry insiders have since confirmed that discussions about YouTube’s place on the charts continue.
In recent weeks, YouTube has drawn fire from the music industry over payments to labels, artists and other rights holders. By comparison, Spotify pays out approximately 75% more for its ad supported tier and 515% more for paid streaming than Google owned YouTube, according to a new study (pdf download).