Billboard now integrating streaming and track sales into Top 200 Chart

Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan will now be incorporating streams and individual track sales into the Top 200 Chart. Previously, the rankings were based solely on album sales. 

The first revamp of the chart, featuring album, on-demand streaming and digital track sales, will make its way online on December 4. 

“With current On-Demand audio play counts exceeding 100 billion so far this year, this method of consumption has redefined the way success is measured in the music industry,” says SVP Industry Insights of Nielsen Entertainment, David Bakula. “Nielsen's recent Music 360 report reveals that streaming has seen substantial gains in popularity with consumers, with nearly 80 percent of music fans reporting that they have streamed music in the last six months.”

This change comes at a time when more and more people are choosing streaming as their method of consumption for music, therefore causing album sales to continually decrease. In August, Billboard reported a weekly album sales total of 3.97 million, which was the smallest weekly sum since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking the data in 1991.

Do you think this move by Billboard is appropriate? Do you find yourself using streaming services more often, rather than purchasing albums?