Paid for views will no longer count in YouTube Music Charts and their 24-hour record debut policy to improve the credibility of their charts. In a YouTube blog posting, the company asserts that. ‘YouTube Music Charts have become an indispensable source for the industry and the most accurate place for measuring the popularity of music listening behaviour happening on the world’s largest music platform. In an effort to provide more transparency to the industry and align with the policies of official charting companies such as Billboard and Nielsen, we are no longer counting paid advertising views on YouTube in the YouTube Music Charts calculation. Artists will now be ranked based on view counts from organic plays.’
The posting continues, ‘Over the last few years, fans, artists, and their teams have touted the number of views a video receives on YouTube within the first 24 hours as the definitive representation of its instant cultural impact.’
The streamer aims to ensure that it remains a place where all artists are accurately recognized and celebrated for achieving success and milestones. The changes are as follows:
‘Videos eligible for YouTube’s 24-hour record debuts are those with the highest views from organic sources within the first 24 hours of the video’s public release. This includes direct links to the video, search results, external sites that embed the video and YouTube features like the homepage, watch next and Trending. Video advertising is an effective way to reach specific audiences with a song debut, but paid advertising views on YouTube will no longer be considered when looking at a 24-hour record debut. The changes will not impact YouTube’s existing 24-hour record debut holders.’
Additional information on how YouTube Music Charts are calculated can be found here and additional details about YouTube Views and ads can be found here.
