YouTube will share its play counts with Billboard again in 2027 after the chart gave free, ad-supported listening more weight, ending a dispute that began in December 2025.
YouTube and Billboard have made up. YouTube announced Monday that it will start sharing its music streaming data with the Billboard charts again in 2027. The move follows a change to Billboard's formula that makes free, ad-supported listening count for more toward chart rankings.
Billboard turns plays into a score called album consumption units. Under the old formula, 1,000 paid streams counted the same as 2,500 ad-supported streams. Under the new one, 1,000 paid streams equal 1,500 ad-supported streams.
The dispute began in December 2025, when YouTube said it would stop sharing its data with Billboard. The company argued the chart favored paid subscriptions and gave too little credit to fans who listen for free with ads.
Lyor Cohen, YouTube's global head of music, said in a blog post that Billboard "uses an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported." He added that streaming makes up 84% of U.S. recorded music revenue.
If you listen to music on YouTube without paying, your plays will carry more weight on the charts than they did under the old rule. That matters most for independent artists and musicians with large fan bases outside the U.S. Music videos, live performances and lyric videos on YouTube help them find new listeners, and more of that activity will now count toward their Billboard results.
Billboard benefits too. YouTube has a huge audience, so leaving its streams out meant missing a major part of how people listen to and discover music. With the data back, the charts should give a more complete picture.
The announcement says only that sharing resumes in 2027. It does not give an exact date. It also does not say how much any particular chart or artist will move once YouTube's numbers are included.
Free listening on YouTube will count for more on Billboard charts once YouTube resumes sharing its data in 2027.
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