Multiple times throughout the years, Billboard has changed the way in which they tally the results of its charts. For instance, in 1998, it adjusted to allow singles on the Billboard Hot 100 without a physical single being sold in stores. In 2011, they changed the rules once again to allow YouTube streams to determine which songs make the Hot 100. These are only a few examples, as the way to measure the charts is constantly changing and adapting.
In January 2026, YouTube withdrew its streaming data from the Billboard charts. This followed a dispute over how Billboard weighed free, ad-supported streams compared to paid subscription streams. Throughout 2026, YouTube has not been delivering its data to Billboard anymore. But this has changed once again. Recently, on November 9, 2026, Billboard and YouTube both announced that YouTube streams will return to the charts in January 2027.
In an official YouTube blog post by the global head of music at YouTube, Lyor Cohen stated, “We are returning to the Billboard charts starting in 2027. Billboard’s new methodology better reflects how fans engage with music today across both subscription and ad-supported services.” With this new change, ad-supported streams will count toward the charts at a 1.5-to-1 ratio. This means 1,500 ad-supported streams will equal an album unit, shifting down from 2,500. One album unit will now equal 1,000 paid/subscription streams.
Drake Criticized This Change
On November 11, 2026, Drake took to social media to criticize this rule change. On his Instagram story, the rapper claimed, “Wtf this game so cooked”, adding a shocked face emoji. Drake doesn’t like that this change has lowered the threshold for free, ad-supported streams to alter the album chart positions, giving more power to free-tier consumption.
In 2026, Drake still found massive success on the Billboard 200, releasing three albums in May when fans were expecting only one. With this, Drake made history as the first artist to debut three studio albums in the top three positions on the Billboard 200. When he dropped visual albums and music videos on YouTube in May 2026, their millions of views and streams did not count toward his ultimate Billboard tally.
Now, with the rules changing back and YouTube supplying data once again, Drake is openly criticizing the constant shifting of data and rules, which affected his numbers in 2026, only to change back in 2027.
Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA
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