YouTube is set to return to Billboard’s music charts in 2027 following changes to how streaming data is calculated, a move that comes as BTS and BLACKPINK’s Lisa have posted some of the year’s biggest streaming numbers on the platform.
According to YouTube Charts, BTS’ “SWIM” recorded more than 83 million views in a single week, marking the biggest YouTube streaming week for a song by a group in 2026. Meanwhile, Lisa’s “SaWaDiKa” holds the year’s biggest overall weekly streaming figure on YouTube, with more than 154.9 million views.
On November 9th, YouTube’s global head of music, Lyor Cohen, announced that the platform would resume sharing its streaming data with Billboard after withdrawing earlier this year over disagreements about how paid and ad-supported streams were weighted.
“We are returning to the Billboard charts starting in 2027,” Cohen wrote. “Billboard’s new methodology better reflects how fans engage with music today across both subscription and ad-supported services.”
Under the revised system, Billboard will narrow the weighting gap between paid subscription streams and ad-supported streams from 1:2.5 to 1:1.5.
Beginning with the Billboard 200 chart dated January 16th, 2027, one album consumption unit will equal either 1,000 paid subscription streams or 1,500 ad-supported streams. Previously, the same unit required 2,500 ad-supported streams, while the paid subscription threshold remained at 1,000.
The changes will give ad-supported streams greater weight in Billboard’s album rankings, potentially increasing the chart impact of music consumed through free streaming services such as YouTube.
YouTube first joined Billboard’s chart system in 2013, when its streaming data was incorporated into song rankings, including the Hot 100. Its data was later added to the Billboard 200 in 2019.
The platform withdrew its data beginning with the January 31st, 2026 charts following Billboard’s earlier decision to maintain a greater weighting advantage for paid streams.
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