Billboard charts to include data on streaming for music rankings

New York

THE Billboard chart, the benchmark for US music sales, will, from next week, start to include streaming in its measurements to reflect the rapid growth of services such as Spotify.

Billboard magazine, which produces the weekly charts with tracking company Nielsen SoundScan, described the move on Wednesday as the biggest overhaul in its methodology since 1991, an era when compact discs (CDs) were replacing cassettes. The change indicates that the music industry expects a permanent role for streaming services despite the objections of a number of musicians - most famously chart-topper Taylor Swift, who pulled her music from Spotify two weeks ago and complained of unfair compensation to artists.