Overview
What's the Billboard 200?
The Billboard 200 is a chart that ranks the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the U.S.
Key Changes
Starting January 2026, streaming will count more heavily towards charts:
- Before: 1 album unit = 10 track downloads = 3,750 ad supported streams = 1,250 paid/subscription streams.
- After: 1 album unit = 10 track downloads = 2,500 ad-supported streams = 1,000 paid streams.
That means 33.3% fewer ad-supported streams are needed to count as an album unit and 20% fewer paid streams are needed to count as an album unit.
Paid vs Free Streams Ratio
- Old ratio: 1 paid = 3 ad supported streams
- New ratio: 1 paid = 2.5 ad-supported streams
In other words, paid streams are still worth more than ad-supported streams but ad-supported have a bit more of importance compared to previous years.