Billboard just made a big change in how it will count single sales for future chart positions.
According to Chart Data, beginning Friday (June 30) Billboard will no longer count digitally downloaded singles from artists’ websites toward the Hot 100 chart.
Next week’s Hot 100 chart is expected to be the last chart to include single sales and downloads from artists’ webstores before the rule change is implemented for the following chart week.
The rule change is expected to have huge ramifications within certain genres and industries of music, including rap, pop and K-pop.
Many artists will often issue multiple versions of songs for purchase on their website.
Taylor Swift made several versions of her song “Anti-Hero” available to download via her website around the time her critically-acclaimed Midnights album was released. Some of the versions included acoustic and EDM styles, as well as remixes.
READ MORE: Taylor Swift Becomes First Artist Ever to Occupy Entire ‘Billboard’ Top 10
BTS is another act that uses their website for digital single sales. Multiple versions of songs such as “Permission to Dance” and “Butter,” including instrumental versions, are available for fans to download on their website.
Currently, Nicki Minaj’s webstore offers multiple versions of her collaboration with Ice Spice, “Princess Diana,” along with other tracks available to purchase.
