Big news for music artists – Facebook streams of their music videos will officially count toward the Billboard charts.
Billboard announced the move on Wednesday (March 3), noting the changes will go into effect for the charts dated March 27. The decision follows similar moves from the company to incorporate music video numbers like the 2013 addition of YouTube streams (including user-generated content) into their specific song charts (like the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts) and the 2020 addition of officially licensed music video streams to the albums chart.
User-generated content will not be included in the new change, but official music video streams on the platform will influence the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, Artist 100 and Billboard Global 200 charts, among others.
In a statement, VP of Business Development and Partnerships at Facebook Tamara Hrivnak explained why the move is such a big one.
“Artists deserve recognition in music charts for the social capital they drive and the social discovery they fuel,” Hrivnak said. “Adding music video plays on Facebook to the Billboard charts is an important step in the right direction. On Facebook, music videos represent so much more than just the video itself – it’s about creating a new channel for social experiences around music so you can discover a new artist from a music video shared by an artist you follow or a friend in News Feed, connect with other fans who share your passion in a Facebook Group dedicated to your favorite artist, and react to a video in real time as it premieres, all on the same platform.”
Official artist music videos were added as a feature on the platform in August 2020. Juicy J, Becky G and Common are among the artists who have exclusive video premieres coming to the platform in the near future.