YouTube revises Music Charts ad policy

The streaming platform said in a statement released on 13 September that rankings would be calculated based on organic plays as opposed to paid views.

“In an effort to provide more transparency to the industry and align with the policies of official charting companies such as Billboard and Nielsen, we are no longer counting paid advertising views on YouTube in the YouTube Music Charts calculation. Artists will now be ranked based on view counts from organic plays,” the company said.

“YouTube Music Charts have become an indispensable source for the industry and the most accurate place for measuring the popularity of music listening behaviour happening on the world’s largest music platform.”

The said mode of advertising was included in the 24-hour debuts and other charts focused on trending.

YouTube Ads allow an advertiser or label to play a short version of a video as an advertisement in front of other videos. If YouTube users interacted with the video or watched it for a certain amount of time, that would count as part of the video’s overall tally.

“Video advertising is an effective way to reach specific audiences with a song debut, but paid advertising views on YouTube will no longer be considered when looking at a 24-hour record debut. The changes will not impact YouTube’s existing 24-hour record debut holders,” YouTube said.

Despite the changes, YouTube Ads will still be used by creators and promoters to expose new music to viewers from around the world “to celebrate all artist achievements on YouTube as determined by their global fans.”

These latest developments come six months after the streaming service launched YouTube Music in South Africa and unveiled YouTube Music Premium, a paid membership that gives users background listening, downloads and an ad-free experience.