YouTube will rejoin the U.S. Billboard charts in 2027, bringing its music consumption data back into the rankings after withdrawing over how different types of streams were counted. YouTube announced the planned return today, November 9, but has not specified a date within 2027 for its data to become part of the charts again. The company credits changes to Billboard’s methodology for its decision to resume participation after the dispute that prompted its earlier withdrawal from the U.S. rankings.
YouTube says the revised approach better represents music listening across services supported by subscriptions and those supported by advertising, the distinction at the center of its objections. The company had asked for subscription-based and ad-supported streams to be counted equally when Billboard calculated the charts using music consumption data from those services. YouTube’s stated reason for returning is better representation of both forms of listening, a narrower claim than the equal treatment it sought when it withdrew.
The withdrawal was originally announced on December 17, 2025, when YouTube set out its decision to stop supplying data for Billboard’s calculations after a lengthy relationship. At that time, YouTube said its deliveries of data to Billboard would cease after January 16, 2026, setting a cutoff for its contribution to the rankings. The withdrawal also took YouTube data out of Billboard’s chart calculations.
YouTube described its relationship with Billboard before that break as a decade-long partnership. The company said extensive discussions preceded its decision to withdraw, placing those talks before the public announcement of the split in December 2025. Its criticism focused on an earlier methodology that, in YouTube’s view, gave subscription-supported streams more favorable treatment than listening supported by advertising.
In explaining its original position, YouTube attributed 84% of U.S. recorded music revenue to streaming. During the withdrawal, YouTube directed listeners seeking music rankings to the company’s own charts.
