Charts: The data behind the hit rankings

Charts: The data behind the hit rankings

Luminate partners with over 500 data providers to create the music industry’s most widely-referenced charts, including the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, global hits and genre charts. CONNECT includes access to not just the charts, but the numbers behind the rankings. 


Navigation

Open Charts from the Connect sidebar menu.


The Charts feature compiles the latest sales and streaming charts (Billboard rankings, global hits, genre charts and more) in a searchable database. You can also see historical chart data, set custom data filters and export a detailed view of any chart. 




Back to User Guide


Charts home 

The Charts landing page always displays a preview (first 5 entries) of the top two suggested charts for your location. Change the location using the top menu bar to view charts in different countries.
Chart frequency: Weekly on Mondays

The industry standard chart week starts on Friday and ends the following Thursday.


Most charts are published weekly; new charts appear in CONNECT on Mondays.

Change Location to see global Billboard charts

Set Location to Worldwide to see the Global Billboard 200 and Global 200 Excl. U.S. charts. 


Choose an individual country from the Location dropdown to see the Billboard Hits of the World / Global Songs chart, if available.


The Chart Owner field specifies whether a chart is an official Billboard chart. If we don't have access to a Billboard chart for a country, you'll see a Luminate [country name] Songs chart instead. Luminate charts closely approximate the Billboard Global charts.



Why can't I change the Time Frame?

The Charts home page displays a snapshot of current charts, which reflect the previous week’s consumption.


To see past weeks, open a specific chart.





Click FULL CHART > to the upper right to open a complete chart. Scroll down to browse the charts database.

Below the suggested charts and search bar, all charts are displayed as thumbnail-style cards and grouped by category: Song Charts, Album Charts and Singles. Click any card to open a chart. 


Each chart card shows the most recent chart publication date and a few key details. Scroll from side to side (carousel style), apply filters or perform a search to find a specific chart.






Find a chart

Use the search bar to pull up charts by title or keyword. Start typing to narrow down the charts shown in the carousel below. 


Chart Owner 

Toggle between Billboard or Luminate charts. Billboard sales and streaming charts are governed by Billboard’s eligibility rules and published through their official channels. Luminate charts include some ranking types, genres and metrics not tracked by Billboard.


Genre selection

Open the Genre menu to filter your search or find a genre chart.

Chart Genre menu

Click the Genre field below the Search bar to open the Genre selection menu. Check the boxes of the chart genre(s) you want to include in your search.


Genre lists will change depending on your selection for Chart Owner (Billboard or Luminate). You can only search one genre list at a time. 

 Billboard and Luminate genres are slightly different. If you’ve selected Chart Owner > Billboard, the available Genre Database options will automatically default to Billboard; same goes for selecting Luminate. 

Go to: About Genre: How Luminate classifies music







View chart details 

Click on a tile or the FULL CHART > button to open the chart page. At the top, a details pane lists the chart title, publication date, a brief description and key details.


Chart metadata
Every Chart Details page includes:


Owner
Billboard or Luminate

Frequency
How often the owner publishes this chart 


Ranked On
Chart criteria: sales, streams, equivalents, etc.


Genre              
One genre per chart, if applicable. Some charts don’t have a genre. 

 

See more on each chart entry

Scroll the chart at the left of the page to see all entries. Click any entry to see a breakout pane that lists its last 5 chart positions, up or down trends and chart history. Click artist names or titles to visit those Dashboards.



Customize grid view 

Chart previews show the main activity metric used for ranking (album equivalent sales, streams, etc). Click Expand to see the entire chart as a grid with additional details. 

Chart grid options

Adjust grid view options from the menu bar to the right of the full chart. You can filter chart entries by genre or label, hide/show columns or turn on metrics for week-over-week % changes. 




 


Get historical charts

All charts are based on a fixed set of characteristics, including genre, location and/or time frame (usually one week). Custom view options and filters are limited; changing genre or location would mean creating a different chart.


Use the Time Frame menu to pull past versions of a given chart. 
Chart Time Frame selection
Find past versions of any chart by changing the Time Frame to a different chart week. 

Choose the chart period you want to see from the Time Frame menu. Most charts are published weekly. Use the Calendar tool to choose a week by number from the left column.



You can only view one chart at a time. If you want to combine multiple chart weeks or replicate a chart not found in our database, build a custom Ranking Report.







Export charts

Click at top right to export any chart as a CSV or Excel. You can only export one chart—that is, one week—at a time. 








Chart FAQs

Why can’t I change the Time Frame? 

The Charts landing page displays a snapshot of current charts, which reflect the previous week’s consumption. To see past weeks, open a specific chart.



Why can’t I select a custom date range for a chart? 

Charts cover one week at a time. Set the Time Frame to a different week to see a past week’s chart. 


If you want to combine multiple chart weeks or replicate a chart not found in our database, build a custom Ranking or Trend Report.



How can I see the Billboard Global 200 charts?

CONNECT now hosts the official Billboard Global 200 and Global 200 Excl. U.S. charts. On the Charts home page, set Location to Worldwide to see a preview of both global charts. Click VIEW FULL CHART to open either one. 



How do you calculate Billboard Global charts?

The Billboard Global 200, Global 200 Excl. U.S. and official Hits of the World charts are song charts. These charts rank songs based on Stream Equivalent activity. 


Our Stream Equivalent ratios convert streams and song sales into premium stream units. Exact ratios may vary among global charts to accurately reflect worldwide and country-level consumption patterns. Refer to the Global 200 and Global 200 Excl. U.S. ratios here



How can I see Billboard Hits of the World charts?

CONNECT hosts either official Billboard Hits of the World charts or Luminate Global charts for most countries. To see country-level charts, set Location to any available country from the top menu bar. The current Billboard or Luminate song chart for that country will automatically appear.



Why don’t you host every country-level Billboard chart?

In some countries, Billboard charts are published by a local Billboard licensee, who may incorporate additional data and apply different methodology. When this happens, we generate a Luminate version of that chart in CONNECT using our Stream Equivalent ratios. 


Select a country from the Location menu to pull up that country’s chart. The Chart Owner label designates whether it’s a Billboard or Luminate chart.



How can I tell whether a chart is an official Billboard chart?

Official Billboard charts show Chart Owner: Billboard in the top Details section or in the chart preview card. Non-Billboard charts list the chart owner as Luminate. 



Why are some charts Luminate charts instead of Billboard charts? 

We generate Luminate charts for genres, Airplay Formats and (some) activities not covered by official Billboard charts.



Will CONNECT include more Billboard charts? 

Yes. Luminate still provides and will continue to provide music performance data and rankings to Billboard. We will host more Billboard charts in the future. 










More to know 

Methodology 101: How Luminate collects, models and measures music data

Equivalent weighting: Measuring music consumption

About Genres: How Luminate classifies music







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