About the Charts: Eligibility guidelines and review process

About the Charts: Eligibility guidelines and review process

Luminate is the most comprehensive global provider of data and analytics to the entertainment industry. In addition to our suite of productivity tools, we power the Billboard Charts, the industry-standard measurement of music consumption.


The CONNECT platform now hosts official Billboard charts and data. Go to Charts to search and browse all charts. 




Back to Chart Eligibility 

Official Chart Eligibility Rules 

We collaborate with Billboard on chart eligibility criteria. We also work with Billboard to develop the equivalent ratios used to convert consumption activity into equal units that can be ranked on the charts. These chart eligibility guidelines + equivalent ratios create a framework for determining music popularity.


Innovation in music consumption occurs rapidly; maintaining our framework requires cooperation across music-industry stakeholders. Together with Billboard, we review and update eligibility guidelines and equivalents multiple times per year. 


Please note that Billboard ultimately determines eligibility for their charts. Final judgments on eligibility and chart rankings, both in general and in specific cases, are made by Billboard. Refer to the Billboard Charts Legend for official definitions and recurrent rules. 


Eligibility reviews and updates
Luminate and Billboard review the chart eligibility model and assess feedback once a quarter, or about every three (3) months.

Changes and updates are posted to the appropriate section of the Chart Eligibility Rules. 

Unmentioned tactics
Any promotional tactic, event, product category, transaction type or other scenario not mentioned in the Chart Eligibility Rules is ineligible for tracking and inclusion on the Billboard charts.

In short: if it's not covered, it's not eligible.

Eligibility petitioning
Use the Eligibility Petition Form to suggest new or unmentioned tactics for eligibility consideration. We will review with Billboard and may contact you to discuss further. It may take several weeks to review and evaluate eligibility requests. 

Changes to the eligibility rules will be posted publicly no more than once per quarter. No change or requested change will take effect until the official rules are updated. 

Data delays / Chart publication hold criteria
Charts from the previous week (F-Th) are usually published in CONNECT on Mondays. Sometimes, data irregularities, missed reporting or technical issues can trigger a system hold. When this happens, Luminate will notify clients and partners via email of a data delay and/or chart publication delay.

CONNECT releases data when we have seven (7) days of complete and validated reporting. Delays and holds are triggered by our internal data processing protocols; we then work to audit, correct and validate the data before releasing it. We do not hold data or chart publication by request or based on external factors, such as numbers reported by other sources.  

Luminate does not comment on numbers or other content located in reports exogenous to Luminate. 



Eligibility articles

Chart eligibility definitions and guidelines are sorted by topic. Jump to an article: 

  1. Music Eligibility

Valid songs, albums and editions


  1. Reporting Requirements

What retailers need to know


  1. Product Eligibility

Valid product types, pricing policies and exclusions


  1. Incentives and Bundles

“Special products,” add-ons and merch


  1. Fan Packs

Detailed guidance for merchandise “fan pack” products


  1. Special Events

Detailed guidance for in-store events and pop-up fan experiences


  1. Venue Sales 

atVenu partnership details and reporting requirements



Can’t see the articles? You must log in with Luminate credentials to access complete eligibility guidelines.
How do I log into the Knowledge Base?

If you subscribe to CONNECT or another Luminate product, visit the permalinked Knowledge Base at support.luminatedata.com. 


If you’re not logged in yet, the Chart Eligibility section will look like this:




Log in at top right or from the link in the header text.


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Equivalents 

We apply coefficients (equivalent ratios) to convert music consumption activities into comparable units that can be tracked, ranked and measured. The equivalent ratios and contributing data are maintained by Luminate’s staff of developers, data scientists and analysts. 


Read more: Equivalent weighting: Measuring music consumption



 





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