CONNECT tracks music consumption activity: all the ways people listen to recorded music, from streams to purchases to radio airplay. But these activity types are unequal measures of listener engagement and economic value. So we use equivalent weighting to convert them into comparable units of consumption.
CONNECT applies different weighting formulas to Streams, Product Sales and Song Sales to calculate Album Equivalent and Stream Equivalent units.
Billboard and Luminate equivalents measure on-demand, official content only. Before applying our formulas, we exclude ineligible activities and content types, i.e. programmed streams and UGC.
Ad-supported and premium streams are weighted differently.
Video and audio streams are treated the same.
Exclusions
Programmed streams and UGC are preemptively removed from all equivalent calculations. They cannot be factored into Album Equivalent or Stream Equivalent figures at any level.
Filters
By default, CONNECT filters out Interactive activity from Dashboards, Industry Analysis and Market Share. This means that Interactive streams are not factored into Album and Stream Equivalent figures unless you adjust Activity Options from the Data Controls menu.
INCLUDED EXCLUDED Commercial Model Premium Ad-Supported
Album Equivalent activity is a measure of combined weighted streaming, digital, and physical sales figures converted to one (1) album unit.
An Album Equivalent measurement combines weighted streams and song sales with traditional album sales. We track Album Equivalent activity in countries for which we have product sales data (U.S. and Canada).
1,250 premium audio or video streams = 1 album
3,750 ad-supported audio or video streams = 1 album
10 digital song sales = 1 album
1 purchased album = 1 album
Stream Equivalent activity is a measure of weighted ad-supported streams, premium streams and digital song sales converted to one (1) premium stream unit.
Unlike Album Equivalents, Stream Equivalents treat streaming activity as the base unit of consumption. We use them to measure activity worldwide and in countries that do not provide product sales data.*
Stream Equivalent ratios assign audio and video streaming content the same weight.
4.5 ad-supported streams = 1 premium stream
1 premium stream = 1 premium stream
1/200 song sales = 1 premium stream
Premium Streams + Weighted Ad-Supported Streams + Weighted Song Sales
= Stream Equivalent units
Our equivalent formulas and contributing data are maintained by Luminate in close collaboration with Billboard.
The current ratios reflect music consumption patterns and audience behaviors in today’s market. Some charts apply different weighting formulas to more accurately depict consumption in other countries or for different genres and formats. We work with Billboard to adjust ratios and formulas as needed.
Luminate provides the raw data and the weighted equivalent figures used to create Billboard chart rankings. Final published Billboard charts are subject to Billboard’s eligibility rules.
Some charts are based on pure consumption; others use equivalents to determine chart placement. For example, Airplay charts are ranked by either Spins or Audience, while the Billboard 200 chart is ranked by Album Equivalent units.
No. The Album Equivalent shown above is used for certain Billboard album charts and as a KPI on U.S. and Canada Dashboards. Some album charts use different weights and ratios or have different exclusion rules.
The Stream Equivalent shown above is for Worldwide only. We adjust Stream Equivalent weights and ratios in different countries to reflect local consumption patterns.
Album Equivalents are units that represent physical album sales. An Album Equivalent figure is a count of product sales (actual) plus digital song sales (weighted) and streams (weighted). We use Album Equivalents as a performance metric in the U.S. and Canada.
Stream Equivalents are units that represent premium streams. We arrive at Stream Equivalent figures by applying different coefficients to premium streams, ad-supported streams and song sales, then adding them up. We use Stream Equivalents for global charts, as a worldwide metric and at the country level outside the U.S. and Canada.
"Album Equivalent" is a standardized unit of measurement. The Album Equivalent ratio converts different activities into one metric that can be used for chart rankings. This ratio can be applied to everything in CONNECT: albums, songs, products, recordings and artists.
On a Song or Recording Dashboard, the Album Equivalent figure indicates roughly how much of that song's activity translates to Album Equivalent units for charting purposes.
On an Artist Dashboard, the Album Equivalent figure is an aggregate of converted activity for that artist's discography.
Album Equivalents include Product Sales data, which we only track in the U.S. and Canada. Therefore, Album Equivalents can only be calculated for the U.S. and Canada.
The Worldwide view and all other countries only show Stream Equivalents.
See above. Album Equivalent ratios are only available in the U.S. and Canada; we don’t include them in country tables.
In addition, Stream Equivalent ratios differ from country to country, and the worldwide Stream Equivalent does not apply to every country. To compare Stream Equivalents between countries, you’ll have to change Locations and look at each country’s Stream Equivalent KPI individually.
Song Equivalents are a completely different metric from Album or Stream Equivalents. They help us equate streams, radio play and song sales to single sales. Singles were once commonly distributed in physical form (ex. 7-inch vinyl 45s, mini CDs). We now use Song Equivalent formulas to calculate certain popular song charts that were once based on single sales.
Song Equivalents are not currently available in the CONNECT UI. All Song Dashboards display either Album or Stream Equivalents.
No. See above. Song Equivalents are a different metric; they incorporate Airplay data and use different weights and ratios.
The legacy Music Connect “SES” (Stream Equivalent Song) figure used the same ratios as an Album Equivalent.
On a Song Dashboard, multiply the Album Equivalent by 10 to estimate the legacy SES figure.
There are a few reasons the Dashboard KPI Album Equivalent might not match the figure ranked on a chart. For instance:
See Data Discrepancies for more details and troubleshooting tips.
The RIAA uses its own certification criteria, reporting process and weighting system for album and single units. Please refer to the RIAA’s guidelines for gold and platinum certification. Luminate does not directly report figures to the RIAA, nor do we comment on consumption data reported by any organization other than Luminate.