Rolling Stone to challenge Billboard with daily music charts

Billboard finally has a major challenger in the charts space, with Rolling Stone announcing it will launch its own music charts.

Variety reports that the Rolling Stone Charts will set a new precedent, with daily updates instead of weekly.

The charts, which are set to launch on Monday, May 13, will offer more transparency on how rankings are derived when compared with charts like the Billboard Hot 100.

Billboard, whose charts debuted in 1940, acquires data to run its charts through an exclusive deal with Nielsen SoundScan.

Rolling Stone will instead rely on data provided by Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) which tracks daily sales, streaming and airplay of songs, artists and albums.

RS owners Penske Media Corp (PMC) are aiming to throw down a real challenge to Billboard with the move.

“PMC’s strategy is to constantly evolve our brands and products across media platforms,” said PMC CEO Jay Penske.

“What’s imperative and exciting about our new Rolling Stone Charts is that it will present a transparent, granular and real-time quantification to accurately reflect listeners’ evolving interests and give insight into worldwide trends.”

In addition to the daily chart, three weekly charts will also be included;

• The Rolling Stone Artist 500 (ranking most-streamed artists)
• The Rolling Stone Trending 25 (the fastest-moving songs)
• The Rolling Stone Breakthrough 25 (tracking artists who have just charted for the first time)

The Rolling Stone Charts launch Monday, May 13.