This is pretty interesting.
You know that incredibly complex group of sources that tallies the data for the Billboard charts? Apple is now part of it.
Music magazine Billboard has quietly added Apple Music to the list of streaming services factored into its music charts, which are often treated as the main gauge of popular music in the United States.
The Apple Music data is now part of the Billboard 200 album chart as well as the Hot 100 singles list and various other rankings, the magazine said. The Billboard 200 incorporates “track equivalent albums” and “streaming equivalent albums” alongside conventional sales numbers.