Charts & Sales

General

Discussion in the Charts forum should maintain a more serious tone than Base. Threads centered on predictions, debates, or arguments belong in Base instead, including any discussion focused on an album, EP, or song’s underperformance on the charts.

• Please make sure to provide a source if available.

• If you want to take over from a neglectful thread starter, send a help request.

• Social media achievements should be posted in Base.

• TV ratings and box office figures should be posted in Entertainment.

• Chart prediction threads should be posted in Base.

Procedure of weekly chart threads

In order to streamline the Charts forum and make it easier to navigate, a procedure for weekly chart threads will be implemented, with slight differences depending on the source involved. This procedure is nearly the same as on Old ATRL, with one small update. Example dates are used for clarity.

Procedure for the weekly Billboard chart thread

• Every week, one thread for the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 will be created on Sunday when the article announcing the Billboard 200 top 10 is posted by a member sourcing Billboard.

• This same thread will then serve as the thread for all Billboard charts of the week once the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 is announced.

• The following Sunday, when the next Billboard 200 top 10 article is posted, the existing thread will be renamed to “Billboard Charts (Week of [date of Saturday])” and then closed.

Procedure for the weekly Hits Daily Double (HDD) album chart threads

• One thread for the weekly HDD predictions will be created every Friday when HDD posts their album unit predictions.

• This HDD thread will remain open until the corresponding Billboard 200 is announced, at which point it will be renamed to “HDD Predictions (Week of [date of Saturday])” and then closed.

Procedure for weekly Billboard chart prediction threads

• To prevent prediction spam, one main Billboard chart prediction thread may be created each week.

• These threads follow the same schedule as the Billboard charts thread.

• Any threads about Billboard chart predictions outside of the main prediction thread will be merged into it.

About first week chart threads

• Members posting first-week numbers threads (such as daily Spotify streaming updates) must continuously update them through the entire first week.

• Once the first week ends, the thread will be closed.

• If the OP does not keep the thread updated, other members may post daily updates within the same thread.

• Any additional or duplicate threads created during the first week will be merged into the main thread.

About “stealing threads”

Staff has noticed members posting threads far too early in order to obtain a “hit thread,” which causes confusion. The following steps will be taken to address this.

• Members who open a thread and then rename it to something that directly conflicts with the Billboard charts thread or the HDD predictions thread will have their thread locked.

• If they remake the locked thread, they will receive a 0-point reminder to read the Charts forum rules.

• A second violation will result in a 30-day, 1-point warning.

• Members who post a thread that should be part of the weekly Billboard or HDD threads will have it merged into the appropriate thread. Remaking the merged thread will result in a 0-point reminder, and a second violation will result in a 30-day, 1-point warning.

About posting threads for a single chart movement (applies to every official chart including Billboard)

• Threads about a single song, album, or EP’s chart movement outside of the main weekly chart thread will be merged.

• If the thread is already popular, it may be locked instead, and staff will redirect discussion to the weekly chart thread.

Exceptions apply when a record is being broken, tied, or approached. Example titles include:

• Mariah Carey scores record-tying 19th Hot 100 #1 with “AIWFCIY”

• Rihanna extends her record for the most weeks in Hot 100 top 10

• Adele’s “25” debuts #1 on BB200 with record sales of 3.38mil

First-day, first-week, and first-month figures are also allowed. Example titles include:

• Artist breaks US 1st day streaming record with X streams

• Artist sells X copies 1st week in the US

• Artist pulls X Spotify streams 1st month

Posting achievements and milestones

Staff has noticed a pattern of threads celebrating small or trivial milestones. The following guidelines define what qualifies for a thread.

For all streaming figures on any platform

• Only milestones for 100,000,000; 500,000,000; and every 1,000,000,000 streams are allowed.

• All other milestones should be posted in the relevant Music thread, the artist’s Base, or the receipts thread.

For all sales figures (any country/region)

• Milestones for every 50,000 copies sold (physical, digital, or combined) are allowed.

• All other milestones should be posted in the Music thread, Base, or the receipts thread.

International SPS units

• SPS methodologies vary significantly across countries, making global SPS tallies unreliable.

• SPS milestones should only be posted when a record is broken, in receipts threads, or when tied to weekly, monthly, or yearly charts (such as Mediatraffic’s year-end chart).

• Do not use global SPS tallies for milestone threads.

For chart achievements from small markets

• Many smaller markets lack official charts or reliable data.

• Threads for achievements in such markets (for example, “[Song] goes #1!” with the OP “…on iTunes in [very small country]”) will be locked.

• Discussion should remain in the relevant receipts thread, the artist’s Base, or the Music thread.

Please tag all threads about achievements and records with the Achievement tag.

Structure of Charts forum

Official Charts

• Countries’ official singles and albums charts, such as the Billboard Hot 100 or the UK Official Charts.

• Weekly or monthly official charts.

• Official year-end charts.

• News stories related to these charts.

Discussions

• Threads about daily or continuously updated metrics (iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, radio countdowns).

• Achievements and news not tied to a single official chart (certifications, sales milestones, touring grosses).

• Discussions about chart methodology.

Artist Stats

• One receipts thread per artist.

• All stat-related discussion stays within that thread.

Achievements

• Threads about records and achievements should use this tag.

Other Stats

Any other music-related statistics, including industry revenue reports or user-compiled data.