official Billboard to count limited fan merch bundles w/ physical albums towards Billboard 200

[Toxicity.]

Taylor gonna debut with 2M

[wish]

I'm not mad about this, but they need to crack down on 3254569 digital versions of the same songs being counted simply because they have a different cover

[Green]

At least this could help older acts to chart higher again since they don't have streaming

[hallucinate]

kpop groups will dominate the chart

[Cruel Summer]

5 minutes ago, Toxicity. said:

Taylor gonna debut with 2M

I'm so ready for the HDD thread for TS11 omg 

[UnusualBoy]

The fraudulence but that's on brand with Billboard nowadays...

[Ger]

So they reversed their decision made in 2020?

[Miley Cyrus]

yikes  just turn it into the korean album chart already 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Miley Cyrus

[Holiest Dreams]

17 minutes ago, Ger-55 said:

So they reversed their decision made in 2020?

This is only for physical ‘bundles’ (and they’re limited in what will be allowed to count), so not exactly. Basically the only thing this will allow is if artists want to offer options to also purchase a physical copy alongside merch, but it’s optional, so honestly I don’t think this will change much of anything. Digitals still aren’t allowed.

 

Maybe Taylor would benefit from it since her merch sells like crazy and some fans would just be like yeah why not let me add the album too, but idk who else will see any change from it, if even her 

[Sophomore]

1 hour ago, wish said:

I'm not mad about this, but they need to crack down on 3254569 digital versions of the same songs being counted simply because they have a different cover

This

[slw84]

1 hour ago, Badgalbriel said:

so it's just gonna...stay the same as it is now i guess? 

Slightly

1 hour ago, Freakshowvato said:

limit of 2 package deals per album, this is not a bad rule

Yes, I'm confused about what the real change is other than limiting mass purchases and adding to pure sales more???

 

Can someone breakdown the major change that has people in an uproar.

[ohjulia]

As a swiftie I know Taylor will fully take advantage of this  can’t wait to give her all my money.

[slw84]

7 minutes ago, Holiest Dreams said:

This is only for physical ‘bundles’ (and they’re limited in what will be allowed to count), so not exactly. Basically the only thing this will allow is if artists want to offer options to also purchase a physical copy alongside merch, but it’s optional, so honestly I don’t think this will change much of anything. Digitals still aren’t allowed.

 

Maybe Taylor would benefit from it since her merch sells like crazy and some fans would just be like yeah why not let me add the album too, but idk who else will see any change from it, if even her 

Ok so the limit of 2 per album is the real change???

[brianc33710]

Actually increasing sales is a good thing but I understand the fraud concerns. Maybe that's why BB won't resume the bundles right away. 

[thetea]

19 minutes ago, slw84 said:

Slightly

Yes, I'm confused about what the real change is other than limiting mass purchases and adding to pure sales more???

 

Can someone breakdown the major change that has people in an uproar.

it's really not gonna change that much. 

 

basically it just means that artists will have the opportunity to have two bundles that they can sell which billboard has to approve. for example, they can sell a hoodie and a cd together, or a shirt and a cd. the products still have to be available separately though and it's not gonna inflate sales as much as digital bundles did. 

[Freakshowvato]

the UK charts already allow this.

 

And it makes sense.

 

It's a physical album being sold as a combo with a merch item.

 

Not the end of the world.

 

This isn't adding it to tour sales or digital sales.

[americanlife]

Here comes Nicki and the BoTS to scam the charts.

[Green]

1 hour ago, Holiest Dreams said:

This is only for physical ‘bundles’ (and they’re limited in what will be allowed to count), so not exactly. Basically the only thing this will allow is if artists want to offer options to also purchase a physical copy alongside merch, but it’s optional, so honestly I don’t think this will change much of anything. Digitals still aren’t allowed.

 

Maybe Taylor would benefit from it since her merch sells like crazy and some fans would just be like yeah why not let me add the album too, but idk who else will see any change from it, if even her 

 

k-pop artists, every BTS member will debut at #1 for sure.

[Rep2000]

3 hours ago, Shelter said:

They are only doing this for Taylor. The fraud of it all. Stop messing with the charts. 

Yeah, because she would need these little boosts to kill it on all fronts nowsadays.

If this benefits anyone, it's Rihanna since she can bundle it with her own brands products. And we know the girl loves a bundle sale.

[KingWitch]

27 minutes ago, Rep2000 said:

Yeah, because she would need these little boosts to kill it on all fronts nowsadays.

If this benefits anyone, it's Rihanna since she can bundle it with her own brands products. And we know the girl loves a bundle sale.

Not you acting like Rihanna will be releasing any album when she hasn't in 7 years

[Rep2000]

16 minutes ago, KingWitch said:

Not you acting like Rihanna will be releasing any album when she hasn't in 7 years

Isn't she making that new Smuft soundtrack?

[Delirious]

This is honestly very good for merch buyers.

 

The UK artists keep doing UK exclusive bundles and I ******* hate how it's always UK exclusive.

 

Now we will see bundles available for everyone! 

[Junlin]

Korean bots having a fraudulent party. 

[brianc33710]

9 hours ago, KingWitch said:

Not you acting like Rihanna will be releasing any album when she hasn't in 7 years

If she releases anything it'll be after having 2nd baby. 

[pride4jc1222]

15 hours ago, NewStanner said:

!!!

 

Billboard obviously was never 100% credible before, but this decade it has become a total shitshow. Spotify and Apple Music charts are definitely the most reliable sources out there right now when it comes to determining songs' actual popularity...

That’s so true. The charts have been so messed up ever since Billboard removed UGC streams, but failed to address the mass buying issue, in early 2020. I’ve taken the charts this decade with a grain of salt, kind of like the charts in 1995-1998 when AirPlay only songs weren’t allowed to chart. Once Billboard does something meaningful to address the issue (like limiting the number of versions of a song that counts towards the Hot 100 or removing the sales metric altogether), then I will start to take the charts seriously again.