ARIA album chart to include streaming

ARIA is to include streaming data in calculating the weekly album chart.

ARIA’s chief executive Dan Rosen. Picture: Christian Gilles

The rapid growth of music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music has prompted the Australian industry’s governing body to allow streaming data to be included in the calculation of the weekly ARIA album chart.

From May 15, the Australian Recording Industry Association will introduce the more inclusive album chart, combining streaming data with digital download and hard-copy album sales figures, in line with markets such as Britain and New Zealand. ARIA previously redesigned the weekly singles in 2014 chart to included streaming data.

“With streaming now the primary method of music consumption in Australia, ARIA can ensure that the ARIA albums chart will continue to be the most accurate indication of the nation’s favourite music each and every week,” said association chief executive Dan Rosen.

Streaming is now the largest revenue stream for the Australian music industry and has doubled in value since 2015. Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify and Google Music are among the services whose figures will be used for the new chart, as well as genre-­specific album charts such as country, classical and urban.

Just how they go about that calculation is a complicated affair, however. Based on a British model, ARIA has created a system to calculate an album’s streaming rating, alongside downloads and physical sales.

This involves the creation of a “stream-equivalent album”, calculated by reducing the two most popular streamed tracks from an album to the average of the next eight or less remaining tracks. This is to ensure albums with one or two hit singles on them do not affect its rating.