Rolling Stone to Launch Music Charts

In a direct challenge to Billboard, another venerable music industry publication, Rolling Stone and its parent company, Penske Media Corporation (PMC) announced the launch of Rolling Stone Charts. Discuss….

The charts, which will publically launch on Monday, May 13, will track the popularity and reach of artists, albums, and songs in the United States. Powered by state-of-the-art music analytics service Alpha Data (formerly Buzz Angle Music), Rolling Stone Charts are customized for specific content verticals, incorporating digital and physical sales, and on-demand streaming activity.

The first launched charts include: 1) Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs — a daily chart that ranks the most consumed songs of the week by audience demand, comprised of on-demand audio + video streams, and song sales. 2) Rolling Stone Top 200 Albums — a weekly chart that ranks the most consumed albums of the week by audience demand, comprised of physical and digital album sales, song sales, on-demand audio + video streams. 3) Rolling Stone Artist 500 — a weekly chart that ranks the most streamed artists of the week by audience demand, comprised of both on-demand audio + video streams. 4) Rolling Stone Trending 25 — a weekly chart that ranks the fastest-growing songs of the week measured by consumption of on-demand audio + video streams, physical purchases, digital purchases, and airplay spins (radio). The chart does not measure volume of consumption but rather the highest rates of growth week over week, signaling the songs and artists deserving of attention. 5) Rolling Stone Breakthrough 25 — a weekly chart that ranks the artists who have charted for the first time, measured by audience demand, including both on-demand audio + video streams.

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