Report
Pop stars turn iTunes exclusives into a chart strategy
The Financial Times reports one iTunes album purchase counts as a unit sale, equivalent to 1,000 paid subscription streams.
TLDR
Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and other artists have used iTunes-only releases to court superfans and bolster chart positions, the Financial Times reports. Under Billboard rules, one album purchase counts as a unit sale, compared with 1,000 paid subscription streams or 2,500 free or ad-supported streams. Grande’s iTunes-only live release was followed by Petal’s climb from No. 15 to No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The FT also notes that paid exclusives could alienate fans.
Combined views
—
First seen ago
