Premier US album chart revamped to include streaming

GAINING INFLUENCE: The famous Billboard 200 charts will in future include streaming in its measurements, including services such as Spotify.

NEW YORK: The Billboard chart, the benchmark for US music sales, will next week start to include streaming in its measurements to reflect the rapid growth of services such as Spotify. 

Billboard magazine, which produces the weekly charts with tracking company Nielsen SoundScan, described the move Wednesday as the biggest overhaul in its methodology since 1991, an era when CDs were replacing cassettes.