Rolling Stone To Launch New Alpha Data-Based Charts May 13

Rolling Stone is launching its own music charts powered by music analytics service Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music), stepping into a space traditionally held by Billboard. The new charts, which will launch to the public on Monday, May 13, will track the popularity and reach of artists, albums, and songs across the country and are customized for specific content verticals, incorporating digital and physical sales, and on-demand streaming activity.

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

The first launched charts will include:

Penske Media Corp. announced in January it had bought a 49% stake in Rolling Stone, after purchasing an initial 51% stake in 2017,  giving the company full control of the publishing brand. The company made a strategic investment in Alpha Data in 2018 to deepen the influence and expand exposure of the Alpha Data charts, as well as provide Alpha Data a stronger financial foundation from which to grow. Alpha Data’s methodology allows for more than 10 trillion combinations of individualized reports for albums, songs, artists, labels and distributors.