The Billboard 200 albums chart will evolve from only counting album sales to also including on-demand streaming and digital track sales. The publication reports this change will provide a more accurate representation of an album’s popularity by reflecting overall consumption activity.

The company will continue to use the former Billboard 200 methodology to compute the Top Album Sales chart and existing genre album charts (Country, etc.).
According to Billboard, “The updated Billboard 200 will utilize accepted industry benchmarks for digital and streaming data, equating 10 digital track sales from an album to one equivalent album sale, and 1,500 song streams from an album to one equivalent album sale. All of the major on-demand audio subscription services are considered, including Spotify, Beats Music, Google Play and Xbox Music.”
Billboard VP of charts and data development Silvio Pietroluongo said, “While an extremely valuable measurement, album sales would mostly capture the initial impulse only, without indicating the depth of consumption thereafter. Someone could listen to the album just once, or listen to one track or a number of tracks 100 times. We are now able to incorporate those plays as part of an album consumption ranking throughout one’s possession of an album, extending beyond the initial purchase or listen.”
The revamped Billboard 200 chart will debut online Dec. 4, and appear in the Dec. 13 print magazine. It will include data from the shopping-heavy Thanksgiving week, ending Nov. 30.
Jim Urie, president/CEO of Universal Music Distribution, and Darren Stupak, executive vice president of U.S. Sales and Distribution, Sony Music Entertainment, offered positive reactions to the changes.

Jackie Lee visit

The Maryville, Tenn. native knew his heart was in music, and his decision to pursue a career in entertainment over football is paying off handsomely. His first single, “She Does,” penned by Neil Thrasher and Kelley Lovelace, is making an impact at radio, and is climbing the charts. “They, of course, have written for guys like Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts, and that’s the kind of music I listened to growing up,” said Lee.
It’s been said that every song eventually falls into the hands of the right singer, and Lee said he hoped for the chance to record “She Does” since first hearing it. “I was writing at a publishing company here in Nashville,” said Lee. “Across the hall, I heard Kim Wiggins playing the demo for this song, and I just loved it. I went to her and said if the chance ever came up to record that song, I wanted it. She told me another artist had it on hold, so I didn’t think it would happen. Then, a few weeks later, she called me up and told me it was available. When Kenny Chesney didn’t record the song, I was so excited. It’s one of the first songs I recorded for the new project.”
That as-of-yet untitled project will be Lee’s first for Broken Bow Records (home to Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch, and others), where Lee says he’s found a supportive home for artistic endeavors. “In January 2013 I was sitting with my manager Trey Turner and said I wanted to go somewhere where they believe in me as an artist,” said Lee. “I met with [Broken Bow CEO/founder] Benny Brown in February and we talked for three hours about family, my life and my music. I felt like he really pointed me in the right direction.” Longtime producer Chamberlain is working with Lee on his debut label project.
During a recent visit to MusicRow‘s Nashville office, Lee showcased his formidable, soulful voice with a performance of “She Does,” and previewed two other songs, “First Girl,” and “Tell Me,” from his upcoming project.
Lee also recalled his recent debut performance in the historic wooden circle on the Grand Ole Opry stage—a moment of pride for Lee, both personally, and professionally. He was joined onstage by his father Jack, who played keys during Lee’s performance. “We had lots of friends and family at the performance, so it was wonderful,” said Lee. “I’m loving every minute of this ride.”
[slide]
 

Content management company Ticketfly is making a concert promoter’s job a little bit easier with the launch of Ticketfly Pulse, a mobile tool that gives promoters real-time event information on the go. Ticketfly Pulse includes event info such as ticket counts, gross, and scan counts, all on a mobile phone. The mobile product allows promoters to drill down for show information into sales by ticket type, price and day. They can watch tickets being carted and sold in real time, email ticket counts with a single touch, get up-to-the-minute scan counts, and search for upcoming events.
Ticketfly Pulse can also auto-populate a customizable email with event information and real tickets sold.
This is part of a growing trend in the competitive event ticketing business, as companies continue to determine ways to better serve customers and facilitate the buying and selling of event tickets. Ticketmaster recently acquired ticketing start-up Eventjoy, which provides a mobile tool that gives up-to-date information on an event’s sales status.