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Business News Media
Rolling Stone delays launch of music charts
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 13 May 2019
Following a big announcement from Rolling Stone last week that it would today launch a new set of American music charts to rival those of industry trade mag Billboard, another statement followed over the weekend to say that it wouldn’t. At least, not yet. For now, the new charts will remain in testing mode, shared with a select few.
Rolling Stone parent company Penske Media Corporation plans to offer a number of charts through its music media brand, including direct rivals to the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and the Billboard 200 albums countdown. Created with data company Buzz Angle, the charts will be updated daily and will offer, PMC reckons, a deeper analysis of streaming data than Billboard and its data cruncher Nielsen.
PMC also says that the methodologies behind its charts will be fully transparent, which may account for the last minute decision not to go public just yet, as it ensures that everything stands up to scrutiny.
Saying that the Rolling Stone charts are “unprecedented for a consumer magazine”, in its new statement the company adds: “While we had initially targeted a public beta launch of 13 May, we are instead going to remain in private beta to optimise with our industry partners and fully ensure the smoothness of our presentation”.
No new launch date has yet been announced.
