Chris Brown’s album has 45 tracks. That’s how to climb charts today.
Chris Brown has extremely specific instructions on howhis fans should listen to his new album.
Create a Spotify or Apple Music account, the R& B singer said in an Instagram post, and stream the album multiple times a day or just “leave the album on repeat.”
“We only have three days tracking after release for its debut on the Billboard 200,” the note explained.
Brownwants his 45- track record, which came out Tuesday, to shoot up in the charts and that’s theway it’s done.
To fully get this calculus, it’s important to first understand howthe charts are calculated.
Before the internet charts were simply based on physical record sales. But nowfans download albums or individual songs off iTunes or pay a monthly fee and streammusic from Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal or a number of other services.
In 2014, Billboard decided to factor in streaming songswhen determining its list of the top 200 records eachweek, the Billboard 200. It created a simple formula and a feweasy guide- lines:
• The digital sale of 10 songs from an album counts as one sale of that album.
• Every 1,500 streams of songs from an album count as one sale of that album.
The system isn’t perfect, as it makes it easier for longer records to pop up the charts.
If all 10 tracks of a 10- track album are purchased, then that counts as an album sale. But, for example, if every track on a 20song album is purchased, that counts as two album sales.
And if an album with 10 songs is streamed by 150 people, then it counts as a sale of the album. But if an album with 15 songs is streamed by 100 people, that also counts as a sale of the album.
More important, the songs don’t need to be streamed as part of the actual album. Instead, they can be individually added to playlists, and each stream still counts toward the album itself.
This has created a potential incentive for artists to produce longer records, which has recently become a trend— particularly in hip- hop and R& B, the most streamed genres, according to Nielsen reports. Some recent examples: Drake’s “More Life” ran for 22 tracks, while his album “Views” had 20. Ty Dolla $ ign’s “Beach House 3 contains 20, and BIG K. R. I. T.’ s “4eva Is aMighty Long Time” has 22. Lil Yachty’s “Teenage Emotions” ran for 21 tracks, while Lil B’s “Black Ken” clocks in at 27. Future released two records in aweek with a total of 36 songs between them.
Traditional vinyl albums generally contain 10 to 14 songs.
Chris Brown’s album, titled “Heartbreak on a FullMoon,” contains 45 tracks. It clocks in at about 2 hours and 40 minutes— longer than most feature films. Not everyone is pleased. “Iwould rather die than listen to 45 songs in a rowfrom Chris Brown” was one Twitter reaction. But length is not necessarily an artistic decision. It’s a business move.