TOSAC adds YouTube Music to chart aggregation

The move was inspired by a recently announced global framework for the inclusion of YouTube Music in charts. The framework was developed by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) as part of its wider effort to improve the global chart landscape. South Africa is among the first markets in the world to make use of this new framework alongside Australia, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and the Philippines, RiSA said.

“We are proud to add YouTube Music to TOSAC as the fourth digital streaming platform,” RiSA CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi said. “We continue to strengthen our offering to ensure that its validity and integrity can never be questioned.”

TOSAC, or the The Official South African Music Charts, also employs data from Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer. It was launched in September with the inclusion of the three digital service providers and in December added its Radio Charts, which provide on a weekly basis the top 200 local and international tracks that have been played on South African radio stations. It also shares the top 100 South African tracks that have been played on radio during that period.

With the inclusion of YouTube Music, TOSAC now reflects about 90% of all music streamed through legitimate digital platforms in South Africa. The IFPI-YouTube framework will tally views from logged-in users of official music content eligible for inclusion. As is the accepted practice with other streaming services included in the charts, only consumption of longer than 30 seconds will be registered. 

“The fact that we now cover 90% of all music streamed through legitimate digital platforms is a big deal,” Sibisi said. “Also, South Africa proves to be a world leader as it joins seven other countries as the first markets to implement YouTube Music aggregation. We remain humbled and thankful for the support we receive from IFPI and our service provider BMAT as well as our local partners and stakeholders, including the music-loving South African audiences.”

RiSA says views of official content that have been generated by advertising campaigns on the platform – known as ‘ad views’ – will not be included. “Provided they meet the above criteria, views from both the subscription and ad-supported tiers of YouTube are eligible,” it said.