Billboard includes African countries in new Hits of the World chart

The chart will be shaped by several markets in those regions. Each new ranking will be based on song consumption and combine streams and sales that are unique for each territory. It is yet unclear which African countries will be considered for the new chart.

The chart will be powered by MRC Data and will appear on the Billboard website, with in-depth data available to MRC Data’s Music Connect subscribers. It will follow the Friday-to-Thursday reporting period, and will be updated on Tuesdays. Premium MRC Data users will also be able to export the data on a per-country level.

Hits of the World expands on Billboard’s global chart footprint. In September, Billboard and MRC Data announced two new charts including Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding the US, which rank the top songs globally based on worldwide streams and download sales.

“We’ve seen great success in the expansion of our global chart offering with the Billboard Global 200 charts in 2020, and this underscores our commitment to representing what’s happening in worldwide music consumption,” Billboard president Julian Holguin said. “MRC Data is a critical success partner for us as the leading independent supplier and these country-based rankings will provide the industry with a measurement of success on a global scale.”

P-MRC Data CEO Rob Jonas said: “As the preeminent source of entertainment data and insights, MRC Data is establishing a new standard in music industry transparency through the introduction of this global product, which displays song rankings across more than 40 discrete country markets. Premium MRC Data customers can now analyse tens of thousands of songs across these markets, comparing their detailed statistics with other countries in the same region.”

In October, Billboard began counting streaming data from Africa-dedicated music streaming platform Boomplay for its charts.