(UPDATED) Billboard has added YouTube plays to the calculation that it uses to determined it's Hot 100 Singles Chart. The updated chart debuts this week with Baaur's "Harlem Shake" at #1 powered by a plethora of fan created videos. Without YouTube plays added to the formula, "Harlem Shake" would land somewhere closer 15 on the Hot 100.
The addition of YouTube is part of an ongoing effort by the music industry's legacy trade publication to modernize it's charts. Spotify, Rdio and other music streaming services were added last year.
"The music business today - much to its credit - has started to learn that there are lots of different ways a song can be a hit, and lots of different ways that the business can benefit from it being a hit," Billboard Editorial Director Bill Werde told the NY Times.
Given YouTube's popularity, the real question is, what took Billboard so long?
