Key Takeaways
- Drake reacted to Billboard’s streaming overhaul and YouTube’s 2027 chart return on Instagram: “Wtf this game so cooked 🫣.”
- Billboard will give free streams more weight on its album charts, counting 1,500 ad-supported streams as one album unit instead of 2,500 while keeping paid streams at 1,000.
- YouTube will resume sharing chart data after withdrawing over the weighting dispute, with the new formula and its return debuting on charts dated Jan. 16, 2027.
Drake isn't holding back on his thoughts about Billboard's latest changes to how it calculates streaming numbers for its music charts.
On Tuesday (Nov. 10), the Toronto rapper took to his Instagram Story to react to news that YouTube streams will once again count toward Billboard's charts beginning in 2027. Drake reposted a graphic explaining the decision, along with information that YouTube pulled its streaming data from Billboard earlier this year.
"Wtf this game so cooked 🫣," he wrote.
His reaction came one day after Billboard announced it was adjusting how paid and ad-supported streams contribute to album sales equivalents on the Billboard 200 and its genre-specific album charts.
Under the new system, the ratio between paid and free streams will change from 2.5-to-1 to 1.5-to-1, giving ad-supported listening more weight when calculating chart positions.
That means 1,500 ad-supported streams will count as one album unit, compared to the previous requirement of 2,500. Paid streams will remain at 1,000 per album unit, while traditional album and track sales will be unaffected.
The changes follow Billboard's annual review of digital music consumption alongside its data partner Luminate.
The announcement also prompted YouTube to reverse its decision to withhold streaming data from Billboard.
In a statement Monday (Nov. 9), YouTube's global head of music, Lyor Cohen, confirmed that the platform would resume sharing its numbers next year.
"We are returning to the Billboard charts starting in 2027. Billboard's new methodology better reflects how fans engage with music today across both subscription and ad-supported services," Cohen said.
YouTube previously stopped providing data in January 2026 following disagreements over how Billboard valued free streams compared to paid subscriptions.
The platform had argued that Billboard's previous system didn't accurately represent how listeners consume music.
While Drake appeared unimpressed with the latest changes, others in the music industry welcomed the decision.
Audiomack executive Brian Zisook praised the adjustment, explaining that it could benefit genres with significant audiences on free streaming platforms.
"With this change, ad-supported consumption on DSPs will carry significantly more weight, leading to greater representation for hip-hop and Latin on the Billboard charts. Long overdue!" he said.
This isn't Drake's first time criticizing Billboard's chart rules.
In July 2025, after his single "What Did I Miss?" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, he shared a message suggesting that chart changes wouldn't stop him from reaching the top spot.
"Suppressor on the 1 spot. I'm taking that soon don't worry one song or another. Rule changes and all," Drake wrote at the time.
The new streaming formula will take effect during the first tracking week of 2027, running from Jan. 1 through Jan. 7.
The Billboard 200 dated Jan. 16, 2027, will be the first album chart to reflect YouTube's return.
