Although streaming is relatively new in the grand scheme of recorded music history, it’s already become a significant way that most music fans listen to their tunes. The Billboard charts recognize that, as they acknowledged the shift when they started taking streaming plays into consideration for album sales totals in 2014. Now Apple Music has decided that it wants to track who is listening to what on its own: The streaming platform announced that it will start publishing top music charts and share what people are playing the most every day.
In total, 116 charts are available: Top 100: Global, and a Top 100 chart for each country in which Apple Music is available. These charts are also in sync with the speed of the internet, as each one of them will be updated daily, based on Apple Music streaming data at 12:00 am PST. Available with iOS 12, an upcoming Android update, iTunes 12.9, and tvOS 12, the new charts can be found in the Browse tab inside the Top Charts section of Apple Music. Currently, six Eminem songs are in the top ten spots of both the Top 100: Global and Top 100: USA charts, all from his just-released surprise album, Kamikaze.
The move comes at an interesting time for Apple Music; although the streaming platform is still behind Spotify in total global subscribers (as of May), Apple Music recently surpassed its main competitor for US subscribers in July, making it the most subscribed to music streaming service in the country.
