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"Billboard has shaken up the country, rap, rock, Latin and R&amp;B/hip-hop music charts. The rankings now infuse Nielsen SoundScan's digital download sales numbers as well as streaming data from Spotify, Muve, Slacker, Rhapsody, Rdio and Xbox Music and other services. Charts still account for physical sales and radio airplay. \nWhile the changes attempt to give a more accurate reflection of the overall landscape of music listeners, some people are unhappy about them because not every musician has the online fan base as, say, Taylor Swift and Rihanna, who both experienced massive jumps in the country and R&amp;B/hip-hop charts after the makeover. \nThe new methodology appears to be favoring cross-over artists, and music bloggers are already frustrated.\n\"Expect even more pop-oriented country songs, more pop songs that call themselves country, and more non-country artists attempting to join the country format in an attempt to gain advantage by the new Billboard rules,\" writes The Trigger at SavingCountryMusic.com. \"In the long run, this will erode the autonomy the country format has enjoyed since the beginning of Billboard's charts.\"\nMeanwhile, blogger Troy Story at mrldavis.com spoke on behalf of the R&amp;B/hip-hop chart: \"What introducing digital sales does is introduce a false sense of popularity,\" he argues. \"Just because someone downloads a song does not mean they like it, and does not mean they even listened to it more than once.\"\n\nSEE ALSO: Pandora Reveals How Much It Pays Artists | 'Gangnam Style' Cracks YouTube's Top 10 \nBillboard, on the other hand, describes the tweaks as \"perfectly logical.\"\n\"With digital download sales and streaming data measuring popularity on the most inclusive scale possible, it makes perfectly logical sense that the radio portion of the new chart calculations include airplay from the entire spectrum of monitored formats,\" Billboard's Silvio Pietroluongo explained in a post detailing all of the changes.\nTo showcase how the new system works, Pietroluongo turns your attention to Swift's songs:\nThe immediate beneficiary of this week's methodology change is Swift, who holds down the top two slots on Country Songs with ... \"We Are Never\"and the title track from her new \"Red\" album, due October 22 from Big Machine. The pop-crossover No. 1 title ranks at No. 36 on the Country Airplay tally (but also gets points associated with its pop-crossover play) and No. 2 on Country Digital Songs, while \"Red\" is absent from the Country Airplay list, but ranks No. 1 on Country Digital Songs. Swift ranks at No. 10 on Hot Country Songs with \"Begin Again,\" which appears at No. 29 on Country Airplay and No. 3 on Country Digital Songs.\nBillboard previously created the Digital Songs chart, which ranks the top-downloaded songs, and the Social 50, which ranks the artists attracting the most buzz on social networks. \nBillboard's main chart \u2014 the Hot 100 \u2014 had already tracked digital downloads and streaming stats.\nIs the new ranking system good or bad? Were the changes necessary to reflect how people listen to music today, or should Billboard have left the genre-specific charts untouched? Tell us your thoughts below.\nBONUS: Rihanna\u2019s 'We Found Love' Gets Banned, Just Like These Steamy Videos\n\n\n\nBanned Music Videos\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"We Found Love\" by Rihanna\n\nOfficials in France recently slapped a ban on Rihanna's controversial video, confining it to the late-night rotation. \"We Found Love\" joins a long list of music videos that have been banned in some form across the globe because of their touchy lyrics or depictions of drugs, sex and violence.\nFlip through this gallery for examples.\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Rock DJ\" by Robbie Williams\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Alejandro\" by Lady Gaga\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Black Or White\" by Michael Jackson\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Justify My Love\" by Madonna\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Hound Dog\" by Elvis Presley\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Hurricane\" by 30 Seconds to Mars (Short Unofficial)\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Girls On Film\" by Duran Duran\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)\" by Enrique Iglesias\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Hot In The City\" by Billy Idol\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Body Language\" by Queen\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Sunshowers\" by M.I.A\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Girls Girls Girls\" by Motley Crue\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Cocoon\" by Bjork\nWarning: Potentially not safe for viewing at work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/10/12/billboard-charts-digital-streaming-changes/>