Merch bundles will again be part of the Billboard chart calculations. The trade magazine stopped including merch and album download bundles in July 2020.
A 2019 New York Times story noted that 18 of the 39 titles that went #1 in 2018 included a bundle with merchandise or access to concert tickets. One of the 18, Travis Scott, reached #1 by bundling his Astroworld album with key chains, hats, and access to concert tickets.
Now in an acknowledgment of the growing value of merch sales to artists and fans, Billboard will again include “fan packs” in their calculations.
48% of Gen Z listeners wish artists provided more merch items so they could show support for their favorite acts, as do 47% of all physical music-purchasing listeners, according to Luminate’s Music 360 Spring 2023 report.
There are some new restrictions:
- fan packs will be restricted to just two options per album release – for example, a sweatshirt with an LP and a t-shirt with a CD
- each individual item must also be sold separately in the same web store.
- fan packs will include only merch – not tickets, meet-and-greet opportunities, virtual items, or non-tangible benefits
- fan packs must also contain a physical copy of an album:
- combinations of digital downloads and merch will not count toward the chart
- all fan pack offerings must be approved in advance of their on-sale date by Luminate and Billboard
“Fan Pack offerings are a way to recognize the dynamic artist-fan relationship,” said Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard Executive VP of Charts and Data Partnerships, and “provide an efficient one-click step for consumers to purchase merchandise and music.”
The new rules allowing fan packs will take effect during the tracking week from June 30 to July 6, 2023, for charts dated July 15.
Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
