Twitter launches real-time music chart (but only in the US)

Twitter and US-based music magazine Billboard have teamed up to launch a new chart, which will rank music based on what’s being shared and tweeted about the most (but only by US users).

According to a post on the Twitter blog, the chart will rank the most popular tracks being talked about in real-time and will also rank those that have been popular for longer periods.

Bob Moczydlowsky, Twitter’s Head of Music, said:

“We’re partnering with Billboard to create a ground-breaking chart to track the conversation around music as it happens. This means when artists share songs and engage with their audience on Twitter, the buzz they create will now be visible to fans, other musicians and industry decision makers in real-time.”

We’re hoping this latest announcement is just the start of Twitter’s new foray into the world of music, because although charting mentions online is an interesting move and could certainly shake up the industry, it’s not the cool new music thingie we were hoping Twitter was going to unveil.

We imagine the team will be tracking how the music chart is received in the US before venturing further afield and seeking new partnerships to deliver the stats – it’d be interesting to see how the tastes in other countries differ at the same time, right?