As Rolling Stone observed, the outgoing system effectively let companies pay to climb the charts. YouTube’s TrueView ads let marketers play shortened versions of videos that would count as views if you either watched for long enough or interacted with them. This let artists and labels game the system by purchasing enough ads to help a song rise to the top. Indian rapper Badshah managed to outperform K-pop megastars BTS through ads, Bloomberg added, while Blackpink, Taylor Swift and others also benefited from the approach.

The move won’t necessarily lead to fewer music video ads. The promos still translate to greater exposure. However, it could force the industry to stagger those ads and think about longer-term success instead of bombarding users for a short period to artificially inflate views and claim a temporary victory. YouTube didn’t have much choice as it is. As long as ads counted toward views, the credibility of its charts was tarnished. This theoretically ensures that chart toppers earn their positions through genuine demand.