Rolling Stone's charts will rank hit music based on sales and streaming

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - The Billboard music charts have been ranking music since the 1950s. But Rolling Stone wants in on the ranking action.

"I think it's about time there's a new chart with different kinds of data in addition to what we already have," said David Maurice, a noted record producer and songwriter.

Maurice has worked with a wide array of multi-platinum and Grammy-winning artists from Jay-Z to Boy George. So he knows a thing or two about music.

"The Billboard charts are based on a product," Maurice said. "That means they're basing it on physically buying something, like a CD."

Billboard also has an exclusive deal with Nielsen to help calculate the rankings. But now Rolling Stone wants to challenge the old system by updating daily, not weekly, researching streaming data and be transparent about how they rank.

"Rolling Stone is casting a wider net—getting actual data, trying to give you the ranking based on streams, sales, whatever the data may be," Maurice said.

Maurice, who has been involved in the music industry for 25 years, said Rolling Stone's method could mean a better living for all artists.

"If it leads to artists getting royalties quicker and faster, then it's a great thing," he said.

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Editor's Note: Rolling Stone's charts were set to launch on May 13 but have been delayed.

"While we had initially targeted a public beta launch of May 13th, we are instead going to remain in private beta for just a while longer to optimize with our industry partners and fully ensure the smoothness of our presentation," Rolling Stone posted on May 11.