YouTube should still be the place many individuals instinctively go to observe music movies, however when Taylor Swift dropped her video for Opalite on Friday, it was noticeably absent from the platform. In actual fact, it will not be touchdown on YouTube till Sunday, two days after its launch on different streaming platforms.
So, why is the Opalite music video solely out there on Apple Music and Spotify Premium proper now? It probably has to do with a disagreement between YouTube and Billboard, which ranks the most well-liked songs and albums of the week.
In December, Billboard shifted its charting methodology so paid and subscription-based streams are weighted much more favorably than ad-supported streams. Billboard started weighting paid streams increased than ad-supported ones in 2018. This most up-to-date shift narrows that ratio from 1:3 to 1:2.5, placing numbers from platforms like YouTube at extra of a drawback.
Following the change, YouTube posted a statement about its dispute with Billboard, calling the charting firm’s methodology “an outdated components.” It added, “This does not mirror how followers have interaction with music at present and ignores the huge engagement from followers who do not have a subscription…We’re merely asking that each stream is counted pretty and equally, whether or not it’s subscription-based or ad-supported—as a result of each fan issues and each play ought to rely.”
YouTube mentioned that beginning Jan. 16, 2026, its information would “now not be delivered to Billboard or factored into their charts.”Â
For artists like Taylor Swift who rely on early streams to spice up their Billboard rankings, that would make YouTube a much less interesting possibility for debuting new content material. So the Opalite video will nonetheless be making its technique to YouTube, however you may have to attend till Sunday, Feb. 8, at 8 a.m. ET to observe it there. Representatives for Swift, YouTube and Billboard didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
YouTube has an ad-supported streaming service in addition to a paid one known as YouTube Premium. Nevertheless, even YouTube Premium subscribers cannot see the Opalite music video on Friday. (I am a subscriber and might affirm it is nowhere to be discovered.) In response to Statista, in March 2025, YouTube had 125 million paid subscribers throughout its Premium and Music providers. (YouTube Music is included in its Premium subscription.) That pales compared with the estimated 2.5 billion total users on YouTube, nearly all of whom nonetheless depend on that ad-supported providing.Â
It stays to be seen whether or not or when YouTube and Billboard will mend their affairs and whether or not, within the phrases of Taylor Swift in Opalite, “that is only a non permanent pace bump.”
