Calculate album-equivalent units by converting Spotify and Apple Music streams, track downloads, and physical and digital album sales into total album sales.
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Album-Equivalent Units Formula
To convert streams into album sales, divide the number of streams by the number of streams that equal one album sale:
Album Sales = Streams / Streams Per Sale
To find how many streams are needed to equal a number of album sales, reverse it:
Streams Needed = Album Sales * Streams Per Sale
To combine every format into a single total, add physical and digital album sales to the album-equivalent units from track downloads and streams:
AEU = Physical + Digital + (Track Downloads / 10) + (Premium Streams / 1000) + (Ad Streams / 2500)
Where:
AEU is the total album-equivalent units. Physical is the number of physical albums sold, such as CD or vinyl. Digital is the number of full digital albums sold. Track Downloads is the number of individual paid song downloads, where 10 downloads equal one album. Premium Streams is the number of paid or subscription audio streams, where 1,000 equal one album under the current Billboard rate. Ad Streams is the number of ad-supported or free audio streams, where 2,500 equal one album. Streams Per Sale is the conversion rate you choose for the stream type you are measuring.
Streams Per Sale Conversion Rates
Different organizations count streams at different rates. Use the rate that matches the chart or certification you care about.
| Counting body | Stream type | Streams per album sale |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard (2026) | Premium / paid | 1,000 |
| Billboard (2026) | Ad-supported / free | 2,500 |
| Billboard (2018-2025) | Premium / paid | 1,250 |
| Billboard (2018-2025) | Ad-supported / free | 3,750 |
| RIAA certification | Audio (any) | 1,500 |
| Track downloads | Paid song downloads | 10 downloads |
Streams Needed for Certifications
Using the RIAA rate of 1,500 streams per album, these are the stream totals that match common sales milestones.
| Milestone | Album sales | Equivalent streams |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 500,000 | 750,000,000 |
| Platinum | 1,000,000 | 1,500,000,000 |
| 2x Platinum | 2,000,000 | 3,000,000,000 |
Example
Suppose an album earned 3,000,000 premium streams and you want to know how many album sales that equals using the current Billboard premium rate.
Choose "Convert streams to album sales," enter 3,000,000 streams, and select the premium rate of 1,000 streams per sale. Divide 3,000,000 by 1,000 to get 3,000 album sales.
For a full album-equivalent count, suppose the same release also sold 5,000 physical albums, 2,000 digital albums, 40,000 track downloads, and 1,000,000 ad-supported streams. The total is 5,000 + 2,000 + (40,000 / 10) + (3,000,000 / 1,000) + (1,000,000 / 2,500) = 5,000 + 2,000 + 4,000 + 3,000 + 400 = 14,400 album-equivalent units.
FAQ
How many streams equal one album sale? It depends on the counting body. Billboard currently counts 1,000 premium streams or 2,500 ad-supported streams as one album sale, while the RIAA counts 1,500 streams per album for gold and platinum certifications.
What is an album-equivalent unit? An album-equivalent unit is a single measure that combines physical album sales, digital album sales, paid track downloads, and streams so that releases from different formats can be compared on one chart.
Do free and paid streams count the same? No. Paid or subscription streams convert at a lower number of streams per sale than ad-supported or free streams, so paid streams are worth more toward album-equivalent units.