It looks like Pink Floyd’s seminal 1973 album “Dark Side of the Moon” is set to return to the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
Its return won’t be due to any surge in sales — though the album continues to be one of the most enduring back-catalog titles in the history of rock. Instead, it’ll likely return to the Top 200 next month when Billboard begins basing its chart on Nielsen SoundScan sales data, an all-inclusive list that disregards release date.
“The events of 2009 and the continuing creativity in the repackaging of catalog titles have led us to the conclude that the Billboard 200 would be best served presenting the true best-sellers in the country, without any catalog-related rules or stipulations, to our readers, the media and music fans,” said Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard’s director of charts, in a statement released yesterday.
In 1988, Billboard changed its chart methodology so older titles were prohibited from returning to the Top 200 after they dipped below #200. As a result, “Dark Side,” which had logged 724 weeks on the chart, came off the Top 200 and started appearing on Billboard’s list of back catalog albums.
The chaos inflicted on Billboard’s charts by the recent re-release of The Beatles catalog and the surge in sales of Michael Jackson‘s albums following his death are believed to be the impetus for the change.
“The ability of consumers to impulsively purchase new or catalog titles electronically has changed music sales behavior,” Pietroluongo added. “There is a more immediate cause and effect between artist exposure and album sales in this day and age, and the Billboard 200 should reflect this activity, regardless of an album’s release date.”
The first issue of Billboard to reflect the change will be published Dec. 5.
