Billboard editorial director accuses Lady Gaga of trying to 'game the system' by over-inflating online video views
Bill Werde, editorial director of US charts and magazine Billboard has accused Lady Gaga of trying to artificially inflate the number of views on her new video ‘Applause’.
Werde took issue with a now deleted tweet from the singer that asked fans to watch her new video and then encourage others to do the same.
On Twitter Werde wrote “An artist tweeting out and facebooking a link that enables a fan to hit play and leave their computer is not in the spirit of what we chart.”
Since its reveal fans of Gaga have been creating playlists which included only ‘Applause’ and playing these on loops, adding a large numbers of artificial views to the track.
As YouTube and Vevo views contribute to rankings in the US Billboard chart, Werde used Gaga's tweet as an opportunity to raise issues with artists trying to “game the system”.
Werde added: “Tweeting that other artists game the system is like telling a cop other people were speeding. When we catch it we stop it.”
And: “I hate to see anyone try to game the charts, be it fans or artists. It’s not in the spirit of what we do, celebrating success.”
The accusations are the latest blow to Gaga’s comeback attempt which has seen her beaten in the US charts by Katy Perry’s new single ‘Roar’ and struggling to reach the top five in the UK. Earlier in the week Gaga took over Times Square to drum up more publicity for the comeback single debuting its video as part of a segment on Good Morning America.