Move over Billboard…

This morning at New Music Seminar in NY, BigChampagne is disclosing their “Ultimate Chart,” a new way to rank artists and songs by aggregating a wide variety of metrics. It also represents an attempt to seriously challenge Soundscan, a yardstick that has plenty of critics in the direct-to-fan and independent communities.

The new ranking system will be based on a combination of actual sales, of course a critical ingredient, but BigChampagne is also blending components like radio airplay, video and audio streaming, and friends on social networks.

BigChampagne has a fluid list of partners, though the current stable includes Yahoo Music, Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Vevo, MySpace Music, Facebook, Twitter, MTV, Clear Channel, Mediabase, AOL Music, Napster, Zune, We Are Hunted, Last.fm, and more…

“We’re rewriting the top of the charts for the new music business and enlisting the help of its chief architects to surface the most popular music that the charts have overlooked,” Garland relayed.  We say, Cheers to THAT!

On the independent and direct-to-fan side BigChampagne has also teamed up with critical partners like Tunecore, CD Baby, ReverbNation, Topspin, and Nimbit.

Click here to see the first of the chart roll outs, the “Ultimate 100″ which is a direct hit against Billboard’s Hot 100.  Bring on the healthy competition!  :)