Music subscription mega-service Spotify launched a new feature today, called "Charts." "Charts" does exactly what it sounds like. It lets the user create a shareable and embeddable playlist that is a top 50 chart based on internet performance. The chart can either be ranked by most streams or by most shares, giving the user the flexibility to have one or both embedded in their blogs, Tumblrs, or websites.

This might not seem like a big deal, but the effects could be far reaching. Earlier this Winter, Billboard changed the way that they calculated the numbers for the hot 100 radio chart by including internet streams from such sites as Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube. The inclusion of the online sites was a part of the massive success of viral singles like "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, and "Gangam Style" by international superstar PSY.

When you combine the importance placed on Billboard charting with the ever-increasing accessibility of Spotify, you have a powerful agent indeed. Now more than ever, Spotify holds power over not just Billboard charts, but any online music chart that is measured. This power will most likely not help the already strained relationship that music companies and artists have with Spotify. As it's share of the "Chart Market" grows, the monetary demands that Spotify places on their partners can only grow to create a more lopsided agreement. As this year progresses, it will be interesting to watch how companies like Spotify leverage their newly found positions of power in the new landscape of the modern music industry.