Charts like the Billboard 200 made perfect sense in the 90s, but ten years later, measuring success is a very tricky affair. That was the motivation for the Ultimate Chart, an attempt by BigChampagne to rank artists and songs according to a broader number 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.

So what are these metrics? Actual sales are of course a critical ingredient, but BigChampagne is also blending components like radio airplay, video and audio streaming, and friends on social networks. The first chart to be hatched will be the Ultimate 100, which offers a direct jab at the long-running Hot 100. But as part of an early morning pre-briefing, the company also told Digital Music News that an independent-oriented chart is also in the works (among others).

In other words, the Ultimate Chart is an evolution in progress. According to BigChampagne CEO Eric Garland, the knobs will be subtly twiddled over time to accommodate a quickly changing terrain. Garland will be officially splashing the Ultimate Chart this morning at New Music Seminar in New York.

And partners? That is also theoretically a fluid list, 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.