64-614: Radiomonitor is a British music company that tracks the worldwide airplay of songs, with the information given to record labels and radio stations . They have established partnerships with several international companies located in Ireland, Australia and South Africa, and compiled several airplay charts in the United Kingdom in contrast to the Official Charts Company 's physical sales-based UK Singles Chart . Radiomonitor tracks
128-480: A " turntable hit " when radio stations played only vinyl singles . Airplay can be a crucial element in securing a singer's 'hit', and alongside social networking websites it is an effective method that artists use to make their name known. Aaliyah 's " Try Again " (2000) was the first song ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on the strength of its radio airplay. Radio airplay
192-473: A Hot 100 Top 40 hit in each of the four decades from the 1980s through the 2010s: Michael Jackson , Madonna , "Weird Al" Yankovic , U2 , and Kenny G . Mariah Carey is the first artist to have a number-one single in four different decades. SiriusXM Pop2K uses the Hot 100 charts for the 2000s for the "Pop2Kountdown", where radio personal Rich Davis plays the top 30 songs on the Hot 100 from that specific week in
256-610: A decade, including the Radiomonitor Top 100, the annual Radiomonitor Marketshare, and the Radiomonitor end-of-year Top 100. The data included on the Radiomonitor charts contain several disparities to the Official Charts Company , as the former tracks the biggest airplay songs. On 30 August 2016, Radiomonitor established a partnership with Canadian software company Yangaroo to provide two separate airplay charts for Ireland; Breaking Irish Chart and Current Irish Music Chart. The former
320-497: A minimum of 14% and a high of 23%. Performing artists and record labels indirectly profit from airplay as it promotes, distributes and sells records. Airplay's impact on music sales links to the mere-exposure effect . The term describes a preference for familiar things. The mere-exposure effect is noticed when radio and airplay act as an advertising medium by allowing listeners to try out newly released music. This exposure typically links to an increase in sales. The popularity of
384-460: A new single, featuring the former B-side as the A-side, along with a "new" B-side. The inclusion of album cuts on the Hot 100 put the double-sided hit issues to rest permanently. As many Hot 100 chart policies have been modified over the years, one rule always remained constant: songs were not eligible to enter the Hot 100 unless they were available to purchase as a single. However, on December 5, 1998,
448-577: A point system that typically gave sales (purchases) more weight than radio airplay. The first No. 1 in that chart was " Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing " by The Four Aces . The Best Sellers in Stores , Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. On June 17, 1957, Billboard discontinued the Most Played in Jukeboxes chart, as
512-454: A record label has a number one single, it earns that designation based on its position on a sales chart. If that record is number one on the radio station, it reaches that position based on its airplay, location of the radio station, and how many singles it sold. Billboard has the most widely used airplay charts and includes every significant music genre. Billboard has 25 airplay charts that detect airplay across 140 radio markets. To compile
576-434: A single until airplay was at its absolute peak, thus prompting a top ten or, in some cases, a number-one debut. In many cases, a label would delete a single from its catalog after only one week, thus allowing the song to enter the Hot 100, make a high debut and then slowly decline in position as the one-time production of the retail single sold out. It was during this period that several popular mainstream hits never charted on
640-629: A specific year from the 2000s. '90s on 9 also does a similar countdown show called the "Back in the Day Replay Countdown" hosted by Downtown Julie Brown ; however, this focuses on the Hot 100 charts from the 1990s. A new chart, the Pop 100 , was created by Billboard in February 2005 to answer criticism that the Hot 100 at the time was too dominated by hip hop and R&B. It was discontinued in June 2009 due to
704-435: A trend they had started in the 1960s by putting the same song on both sides of the singles provided to radio. More complex issues began to arise as the typical A-and-B-side format of singles gave way to 12 inch singles and maxi-singles, many of which contained more than one B-side. Further problems arose when, in several cases, a B-side would eventually overtake the A-side in popularity, thus prompting record labels to release
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#1732886636840768-537: A very long time to gain mainstream success. These rare cases are handled on a case-by-case basis and ultimately determined by Billboard ' s chart managers and staff. Older songs are allowed to re-enter to the Hot 100 provided they chart higher than number 50. Christmas songs have been a regular presence on the Hot 100 each December since the relaxation of recurrent rules, culminating in Mariah Carey 's 1994 recording " All I Want for Christmas Is You " reaching No. 1 on
832-600: A very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales, streaming, and airplay points. This gives a more accurate picture of any given year's most popular tracks, as the points accrued by one song during its week at number one in March might be less than those accrued by another song reaching number three in January. Songs at the peak of their popularity at the time of the November/December chart-year cutoff many times end up ranked on
896-403: A week spent at position 100, two points for a week spent at position 99 and so forth, up to 100 points for each week spent at number one). Other factors including the total weeks a song spent on the chart and at its peak position were calculated into its year-end total. After Billboard began obtaining sales and airplay information from Nielsen SoundScan, the year-end charts are now calculated by
960-407: Is Jennifer Lopez 's " I'm Real ". Originally entering the Hot 100 in its album version, a "remix" was issued in the midst of its chart run that featured rapper Ja Rule . This new version proved to be more popular than the album version and the track was propelled to number one. To address this issue, Billboard now separates airplay points from a song's original version and its remix, if the remix
1024-452: Is determined to be a "new song". Since administering this new chart rule, several songs have charted twice, normally credited as "Part 1" and "Part 2". The remix rule is still in place. Billboard , in an effort to allow the chart to remain as current as possible and to give representation to new and developing artists and tracks, has (since 1991) removed titles that have reached certain criteria regarding its current rank and number of weeks on
1088-660: Is measured by the number of spins and detections. The Broadcast Data Systems (BDS, also known as Nielsen BDS ) is a U.S. broadcasting service that measures airplay according to these two attributes. In addition, airplay is tracked using a patented digital pattern recognition technology. The service, a unit of MRC Data , contributes to the publishing of songs on the Billboard Charts , the most used music chart in America. The recognition technology implemented by Nielsen monitors airplay in radio stations in more than 140 markets across
1152-422: Is monitored through audio fingerprinting technology with the help of automatic content recognition service. World recognizable video airplay service providers are Radiomonitor , ACRCloud , BMAT, and Soundcharts. There is a symbiotic relationship between the airplay of records and sales. The record industry utilises airplay on the radio to promote artists and records to radio listeners. Airplay can stimulate
1216-433: Is post-dated with the "week-ending" issue date four days after the charts are refreshed online (i.e., the following Saturday). For example: The methods and policies by which this data is obtained and compiled have changed many times throughout the chart's history. Although the advent of a singles music chart spawned chart historians and chart-watchers and greatly affected pop culture and produced countless bits of trivia,
1280-462: Is readily available on a real-time basis, unlike sales figures and streaming, but is also tracked on the same Friday–Thursday cycle, effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021. Previously, radio was tracked Monday–Sunday and, before July 2015, Wednesday–Tuesday. The first number-one song of the Billboard Hot 100 was " Poor Little Fool " by Ricky Nelson , on August 4, 1958. As of the issue for
1344-502: Is the illegal practice in U.S. law of paying a radio station for airplay without the station disclosing this information. Paying radio stations for airplay is a historical phenomenon. In the 1960s, it was a common practice for record companies to bribe radio station employees to increase a song's airplay. In 1934, U.S. Congress passed the Communications Act, which forbids radio stations from taking payment to air certain content unless
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#17328866368401408-468: The Billboard Hot 100 tracks paid digital downloads from such internet services as iTunes , Musicmatch , and Rhapsody . Billboard initially started tracking downloads in 2003 with the Hot Digital Tracks chart. However, these downloads did not count towards the Hot 100 and that chart (as opposed to Hot Digital Songs ) counted each version of a song separately. This was the first major overhaul of
1472-565: The Dixie Chicks was impacted by radio airplay in America. In March 2003, the Dixie Chicks were number one on the Country and Adult Contemporary radio airplay charts, as published in the 'Radio and Records' trade journal. However, the band's presence on the charts dropped rapidly when lead singer Natalie Maines told the audience of a London nightclub, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of
1536-463: The airplay data of songs played on different multimedia platforms in over 120 countries, which is subsequently accessed by record labels and news publications through their official app, e-mail, or a data feed . The company compiles several weekly radio airplay charts such as the UK Airplay Chart and Italy's Airplay Italia. Radiomonitor has established several charts in the United Kingdom for over
1600-399: The 10 top selling records of three leading record companies, as reported by the companies themselves. In October 1938, a review list, "The Week's Best Records", was retitled "The Billboard Record Buying Guide" by incorporating airplay and sheet music sales, which would eventually become the first trade survey of record popularity. This led to the full-page "Billboard Music Popularity Chart" for
1664-427: The 1940s and 1960s would also have airplay. For commercial broadcasting, airplay is usually the result of being placed into rotation , also called adding it to the station's playlist by the music director , possibly as the result of a Pay for Play sponsored by the record label . For student radio and other community radio or indie radio stations, it is often the selection by each disc jockey , usually at
1728-473: The 1990s many record companies stopped releasing singles altogether (see Album Cuts , below). Eventually, a song's airplay points were weighted more so than its sales. Billboard has adjusted the sales/airplay ratio many times to more accurately reflect the true popularity of songs. Billboard has also changed its Hot 100 policy regarding "two-sided singles" several times. The pre-Hot 100 chart "Best Sellers in Stores" listed popular A- and-B-sides together, with
1792-471: The Hot 100 (then called Top 40 Radio Monitor ). The ongoing splintering of Top 40 radio in the early 1990s led stations to lean into specific formats, meaning that practically no station would play the wide array of genres that typically composed each weekly Hot 100 chart. An artist or band's ability to have hits in the Hot 100 across multiple decades is recognized as a sign of longevity and being able to adapt to changing musical styles. Only five artists had
1856-416: The Hot 100 changed from being a "singles" chart to a "songs" chart. During the 1990s, a growing trend in the music industry was to promote songs to radio without ever releasing them as singles. It was claimed by major record labels that singles were cannibalizing album sales, so they were slowly phased out. During this period, accusations began to fly of chart manipulation as labels would hold off on releasing
1920-401: The Hot 100's chart formula since December 1998. The change in methodology has shaken up the chart considerably, with some songs debuting on the chart strictly with robust online sales and others making drastic leaps. In recent years, several songs have been able to achieve 80-to-90 position jumps in a single week as their digital components were made available at online music stores. Since 2006,
1984-420: The Hot 100's early history, singles were the leading way by which people bought music. At times, when singles sales were robust, more weight was given to a song's retail points than to its radio airplay. As the decades passed, the recording industry concentrated more on album sales than singles sales. Musicians eventually expressed their creative output in the form of full-length albums rather than singles, and by
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2048-479: The Hot 100, or charted well after their airplay had declined. During the period that they were not released as singles, the songs were not eligible to chart. Many of these songs dominated the Hot 100 Airplay chart for extended periods of time: As debate and conflicts occurred more and more often, Billboard finally answered the requests of music industry artists and insiders to include airplay-only songs (or "album cuts") in
2112-476: The Hot 100, while the retail component was reduced from 40% to 25%. Extended play (EP) releases were listed by Billboard on the Hot 100 and in pre-Hot 100 charts (Top 100) until the mid-to-late 1960s. With the growing popularity of albums, it was decided to move EPs (which typically contain four to six tracks) from the Hot 100 to the Billboard 200 , where they are included to this day. Since February 12, 2005,
2176-575: The South African Radiomonitor Airplay Chart on 9 October 2019 after branching out to the country in 2015, where it published data from 170 radio stations and 24 television stations. Airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day ( spins ) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes , in nightclubs and at discotheques between
2240-539: The United States is from Texas". Following this, the Associated Press noted that radio stations had begun blacklisting the Dixie Chicks in response to the comment. As a result, the Dixie Chicks' total airplay across America dropped to one-fifth of what it was before the controversy, with their album no longer appearing on the charts. The radio response to the statement was accused of corporate censorship, attributing
2304-489: The United States. The charts determine the position of a single based on airplay data , sales , and streaming data. Since the service debuted in 1992, it has become a universal standard for measuring airplay due to its accuracy in detecting, tracking and monitoring songs and has provided the Billboard charts with data on sales , downloads and streams . There is a distinction between sales charts and airplay charts. When
2368-489: The airplay charts, Billboard monitors 140 radio markets, over 1,600 radio stations to see over 100 million songs each year. To ensure airplay detection, label marketers must register their recorded music with the Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), the technology provider of Billboard . Billboard ' s weekly airplay charts rank singles according to the amount of airplay they receive on monitored radio stations and
2432-535: The all-time record for the biggest single-week upward movement was broken nine times. In the issue dated August 11, 2007, Billboard began incorporating weekly data from streaming media and on-demand services into the Hot 100. The first two major companies to provide their statistics to Nielsen BDS on a weekly basis were AOL Music and Yahoo! Music . On March 24, 2012, Billboard premiered its On-Demand Songs chart, which ranks web radio streams from services such as Spotify , as well as on-demand audio titles. Its data
2496-457: The blacklisting as evidence of politically mobilising right-wing social movements. The controversy and response demonstrate the impact of airplay on an artist's popularity. Record companies and artists can pay for airplay from radio stations. Pay-to-play is a common practice utilised by the record industry to pass money or goods to influence airplay. The transactions are directed through intermediaries ("indies") who are independent promoters for
2560-485: The broadcast was commercial. However, the act did not restrict independent disc jockeys from taking payments in exchange for airplay. As a result, record labels would approach disc jockeys instead of directly contacting the radio stations. In 1960, the U.S. Congress amended the act to include the provision of illegal bribes for airplay, which became known as payola . In this pay-to-play model, airplay becomes similar to advertising and can be subject to scandal. Airplay
2624-467: The chart in December 2019. Billboard altered its tracking-week for sales, streaming and radio airplay in order to conform to a new Global Release Date, which now falls on Fridays in all major-market territories (United States product was formerly released on Tuesdays before June 2015). This modified tracking schedule took effect in the issue dated July 25, 2015. Billboard ' s "chart year" runs from
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2688-417: The chart. Recurrent criteria have been modified several times and currently (as of 2015 ), a song is permanently moved to "recurrent status" if it has spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100 and fallen below position number 50. Additionally, descending songs are removed from the chart if ranking below number 25 after 52 weeks. Exceptions are made to re-releases and sudden resurgence in popularity of tracks that have taken
2752-507: The charts becoming increasingly similar. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched June 16, 2007. Like the Hot 100 chart, it uses sales and airplay tracking compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and BDS . The Billboard Japan Hot 100 was launched in the issue dated May 31, 2008, using the same methodologies as the Hot 100 charts for the U.S. and Canada, using sales and airplay data from SoundScan Japan and radio tracking service Plantech. The Vietnamese edition of Hot 100, Billboard Vietnam Hot 100 ,
2816-462: The first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows for Billboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue in the last week of December. Before Nielsen SoundScan, year-end singles charts were calculated by an inverse-point system based solely on a song's performance on the Hot 100 (for example, a song would be given one point for
2880-413: The following year's chart as well, as their cumulative points are split between the two chart-years, but often are ranked lower than they would have been had the peak occurred in a single year. The Hot 100 served for many years as the data source for the weekly radio countdown show American Top 40 . This relationship ended on November 30, 1991, as American Top 40 started using the airplay-only side of
2944-690: The industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13, 1958. The Hot 100 was created by journalists Tom Noonan, Paul Ackerman , and Seymour Stein ; Stein did not recall who chose the name. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a song's popularity is measured in the United States. The Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan (both at retail and digitally) and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to
3008-413: The main purpose of the Hot 100 is to aid those within the music industry: to reflect the popularity of the "product" (the singles, the albums, etc.) and to track the trends of the buying public. Billboard has (many times) changed its methodology and policies to give the most precise and accurate reflection of what is popular. A very basic example of this would be the ratio given to sales and airplay. During
3072-433: The overall calculation of the Hot 100. The most significant ones are: The tracking week for sales, streaming and airplay begins on Friday and ends on Thursday (airplay used to have a tracking week from Monday to Sunday, but effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021, the week was adjusted to align with the other two metrics ). A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesday. Each chart
3136-485: The popularity of jukeboxes waned and radio stations incorporated more and more rock-oriented music into their playlists. The week of July 28, 1958, had the final Most Played by Jockeys and Top 100 charts, both of which had Perez Prado 's instrumental version of " Patricia " ascending to the top. On August 4, 1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart: the Hot 100 , with " Poor Little Fool " by Ricky Nelson its first No. 1. The Hot 100 quickly became
3200-452: The public by Billboard' s website on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday, when the printed magazine first reaches newsstands. The weekly tracking period for sales is currently Friday–Thursday, after being changed in July 2015. It was initially Monday–Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay
3264-468: The purchase of music , merchandise and concert tickets to its listening audience. The record industry profits from the exposure provided by radio airplay. The amount of airplay a record receives may significantly impact other factors, including age, race, geographical location, and income. The effect of airplay on sales revenue can range between $ 1.5 to $ 2.4 billion annually. A significant portion of album and track sales are impacted by radio airplay, with
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#17328866368403328-544: The record labels or artists. Relationships are formed by promoters with radio stations to enable pay-to-play transactions, which may not include the direct transfer of funds or goods to conceal the nature of the deal. After developing a relationship, a promoter may engage in calls with the radio station to request their record is treated favourably. Requesting a record to be played is an unlikely favour to ask without an established relationship. Informal relationships are formed between indies and stations to avoid payola , which
3392-476: The resulting size of the combined audience that heard the song being played. Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital ), online streaming , and radio airplay in the U.S. A new chart is compiled and released online to
3456-506: The side that was played most often (based on its other charts) listed first. One of the most notable of these, but far from the only one, was Elvis Presley 's "Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog". During the Presley single's chart run, top billing was switched back and forth between the two sides several times. But on the concurrent "Most Played in Juke Boxes", "Most Played by Jockeys" and the "Top 100",
3520-459: The suggestion of a music director. Most countries have at least one radio airplay chart in existence, although larger countries such as Canada , the United States , the United Kingdom , Germany , Australia , Japan , and Brazil have several, to cover different genres and areas of the country. A song which was successful in the airplay charts but weak in sales was commonly known as
3584-428: The two songs were listed separately, as was true of all songs. With the initiation of the Hot 100 in 1958, A- and-B-sides charted separately, as they had on the former Top 100. Starting with the Hot 100 chart for the week ending November 29, 1969, this rule was altered; if both sides received significant airplay, they were listed together. This started to become a moot point by 1972, as most major record labels solidified
3648-410: The week ending July 20, 1940, and published in the July 27 issue, with lists covering jukebox play, retail sales, sheet music sales, and radio play. Listed were 10 songs of the national "Best Selling Retail Records", which was the fore-runner of today's pop chart, with " I'll Never Smile Again " by Tommy Dorsey its first number one. Starting on March 24, 1945, Billboard ' s lead popularity chart
3712-702: The week ending on November 30, 2024, the Billboard Hot 100 has had 1,175 different number-one entries. The current number-one song on the chart is " A Bar Song (Tipsy) " by Shaboozey . The first chart published by Billboard was "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among the Popular Songs", a list of best-selling sheet music, in July 1913. Other charts listed popular song performances in theatres and recitals. In 1928, "Popular Numbers Featured by Famous Singers and Leaders" appeared, which added radio performances to in-person performances. On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published "Ten Best Records for Week Ending", which listed
3776-405: Was a tactic generally used by certain artists to boost their chart positions. Instead, such physical releases are now only counted when they are shipped to the consumer, rendering the tactic "ineffectual". A growing trend early in the first decade of the 21st century was to issue a song as a "remix" that was so drastically different in structure and lyrical content from its original version that it
3840-604: Was created to find upcoming performers, while the latter provided a platform for experienced Irish talents. It sponsored the Music Week Awards on 9 May 2019, which was held at Battersea Evolution by British music magazine Music Week . The company expanded to Australia in 2017 after opening 16 offices worldwide, where they partnered with Australian music magazine The Music Network on 6 October 2019 to provide assistance for their charts, which would streamline and accurately improve their data. Similarly, Radiomonitor announced
3904-447: Was essentially a whole new song. Under normal circumstances, airplay points from a song's album version, "radio" mix and/or dance music remix, etc. were all combined and factored into the song's performance on the Hot 100, as the structure, lyrics and melody remained intact. Criticisms began when songs were being completely re-recorded to the point that they no longer resembled the original recording. The first such example of this scenario
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#17328866368403968-456: Was the Best Sellers in Stores chart, and the magazine refers to that when discussing a song's performance before the creation of the Hot 100. In its issue of November 12, 1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time (for the survey weeks ending October 26 and November 2). The Top 100 combined all aspects of a single's performance (sales, airplay and jukebox activity), based on
4032-506: Was the Honor Roll of Hits . This chart ranked the most popular songs regardless of performer (it combined different versions of the same song by different artists) based on record and sheet sales, disk jockey, and jukebox performances as determined by Billboard ' s weekly nationwide survey. At the start of the rock era in 1955, there were three charts that measured songs by individual metrics: Billboard ' s primary chart among these
4096-602: Was then incorporated into the equation that compiles the Hot 100, and this was expanded to a broader Streaming Songs chart in January 2013. In February 2013, U.S. views for a song on YouTube were added to the Hot 100 formula. " Harlem Shake " was the first song to reach number one after the changes were made. In July 2020, Billboard announced that they would no longer allow sales of physical/digital bundles to be reported as digital sales. This refers to songs being bought along with merchandise , either from an artists website or through another vendor. The magazine stated that this
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