Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine. The two primary charts – the Hot 100 (top 100 singles) and the Billboard 200 (top 200 albums) – factor in airplay, as well as music sales in all relevant formats.

On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade. The first Music Popularity Chart was calculated in July 1940. A variety of song charts followed, which were eventually consolidated into the Hot 100 by mid-1958. The Hot 100 currently combines single sales, radio airplay and digital downloads.

All of Billboard's charts use this basic formula. What separates the charts is which stations and stores are used – each musical genre having a core audience or retail group. Each genre's department at Billboard is headed up by a chart manager, who makes these determinations.

For many years, a song had to be commercially available as a single to be considered for any of Billboard's charts. At the time, instead of using SoundScan or BDS, Billboard obtained its data from manual reports filled out by radio stations and stores. According to the 50th Anniversary issue of Billboard, prior to the official implementation of Nielsen SoundScan tracking in November 1991, many radio stations and retail stores removed songs from their manual reports after the associated record labels stopped promoting a particular single. Thus songs fell quickly after peaking and had shorter chart lives. In 1990, the country singles chart was the first chart to use SoundScan and BDS. They were followed by the Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1991. Today, all of Billboard's charts use this technology.

Before September 1995, singles were allowed to chart in the week they first went on sale based on airplay points alone. The policy was changed in September 1995 to only allow a single to debut after a full week of sales on combined sales and airplay points. This allowed several tracks to debut at number one.

In December 1998, the policy was further modified to allow tracks to chart on the basis of airplay alone without a commercial release. This change was made to reflect the changing realities of the music business. Previous to this, several substantial radio and MTV hits had not appeared on the Billboard chart at all, because many major labels chose not to release them as standalone singles, hoping their unavailability would spur greater album sales. Not offering a popular song to the public as a single was unheard of before the 1970s. The genres that suffered most at the time were those that increasingly impacted pop culture, including new genres such as trip hop and grunge. Among the many pre-1999 songs that had ended up in this Hot 100 limbo were The Cardigans' "Lovefool", Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn", Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris", OMC's "How Bizarre", Sugar Ray's "Fly" and No Doubt's "Don't Speak".

Starting in 2005, Billboard changed its methodology to allow paid digital downloads from digital music stores such as iTunes to chart with or without the help of radio airplay.

A variety of charts

Originally, Billboard had separate charts for different measures of popularity, including disk jockey playings, juke box song selection, and best selling records in retail stores. A composite standing chart that combined these gradually grew to become a top 100, the ancestor of the current Hot 100 chart. The juke box chart ceased publication after the June 17, 1957 issue, the disk jockey chart, after the July 28, 1958 issue, and the best seller chart, after the October 13, 1958 issue. The July 28, 1958 issue was also the last issue that called the composite chart the Top 100; the following week began the Hot 100.

Currently, Billboard publishes many different charts, with the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 being the most famous. Billboard also has charts for the following music styles: rock, country, dance, bluegrass, jazz, classical, R&B, rap, electronic, pop, Latin, Christian music, comedy albums, and even for ringtones for mobile (cell) phones. In 2009 Billboard partnered with MetroLyrics to offer top 10 lyrics for each of the charts.

At year's end

At the end of each year, Billboard tallies the results of all of its charts, and the results are published in a year-end issue and heard on year-end editions of its American Top 40 and American Country Countdown radio broadcasts, in addition to being announced in the press. Between 1991 and 2006, the top single/album/artist(s) in each of those charts was/were awarded in the form of the annual Billboard Music Awards, which were annually held in December until the awards went dormant in 2007 (plans for a new version of the awards in 2008 fell through, and no awards have been held since 2007). The year-end charts cover a period from the first week of December of the previous year to the last week of November of the respective year.[1]^{[dead link]}

Singles and tracks

All-genre

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
The Billboard Hot 100	sales + airplay	100	The US music industry standard singles popularity chart
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles		25	Ranks the top 25 songs below #100 that have not yet appeared on the Hot 100. Can also be considered a 25-position addendum to the Hot 100. But a song cannot appear on the Bubbling Under chart if it has appeared on the Hot 100.
Heatseekers Songs		25	Ranks songs from new artists/bands that have never attained the top 50 of the Hot 100. If a song reaches the top 50, it and any of the artist's/band's subsequent singles are ineligible for the chart.
Hot 100 Airplay	airplay (audience)	75	Measures radio airplay audience impressions on 1,233 radio stations encompassing all formats. One of three component charts of the Hot 100
Hot Singles Sales	physical sales	50	Measures sales of commercial singles One of three component charts of the Hot 100 No recurrent chart
Hot Digital Songs	digital sales	75	Ranks top-selling digital song sales Combines different versions of songs for a summarized figure One of the three component charts of the Hot 100 No recurrent chart
Hot Digital Tracks		75	Ranks digital song sales with different versions of songs listed No recurrent chart

R&B/Hip-Hop

Chart Title	Description
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs lists the most popuby combining airplay from Urban AC and R&B/Hip-Hop stations and record sales from Urban markets.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay	The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay measures airplay based on audience impressions from various R&B/Hip-Hop Stations, and is the airplay component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop	The Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop ranks songs by combining airplay base on radio plays (spins) from 76 R&B/Hip-Hop Stations.
Hot Adult R&B Airplay	The Hot Adult R&B Airplay measures airplay from 65 Urban AC radio stations.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales	The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales is the sales component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It is a separate panel of sales of commercial 12" Maxi singles in the urban market.
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles	The Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles ranks the top 25 singles gaining poins to debut inside the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The top 25 positions are the twenty-five space below the one-hundred point on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Rhythmic Top 40	Measures airplay spins on 73 rhythmic stations. Rhythmic is a music radio format that includes of a mix of dance, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and R&B hits.
Hot Rap Songs	The Hot Rap Songs ranks the top 25 Hip-Hop/Rap songs by combining airplay on rhythmic and mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop radio stations.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents	The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ranks songs that have fallen below #50 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and have been on that chart for over 20 weeks.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay	The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay ranks the songs that have fallen below #25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and have been on that chart for over 20 weeks.

Adult/Pop

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Top 40 Mainstream	airplay (spins)	40	Measures airplay detections (spins) on 132 Contemporary hit radio stations
Adult Top 40		40	Measures airplay spins on 90 Hot adult contemporary stations.
Adult Contemporary		30	Measures airplay spins on 85 adult contemporary stations

Country

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Hot Country Songs	airplay (audience)	60	Measures airplay audience impression on 126 country music stations

Rock

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Rock Songs	airplay (audience)	50	Measures airplay audience impression on 180 radio stations encompassing mainstream rock, alternative, active rock, heritage rock, and Triple A stations
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	airplay (spins)	40	Measures airplay spins on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock (i.e., alternative).
Alternative Songs		40	Measures airplay spins on alternative or "modern rock" stations
Active Rock		40	Measures airplay spins on 57 active rock radio stations, which plays current rock artists with a mix of classic rock songs
Heritage Rock		30	Measures airplay spins on 22 heritage rock radio stations
Triple A		30	Measures airplay spins on Adult album alternative (also known as "Triple A") radio, most of which are alternative rock songs that skew towards an older audience

Dance

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Hot Dance Club Songs	reports from DJs	50	Compiled exclusively from playlists submitted by nightclub disc jockeys, who must apply and meet certain criteria to become Billboard-reporting DJs
Hot Dance Airplay		25	A monitored dance music radio chart of 5 dance stations that came about as a result of the small but influential impact of dance music on the radio and the stations that program it
Hot Dance Singles Sales		10	A chart that measures the sale of commercially released singles in the dance music market, including remixes. It was formerly known as Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, when the chart was restricted to sales of the 12" Maxi Single and CD Maxi Single format, but in recent years, singles only released in the CD Single format have apparently been counted too.
Hot Dance/Electronic Digital Songs		50	A chart that tracks the digital download of dance music singles, including tracks that are exclusively available online only. This chart also includes previously released dance and disco songs that became available for downloading.

Latin

Billboard Chart Title	Description
Hot Latin Songs	The Hot Latin Songs (a.k.a., Hot Latin Tracks) is a weekly music chart for Spanish language singles in the American music market. It was established by the magazine in 1986, when music labels and Billboard realized that Spanish-language songs had a great potential to the American audiences. The chart is based on airplay on 123 Latin music stations. Songs on the chart are not necessarily in Spanish language.
Latin Pop Airplay	The Latin Pop Airplay is a weekly monitored Latin pop music radio chart that ranks the most played Latin pop songs on Latin music stations. It was established by the magazine in 1994.
Latin Regional Mexican Airplay	The Latin Regional Mexican Airplay is a weekly chart that ranks Regional Mexican music information from different genres like Mariachi, Norteño, Banda and Duranguense. This chart is based on airplay from 65 regional Mexican stations; the radio charts are compiled using information tracked by from Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. It was established by the magazine in 1994.
Latin Tropical Airplay	The Latin Tropical Airplay (a.k.a., Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay) is a weekly monitored chart that ranks Tropical music information from different genres like Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, Guaracha and others on 18 Latin music stations. It was established by the magazine in 1994.
Latin Rhythm Airplay	The Latin Rhythm Airplay chart comprises singles and tracks from artists who represent the Hispanic rhythmic/Hurban genre including Reggaeton, Hispanic R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic Pop/Dance and crossovers from English-language and/or bilingual acts, monitoring 8 Latin rhythm radio stations. This chart came about as a result of radio stations tapping into the growing second and third generation Hispanic audience who wanted a Spanish-speaking or bilingual alternative to the formats they felt represented them. The magazine established it in 2005.

Christian

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Christian Songs	airplay (audience)	50	Measures airplay audience impression on 96 Christian radio stations
Hot Christian AC Songs	airplay (spins)	30
Hot Gospel Songs		30	Measures airplay spins on 48 Gospel stations

Jazz

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Smooth Jazz Songs	airplay (spins)	30	Measures airplay spins on 14 smooth jazz stations

Ringtones

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Hot Ringtones	ringtone sale	40	Ranks weekly sales of polyphonic ringtones for mobile phones
Hot RingMasters		40	Ranks weekly sales of master ringtones for mobile phones
Hot Videoclips		25	Ranks top 25 most popular music videos according to digital sales and TV play on channels such as TRL and 106 & Park

Canadian charts

Chart Title	Chart type	Number of positions	Description
Canadian Hot 100	airplay + sales	100	Canadian music industry standard singles popularity chart
Emerging Canadian Artist		30	Ranks most popular songs by emerging Canadian artists Artists are considered emerging until 12 months after the date their first Canadian Hot 100 charting entry reaches the top 40. No recurrent chart
Hot Digital Song	digital sales	75	Ranks top-selling digital song sales Combines different versions of songs for summarized figure one of the component charts of Canadian Hot 100. No recurrent chart
Hot 100 Airplay	airplay (audience)	75	Measures radio airplay audience impressions on 137 radio stations from five different formats One of the component charts of Canadian Hot 100.
All-format Airplay	airplay (spins)	50	Measures radio airplay spins on 137 radio stations from five formats. A 100-position chart is available at Jam! Canoe website.
CHR/Top 40 Airplay		50	Measures radio airplay spins on 25 CHR radio stations
AC Airplay		50	Measures radio airplay spins on 28 AC radio stations
Hot AC Airplay		50	Measures radio airplay spins on 24 Hot AC radio stations
Country Airplay		50	Measures radio airplay spins on 31 country radio stations.
Rock Airplay		50	Measures radio airplay spins on 29 rock radio stations

International charts

Billboard Chart Title	Description
Brasil Hot 100 Airplay	The Brazil Hot 100 Airplay ranks the most listening singles and tracks in Brazil.
Brasil Hot Pop Songs	Brazilian Hot 40 songs ranks the most listening pop singles and tracks in Brazil.
Brasil Hot Popular Songs	Brazilian Hot 40 songs ranks the most listening national music styles singles and tracks in Brazil.
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	The Eurochart Hot 100 Singles ranks the best selling singles in Europe by combining sales from various countries in Europe.
Greek Top 10 Chart	The Greek Top 10 Chart ranks the best selling digital singles and tracks in Greece.
Japan Hot 100	The Japan Hot 100 ranks the best selling singles and tracks in Japan.
Korea K-Pop Hot 100[1]	The Korea K-Pop Hot 100 ranks the best selling singles and tracks in South Korea.
Turkey Top 20 Chart	Turkey Top 20 Chart ranks the best selling and the most listening foreign singles and tracks in Turkey.
Turkish Top 20 Chart	Turkish Top 20 Chart ranks the best selling and the most listening Turkish singles and tracks in Turkey.
Turkish Rock Top 20 Chart	Turkey Top 20 Chart ranks the best selling and the most listening Turkish rock singles and tracks in Turkey.
Global Dance Tracks	Global Dance Tracks is a weekly international survey of the songs that are most popular in dance clubs globally. It is compiled by Billboard exclusively from playlists submitted by nightclub disc jockeys who must apply and meet certain criteria to become Billboard-reporting DJs.

Discontinued charts

Chart Title	Discontinued date	Description
Country Single Sales	2005	Ranks top selling commercial country singles
Pop 100	June 13, 2009	Ranked songs by combining airplay focused on pop radio and sales The chart's importance is replaced by the Top 40 Mainstream chart
Pop 100 Airplay		Measured pop radio airplay One of three component charts of the Pop 100

Albums

Chart Title	Number of positions	Description
The Billboard 200	200	Industry standard, includes albums from any genre. Includes both new and catalog albums.
Top Current Albums	200	The same chart as Billboard 200, with catalog titles removed
Top Pop Catalog Albums	50	An album becomes a catalog title when it is more than 18 months old and has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200.
Top Internet Albums	40
Tastemakers		Ranked albums based on "an influential panel of indie stores and small regional chains."[2]
Top Digital Albums	50
Heatseekers Albums	50	Ranks albums from new artists/bands that have never attained the top 100 of Billboard 200. If an album reaches the top 100, it and any of the artist's/band's subsequent singles are ineligible for the chart.
Heatseekers Albums (East North Central)
Heatseekers Albums (Middle Atlantic)
Heatseekers Albums (Mountain)
Heatseekers Albums (Northeast)
Heatseekers Albums (Pacific)
Heatseekers Albums (South Atlantic)
Heatseekers Albums (South Central)
Heatseekers Albums (West North Central)
Top Independent Albums	50	Ranks top 50 albums released through independent record labels.
Top Rock Albums	25
Top Alternative Albums
Top Hard Rock Albums	20
Top Folk Albums	15
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	100
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums	100
Top Rap Albums	30
Top Country Albums	75
Top Country Catalog Albums	75
Top Bluegrass Albums	15
Top Latin Albums	30
Regional Mexican Albums
Latin Pop Albums	30
Tropical Albums
Latin Rhythm Albums
Top Classical Albums		Traditional Classical albums
Top Classical Crossover Albums
Classical Albums		Available only on billboard.com
Top Classical Budget Albums
Top Classical Midline Albums
Top Christian Albums	50
Top Gospel Albums	40
Top Christian & Gospel Albums
Top Jazz Albums		Traditional Jazz albums
Top Contemporary Jazz
Jazz Albums	35	Available only on billboard.com
Top Dance/Electronic Albums	25
Top Blues Albums
Top Cast Albums		Measuring sales of cast recordings
Top Comedy Albums
Top Compilation Albums	20
Top Holiday Albums	50	see Best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the United States
Top Kid Audio	15
Top New Age Albums
Top Reggae Albums
Top Soundtracks	30
Top World Albums		Ranks biggest-selling world music albums, including catalog titles

Other charts

In December 2010, Billboard announced a new chart titled Social 50, which ranks the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. The Social 50 chart tallies artists' popularity using their weekly additions of friends/fans/followers, along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on Myspace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and iLike.^[3]

In January 2011, Billboard introduced another chart called Uncharted, which lists new and developing artists, who are yet to appear on any major Billboard chart, "...regardless of their country of origin."^[4] The ranking is based on the views and fans on social networking websites like Myspace and Facebook. To appear on Uncharted, the artists must be registered Myspace Music artists, and should not have appeared on any major Billboard charts before.^[4]

Further reading

• Durkee, Rob. "American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century." Schriner Books, New York City, 1999.
• Battistini, Pete, "American Top 40 with Casey Kasem The 1970s." Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005. ISBN 1-4184-1070-5

References

General

• Parker, Martin (1991). "Making Sense with the Hit Parade". Popular Music 10 (2): 205–17. 
• Hakanen, Ernest (1998). "Counting Down to the Number One:Evolution of the Meaning of Popular Music Charts". Popular Music 17 (1): 98–111. 
• "About Us". Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2009. http://www.Billboard.biz. 
• "Billboard.com FAQ". Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2009. http://www.Billboard.com. 
• "Billboard Latest Charts Lyrics". MetroLyrics. http://www.metrolyrics.com/billboard-latest.html. Retrieved September 5, 2010. 

Specific

1. ^ "Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Launches; Sistar Is No. 1 on New Korea Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. August 25, 2011. http://www.billboard.com/#/news/billboard-k-pop-hot-100-launches-sistar-1005327842.story. Retrieved August 25, 2011. 
2. ^ Binkert, Lisa. "Bruno Mars Live: Billboard Tastemakers". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/events/bruno-mars-live-billboard-tastemakers-video-1004123318.story?tag=hpflash1. Retrieved October 23, 2010. 
3. ^ Billboard debuts new Social 50 chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 5, 2010
4. ^ ^{a b} Billboard Uncharted

External links

• Billboard charts available to view for free
• Full list of charts that Billboard publishes for subscribers