This post is a first in a series examining the Billboard Hot 100 from 1958 to 2023 and how time and technology has changed our understanding of hit music.
Fascinated as always Matt! An excellent thorough review of the different forms of data used to compile the Billboard Hot 100 through the years. Has Billboard found a way to eliminate the chart bias created by allowing one user to count for 50 streams a day 350 a week? Seems like a paltry figure unless you consider that a fan army of 10,000 people listening on steroids could count for 3.5 million streams and could greatly influence that songs chart life that week.
The killer app that would allow us to make (somewhat more) direct comparisons between the streaming era and pre-streaming hits would be if streaming providers said how many different individual users played a particular track--regardless of whether they played it once or 100 times. I'm sure Spotify (and their competitors) have that data, but as of now, it's not what they're sharing.
Back in the day, we weighted up certain record stores/distributors because of their stature and/or volume of sales. Similarly, radio stations were weighted up based on stature and volume of listeners. Today, in an ironic twist, you would need to pinpoint high-volume individual users---and weight them down.
I'm just a music fan…I’ve purchased 1,000’s of 45’s, CD singles, iTunes singles and cassingles. Yes, I’ve purchased multiple copies of some in my younger years hoping to influence Billboard. (I miss Tower Records…). I’ve considered cancelling my 40 plus year Billboard subscription because of the latest methodology...and besides, my garage is getting full of them. For example, I buy an iTunes song for $1.29 and play it a hundred times...did my purchase influence the chart as much as if I would've played the song 100 times on YouTube? This is where I get confused with their weighting process... Anyway, I am one of those that is curious when Billboard publishes an "all time rankings" chart and ranks songs from multiple decades. Fun to read...but skeptical on the adjustments/ranking. Personally, songs stay on my iTunes playlist (I don't stream) for about 10-15 weeks. Anyway, great article...informative and fun! I can do a better job now explaining to my friends. (People notice how a new album can take the entire top 10 on a particular week.) I really appreciate your analysis and detailed examples. (New to Substack...you brought me here!)
Welcome to Substack! There does come a point where it's fair to ask if comparisons across time are valid: Until this decade, Chubby checker's "The Twist" was the biggest song of all time. It earned that distinction by being a massive hit twice; first with teenagers, then a year later with hip adults. Is that feat really comparable with The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights," which took Billboard's GOAT hit single title from Checker simply by staying on the radio and among the most streamed songs forever during the pandemic?
Fascinated as always Matt! An excellent thorough review of the different forms of data used to compile the Billboard Hot 100 through the years. Has Billboard found a way to eliminate the chart bias created by allowing one user to count for 50 streams a day 350 a week? Seems like a paltry figure unless you consider that a fan army of 10,000 people listening on steroids could count for 3.5 million streams and could greatly influence that songs chart life that week.
The killer app that would allow us to make (somewhat more) direct comparisons between the streaming era and pre-streaming hits would be if streaming providers said how many different individual users played a particular track--regardless of whether they played it once or 100 times. I'm sure Spotify (and their competitors) have that data, but as of now, it's not what they're sharing.
Back in the day, we weighted up certain record stores/distributors because of their stature and/or volume of sales. Similarly, radio stations were weighted up based on stature and volume of listeners. Today, in an ironic twist, you would need to pinpoint high-volume individual users---and weight them down.
I'm just a music fan…I’ve purchased 1,000’s of 45’s, CD singles, iTunes singles and cassingles. Yes, I’ve purchased multiple copies of some in my younger years hoping to influence Billboard. (I miss Tower Records…). I’ve considered cancelling my 40 plus year Billboard subscription because of the latest methodology...and besides, my garage is getting full of them. For example, I buy an iTunes song for $1.29 and play it a hundred times...did my purchase influence the chart as much as if I would've played the song 100 times on YouTube? This is where I get confused with their weighting process... Anyway, I am one of those that is curious when Billboard publishes an "all time rankings" chart and ranks songs from multiple decades. Fun to read...but skeptical on the adjustments/ranking. Personally, songs stay on my iTunes playlist (I don't stream) for about 10-15 weeks. Anyway, great article...informative and fun! I can do a better job now explaining to my friends. (People notice how a new album can take the entire top 10 on a particular week.) I really appreciate your analysis and detailed examples. (New to Substack...you brought me here!)
Welcome to Substack! There does come a point where it's fair to ask if comparisons across time are valid: Until this decade, Chubby checker's "The Twist" was the biggest song of all time. It earned that distinction by being a massive hit twice; first with teenagers, then a year later with hip adults. Is that feat really comparable with The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights," which took Billboard's GOAT hit single title from Checker simply by staying on the radio and among the most streamed songs forever during the pandemic?
Outstanding history, Matt. I was just discussing arts of this story with an overseas client the other day.
This is so great, Matt! Not only are your insights always interesting, they are also witty and make me want to keep reading. Excited for you!
Fantastic read. Thanks, Matt. Looking forward to what's next!
Congratulations on your new endeavor, Matt!