Billboard was founded in 1894, but its charts didn’t begin publishing until 1940. In the late 1950s, the industry’s two most important and influential charts were created: the Billboard 200 (1956) and the Hot 100 (1958). The Billboard 200 reports the best-selling albums, while the Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs from coast to coast in the United States. Chart publication methods have evolved over time. Today, with the help of technological advances, actual consumption figures are entirely reliable.
By Carlos Passage
SALES
Billboard sales chart data, which includes all album charts, is compiled by Luminate from a universe of retailers that represents more than 90% of the US music market.
The sample includes music stores, big-box stores, direct-to-consumer sales, and online sales (both physical and digital albums).
The Luminate system uses the same point-of-sale system that music retailers use to track their inventory.
AIRPLAY
Billboard radio charts are compiled using information collected by Mediabase, which electronically monitors radio stations in more than 140 US cities and provided to Billboard by Luminate. The Mediabase system looks for an audio fingerprint, that is, a characteristic that differentiates a song from all the others it monitors.
Some playlists are based on the number of plays each song received in a given format that week, including Pop Airplay (Top 40 Mainstream), Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Airplay (Top 40 Adult), Alternative Airplay, Adult Alternative Airplay (Triple A), Mainstream Rock Airplay, R&B/Hip-Hop Mainstream Airplay, Rhythmic Airplay, Adult R&B Airplay, Christian AC Airplay, Gospel Airplay, Dance/Mix Show Airplay, and Smooth Jazz Airplay.
Other charts are based on audience impressions, including the All Formats Radio Songs chart, Rock & Alternative Airplay, Country Airplay, R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Rap Airplay, Latin Airplay, Regional Mexican Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, Latin Rhythm Airplay, Tropical Airplay, Christian Airplay, and the Holiday Airplay seasonal chart.
Audience charts cross-reference play data with listenership data collected by Nielsen Audio. Therefore, a song played at 4 a.m. doesn’t count as much as one played at 4 p.m., and a station with a large audience will have more influence on the chart than a station in a smaller market or one with a specialized format that attracts less viewers.
With a few exceptions, the stations monitored by Mediabase for Billboard are commercial stations.
STREAMING
Billboard ranks the week’s most-streamed songs and on-demand videos across major online music services.
While many Billboard charts are based exclusively on streaming, radio, or sales, the main chart, the Hot 100, combines all three variables.
Generally, the charts reflect sales and airplay on radio and streaming between Friday and Thursday of each week.
The print magazine hits newsstands on Saturday.
