How a Song Becomes a Number One Single in the U.S. free essay sample

It could also be a Number One on the Rock Charts, R B Charts, and so on. In the united States, there is only one legitimate barometer of success, a chart that truly encompasses all genres of USIA and determines which truly is the number one song in the country, and that is the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But how is a song able to reach the pinnacle of the chart? Billboard uses several factors to determine the position of each song on the chart and Is updated weekly.Digital downloads, radio airplay, streaming points, single sales, and Youth views all determine the position of each song on the chart, and the combination of all these data defines what is truly a number one smash single or hit song. Many have managed to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the fifty plus years nice the existence of it. The chart was first introduced in August 1958, and like many things since then, has evolved over time. We will write a custom essay sample on How a Song Becomes a Number One Single in the U.S. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Obviously there was no digital downloading until the new millennium began. ND even then, downloading music through Tunes and other similar services did not become truly popular until the latter half of the past decade, from 2005 and after. Also, the music industry has drastically changed, even from Just ten years ago, so naturally the manner in which a song goes to number one today will not be the same process as it was back in say 1998, 1983, 966, or 1958. Having said that, lets get on with how exactly a song goes on to become such a huge hit In modern times.First off, the point of releasing a single Is to promote an artist, their work, their album, and to bring in money to the record companies. Contrary to popular belief, artists do not get their money from their album or single sales. Record companies keep a huge amount of the money that is made from single sales, whether it be physical or digital sales. Therefore, it is in the record companies best interests to milk a single for all its worth. First of all, the company releases a single to radio stations, this Is done largely through payola. Payola means that record companies pay radio stations to play a song or single. Usually a single, particularly from a popular or major artist, is first released to the most prestigious radio stations in the country, most likely to be found in the major cities such as LA, New York, or Chicago. Examples include SKIS FM or AMP Radio In L. A. Or ZOO in New York. After these big radio stations put the single Into rotation, soon other radio stations follow up by putting the song on rotation a song re the songs that get played most constantly, sometimes it feels that is the only song stations play.As soon as the song gets put into rotation, its radio airplay begins to build over time. This airplay is thus tracked and compiled into the songs data points. Rhea more airplay a song gathers, the more points it tabulates, and the higher its position on the chart will be. At the same time, a record company also must meet demand for the single. Audiences will want to be able to hear the song whenever they want, and record companies are more than willing to provide this service. Before, record companies leased singles physically, through cassette tapes, vinyl, or CDC.But since we are in the digital era, singles are now mostly released digitally, through tunes, Amazon MPH, and other similar services. When a record company first releases a single digitally, many will rush to buy the song as soon as they can. After the initial rush of buyers, the single will taper off in sales a bit, but after more have listened to the song, and more have liked the song, more will want the song, thus more will purchase the song. Once again the song will begin piling up downloads week after week, animal to how its radio play will be increasing week after week simultaneously.Although it seems that these two factors would be more than enough to constitute a chart, Billboard wants to make sure that their chart is as accurate as possible in determining the most popular songs in the country, so they have recently added streaming points into their system. Services such as Spottily, Namespace Music, Greenshank, Pandora, and others are used by millions of people in the country, so to exclude streaming would be to exclude a massive portion of the country that listens o music through this medium.Songs that get streamed the most add points to their chart positions. The most popular songs, the songs that are most pla yed on the radio, that have the highest download sales, also tend to be the ones that are streamed the most. Streaming adds to a songs position on the charts. Lust one final piece of data is needed to determine a songs position on the charts. And that is Youth views. This way of analyzing a songs popularity is brand new, it Nas Just introduced in February of this year, but in the digital age, to not include tube views would be all but foolish.After all, recent songs that attained massive success such as Harlem Shake, Gasman Style, or Call Me, Maybe got their start on Youth. As songs grow in popularity from being heard on the radio, being streamed constantly, and being bought in the hundreds of thousands through downloads, many also expect to see a music video to accompany the song. The idea of the music video is a rather somewhat new concept, having only really taken off in the early to mid asses due to the advent and rise of MET. Nowadays, it is a must for very single to be accompanied with a music video. It is another way in which a record company promotes the song, the album, the artist, and maximizes profit. The more views a song gets, the higher its position is on the chart. All in all, Billboard Hot 100 adds up all the points gathered up by each song on the streaming, and the most Youth views for the week is the song that will be at the top of the chart for the week. Just take a look at the chart for this week, which was lust updated today. The number one song in the country as of today is Mackerel Ryan Lewis Cant Hold Us.The song is in its third week at number one, so its momentum is slowing down, although still rising, but is starting to taper off, as is common with most singles that go on to chart on the Hot 100. Cant Hold Us is the most downloaded single of the past week, with 212,000. It is number 2 on the streaming services chart, and is the third most played song in the country, with 127 million audience impressions. The rest of the songs on the chart follow a very similar pattern. In the end, all of these factors add up to determine the biggest hit in the entire nation.