Tag: Charts

Billboard 200 Chart Will Now Factor in Streaming, Downloads

The Billboard 200, the decades-old standard for measuring the top albums in the country, is going to begin acknowledging that people use the internet to listen to music these days.

According to a report in the New York Times, in a couple weeks Billboard will unveil a new top 200 albums chart covering November 30 to December 4. This chart will, for the first time, include data from streaming and downloads – meaning services like Spotify, Beats Music, and Google Play will now help determine which artists take the top spots on a weekly basis.

Years ago, Billboard began looking at online data when compiling its Hot 100 chart and last year they even began taking YouTube views into account. But the Hot 100 measures individual songs and the Billboard 200 measures albums. It’s tricker to use data from, let’s say Spotify, to measure the success of an album – than it is to measure the success of a single track.

Post by Billboard.

Apparently, Billboard has decided on a formula. From the NYT:

SoundScan and Billboard will count 1,500 song streams from services like Spotify, Beats Music, Rdio, Rhapsody and Google Play as equivalent to an album sale. For the first time, they will also count “track equivalent albums” — a common industry yardstick of 10 downloads of individual tracks — as part of the formula for album rankings on the Billboard 200.

Sounds interesting, if not a bit arbitrary. I wonder how Taylor Swift feels about all of this?

Image via Billboard.com

November 20, 2014
Robin Thicke Hits #1 on the U.K. Singles Charts [VIDEO]

An American singer named Robin Thicke has rocketed to the top of the U.K. singles charts. Thicke’s single “Blurred Lines” is now at #1 on the Official Charts Company’s top 10 singles chart.

The company has stated that “Blurred Lines” has also broken this year’s record for fastest-selling single. The song sold 190,000 copies during its first week out, beating Naughty Boy’s “La La La,” which is currently at #2.

“It is an honour and a pleasure to be Number 1 in the UK,” said Robin. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, and I am so grateful to all the people who made this dream come true. Thank you!”

Thicke’s music video for “Blurred Lines,” which debuted on March 20, now has over 34 million YouTube views. The video features Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell Williams dancing with scantily-clad women. Williams also appears in the current #3-ranked single, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”

June 3, 2013
Spotify Launches Embeddable Charts for Top Tracks

In a bid to expand its presence across the web, streaming music service Spotify has just launched Spotify Charts, which allow sites to embed clickable lists of the top tracks across the network.

The charts, which will update every Monday, feature both the top 50 most-streamed tracks of the week and the top 50 most-shared tracks of the week. They’re called the “Spotify 50” and the “Social 50,” respectively.

“What’s so powerful about the streaming charts is they let you hear what people are really listening to, right now, and not just what they’re buying,” says content head Steve Savoca.

The widget, which is available here at charts.spotify.com, is customizable based on country and can be cycled back to reveal the top 50 tracks for the previous 4 weeks. Last month, Spotify expanded into Mexico and other parts of Asia and Europe, bringing the total countries under the umbrella to 28.

Here’s what the widget looks like. Notice the new global play counts, which will also appear on the desktop app.

Non-signed-in users will be able to browse the top tracks, but will have to log-in to their accounts in order to listen. It’s a great new way for Spotify to get more attention, and a cool way for music lovers to see what their country is currently obsessed with. This week in the U.S., it’s Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us,” Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive.”

In March, Spotify announced that they currently have 6 million piad subscribers out of a total 24 million users. Earlier this month, Spotify bought music discovery app Tunigo.

May 21, 2013
Billboard’s Hot 100 Now Takes Into Account YouTube Views

The Billboard Hot 100 chart, a longstanding signifier of what’s popular in pop music, has received a retooling for the modern age.

Starting now, YouTube views are now an official metric in determining what songs hit the Hot 100 chart.

“Billboard is now incorporating all official videos on YouTube captured by Nielsen’s streaming measurement, including Vevo on YouTube, and user-generated clips that utilize authorized audio into the Hot 100 and the Hot 100 formula-based genre charts – Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, R&B Songs, Rap Songs, Hot Latin Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Dance/Electronic Songs – to further reflect the divergent platforms for music consumption in today’s world,” says Billboard.

That means that what you’re seeing on the Hot 100 chart is now based on digital sales, physical sales, radio play, internet streaming, and now YouTube views.

The consequences of this decision are immediately apparent, as the Billboard Hot 100 chart’s number one song is now Baauer’s “Harlem Shake.” The new trove of YouTube streaming data drove “Harlem Shake” to the #1 spot on the list in its debut week.

Billboard notes that the new YouTube data had an impact on other songs like “Gangnam Style” jumping from # 48 to #26 and Rihanna’s “Stay” making the leap from #57 to #3.

“This announcement marks a big step in accurately reflecting how music lovers are finding their new favorite songs. we hope this news will excite our users, who have helped us discover some of the biggest stars and songs of the past seven years,” says YouTube.

February 21, 2013
Internet Explorer Use and Murder Rates Have an Interesting Relationship

Correlation (n.) – the state or relation of being correlated; specifically : a relation existing between phenomena or things or between mathematical or statistical variables which tend to vary, be associated, or occur together in a way not expected on the basis of chance alone (Merriam-Webster)

Causation (n.) – a.) the act or process of causing b.) the act or agency which produces an effect (Merriam-Webster)

You decide.

(image)

[Altonncf via ILoveCharts, Tumblr]
[Lead Image source]

January 22, 2013
A Collection of Social Media Flowcharts

What’s the best way to deal with social media interactions, especially from a service point of view? Are there a set of rules to follow when dealing with an unsatisfied response and/or comment if it’s directed at a company or institution that serve thousands or possibly millions? No, but having a guideline can always help, something like a list of directions or an illustrated road map of suggestions.

Take, for instance, the social media flowcharts pointed out by the LiBeck Integrated Marketing blog. Essentially, these charts provide step-by-step instructions on dealing with social media response to a number of well known entities. Institutions like the United States Air Force, Ohio State and Dell, all of which are incredibly large entities — especially the USAF and Dell. These charts were first pointed out by Charlene Li, and the LiBeck post is based on follow-up research.

The chart leading this post in an example of the format used by most of these groups, for lack of a better word. There are instructions on how to deal with both praise and comments that would be considered less than complimentary. Some suggestions call for simple monitoring, while other recommend correction if necessary. An example of the Air Force’s chart:

The post also provides a link to the USAF’s PDF on various response scenarios. Most of the institutional flowcharts are based off of the generic model in the lead image, although the wording is obviously changed to me more personalized.

The LiBeck post has examples of quite a few of these charts from many different organizations, including Pfizer-Canada, the YMCA of Metro Chicago, and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and they all do look useful, if not stocked with common sense scenarios. However, we all realize the nature of social media, and there are far too many examples to illustrate just how volatile it can be. Hence the existence of these charts.

With that in mind, would you consider using one for your company, institution, or other organization — or, use it to guide your own personal social media use?

July 22, 2011