Hot 100 Celebrates 20 Years of Nielsen Data

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/billboard-hot-100-celebrates-20-years-of-1005585152.story

Billboard Hot 100 Celebrates 20 Years of Nielsen Data
November 30, 2011
By Gary Trust, New York

"THE LONG-AWAITED DAY HAS ARRIVED," read the headline in the "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight" column in the Billboard issue dated Nov. 30, 1991.

Twenty years ago today, the Billboard Hot 100 transformed from a chart combining ranked airplay and sales reports submitted by radio stations and retailers, respectively, to one based on electronically-monitored airplay by Nielsen BDS and piece counts of singles sales according to Nielsen SoundScan. (Playlists submitted by small-market radio stations continued to contribute to the chart for a time).

Wrote then-Billboard director of charts Michael Ellis, "For the first time, the music industry has a singles chart based on actual radio airplay and actual number of singles sold."

The Hot 100 continued Billboard's evolution to a chart menu based on BDS and/or SoundScan information. Country Songs had converted to BDS data for the chart week of Jan. 20, 1990, and the Billboard 200 segued to SoundScan-powered figures on May 25, 1991. R&B/Hip-Hop Songs adopted Nielsen data the week of Dec. 5, 1992.

Today, streaming activity data provided by online music sources also factors into the weekly Hot 100 formula. The chart's radio panel has expanded from 122 pop stations 20 years ago to more than 1,200 stations across all formats and digital downloads have usurped cassette and CD singles as consumers' configuration of choice.

P.M. Dawn led the first revamped Hot 100 with "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss," which rose 3-1. Rounding out the top five 20 years ago this week were Michael Bolton's "When a Man Loves a Woman" at No. 2; Michael Jackson's "Black or White" at No. 3; Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" at No. 4; and, Prince's "Cream" at No. 5.

[HolidayGuy]

Some other airplay highlights since November 1991:
* Billboard used non-BDS-monitored stations for the small-market airplay chart (compiled in the same manner as Hot 100 airplay had been prior to 11/30/91), which often made a difference in rankings when points were close. The number of stations dwindled through the years as more stations were added to the Hot 100 Airplay panel. Such small-market airplay no longer exists (as far as I know).
* Billboard debuts Top 40/Mainstream and Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover charts in September 1992
* Billboard adds AC and Modern rock stations to the Hot 100 Airplay panel circa summer 1993
* Billboard debuts the Adult Top 40 chart in early 1996 (though non-printed charts from fall 1995 to that time are viewable in the Billboard Biz archives)
* Billboard adds all other formats to the Hot 100 Airplay panel in December 1998

[jebsib]

Man, I remember this like it was yesterday. And we all freaked at the time.

* Gee, the chart is so slow suddenly
* What, Songs regularly spending more than 4 weeks at #1?!?
* What's a Recurrent, and why are songs being pulled off the Hot 100 chart after 20 weeks?
* After 21 years, American Top 40 no longer uses the Hot 100? What would Casey say?!?
* OMG! Did Michael Jackson just jump from #35 - #3? How is THAT possible?
* What's with all these hip hop songs near the top?
* Wait-a-sec: Did that song just lose its bullet and fall and then go back UP the chart again??

Lots to get used to.

[renfield75]

Dec 1, 2011 16:15:15 GMT -5 jebsib said:

Man, I remember this like it was yesterday. And we all freaked at the time.

* Gee, the chart is so slow suddenly
* What, Songs regularly spending more than 4 weeks at #1?!?
* What's a Recurrent, and why are songs being pulled off the Hot 100 chart after 20 weeks?
* After 21 years, American Top 40 no longer uses the Hot 100? What would Casey say?!?
* OMG! Did Michael Jackson just jump from #35 - #3? How is THAT possible?
* What's with all these hip hop songs near the top?
* Wait-a-sec: Did that song just lose its bullet and fall and then go back UP the chart again??

Lots to get used to.

Ha ha ha ahhh, the memories. I remember being so confused that week. "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" only spent one week at number one, but the Hot 100 is showing three? Michael Jackson was actually number 19 last week? What?

And then there were the songs that benefitted from the change not coming a week earlier: Curtis Stigers and Guns'N'Roses (with "Don't Cry") would not have landed top ten singles. Michael Bolton would not have landed a number one (nor possibly Prince either).

Then there was poor Nia Peeples, who was at number 12 with "Street of Dreams" and clearly ready to bound into the top ten the following week. Then it turns out she was actually only at number 20 and losing steam. One more week of the old system and she would almost certainly have gotten her only top ten hit.

It was confusing but exciting. And while I miss the more conventional chart runs of the old days, I'm glad the Hot 100 is more accurate now.

[renfield75]

Dec 1, 2011 16:15:15 GMT -5 jebsib said:

* Wait-a-sec: Did that song just lose its bullet and fall and then go back UP the chart again??

Lots to get used to.

Oh, and to your last point: I was baffled by that too. I started watching the charts around Christmas of '89, and turn-arounds were incredibly rare. I recall Linear's "Sending All My Love," Faith No More's "Epic," After 7's "Can't Stop," and Prince's "Gett Off" being some of the only songs to do it during those 2 years. When the Geto Boys and Digital Underground (with "Kiss You Back") dropped, then suddenly made huge surges, only to fall again the next week, I had no idea what was going on. How could a song fall 10 spots, then be awarded Greatest Gainer and move back up 15 spots??? That wasn't how the charts worked! It took me awhile to get used to the way the Hot 100 operated in this scary new world lol

[jebsib]

Absolutely! Then there was the Power Pick or (as it is now called) Greatest Gainer award. Back in the day, the Airplay GG was an absolute guarantee that the song would go top 5, and probably top 3. Sales GG were a little less trustworthy, but still a pretty good hit indicator.

Fast forward to the BDS era when Gloria Estefan's "Live for Loving You" Power Pick can't even get top 20, and the Geto Boys win the award the week they peak at #23?!? It was just bizarre at the time.

Couldn't agree more that I miss the conventional old days, but appreciate the new accuracy.

[HolidayGuy]

As a charts fan, definitely was an intriguing time, Looking at the previous week's chart, seeing what was new on the 11/30/91 chart and what appeared on the 11/23 test chart and not the 11/23 published chart, etc. etc. Of course, we had another round of that in December 1998, with airplay-only tracks being tossed into the mix.

[divasummer]

I have been reading Billboard since 1987. I was 10 yeard old.
I don't know what made me pick it up. Mabey I had the word before and knew it ment sale charts.
I was looking specificly for Dinner With Gershwin by Donna Summer.
Anyways,
I was happy when Billboard started using soundscan and all stations were used for the hot 100.
I always knew certain songs and albums were more popular than portrayed for that week on the charts.
I always thought most album and songs usually sold better during it's first week than it's second etc.
I was happy with the change.

[areyoureadytojump]

The first issue of Billboard I bought was the August 6, 1983 issue. Madonna's debut album debuted on the Billboard 200 that week.

I've been following Billboard weekly since!!

[Push The Button]

I'm definitely a "young un" compared to you guys - been following Billboard since 1997. I was 12 years old and the Spice Girls SpiceWorld logo was on the cover.

EDIT: It's amazing what you can find on Google - books.google.com/books?id=7QkEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Hot AC Archiver]

This ended my love for the Hot 100, as it no longer represented the music I listened to. The old Hot 100 better reflected what I was hearing on the radio. This drove me to continue to follow Radio & Records and stay with them until Billboard bought them out.

Later on I respected how the Hot 100 really was more accurate, especially when they incorporated airplay singles and airplay among all formats. I still don't follow it though, as I'm nowhere "hip" enough to even know what a lot of the songs even are on the chart.

[areyoureadytojump]

^Exactly. This date was the day part of my childhood died.

I haven't followed the Hot 100 in years.

[jebsib]

It was always interesting to me how the music scene changed after this date. The '80s really "died" within the next year, what with the grunge and gangsta sound taking over, and the almost complete extinction (temporarily) of mainstream top 40. It is as if the new Hot 100 came at the perfect time, whether one liked it or not.

I used to enjoy looking over the R&R CHR charts between 1992 and 1994 and seeing where my favorite pop songs 'might' have peaked if Billboard never messed with the Hot 100.

[renfield75]

It is unbelievable how immediate and profound the change was. Some of the biggest stars of that era saw their chart careers all but end. Consider that, after 1992, Paula Abdul, Roxette, Wilson Phillips, Bobby Brown (outside of New Edition reunions), Taylor Dayne, NKOTB, Phil Collins, Karyn White, INXS, Cathy Dennis, and Amy Grant would never again see the top ten.

All pop careers cool, and most of those artists were not exactly future Rock Hall of Famers, but it was amazing how rapidly and completely the pop landscape changed.

[jebsib]

Yeah, 1993 - 1997 was a really dicey time for the Hot 100 content-wise. The music industry - from the labels to radio - were in unchartered territory, and the new Hot 100 reflected that. Add to that the repression or even lack of commercially available singles, and it all added up to be a big mess.

One of the things that was hardest for me at first to grasp were the seemingly inaccurate peak positions. Used to be if Richard Marx got to #3, it 'felt' like that was correct. But when ubiquitously played songs by Melissa Etheridge and the Gin Blossoms couldn't even get above #20, and yet oddball hip-hop songs - very few of which even became later classics - were clogging the top 15, I felt like something was just off.

[Verisimilitude]

Dec 2, 2011 21:00:25 GMT -5 jebsib said:

One of the things that was hardest for me at first to grasp were the seemingly inaccurate peak positions. Used to be if Richard Marx got to #3, it 'felt' like that was correct. But when ubiquitously played songs by Melissa Etheridge and the Gin Blossoms couldn't even get above #20, and yet oddball hip-hop songs - very few of which even became later classics - were clogging the top 15, I felt like something was just off.

Mainly because Urban / Hip Hop Singles from '92 onwards became the top selling genre of the singles market, even more than pop. Here were Soundscan's top selling singles of '93:

[jebsib]

Re: Enormous singles sales for urban: Yes, that's totally it. In fact, rock (and country) singles were such weak sellers that those are the genres that the labels cut out first, leading to the infamous airplay-only era.

Plus, Top 40 mainstream sort of lost its way while Rhythmic radio exploded to take its place (as did modern rock). No, everything made sense... it just didn't make it any less jarring at the time.

[Deleted]

Even though the conversion to SoundScan happened 7 months before I was born, I find this time period interesting to look at. Makes me kind of wish I was arround when it actually happened. I love going through the charts that chart my lifetime. The first BillBoard chart I saw was the 2005 Year End Hot 100. And I remember looking up some of the Hot 100's in early 06 (mostly when Check on It and Bad Day were #1) But it wasn't til Feb 09 that I really looked at the Hot 100 again. It was the week when "Crack a Bottle" hit #1 after some 70 point jump. A song I never heard of making an enormous jump to #1 seemed so odd to me. And then the same thing happened the following week with "Right Round" flying 50-something to #1. That, along with "Just Dance" being so high up (as JD was huge in Canada back in late summer 08; had no idea it was so delayed in the US) made me wonder why the Hot 100 was so weird. Then I learned how it was complied and I started looking at archive charts. Then shortly began the 26 glorious weeks of the Black Eyed Peas. That was a fun time


But anyway, my thoughts on the 90's Hot 100:

I think if the Hot 100 Airplay had incoperated all genres (most significantly R&B/ Hip Hop) right from the get go, it wouldn't have looked so wonky. Especially from the period of 95-98, when CHR was done playing Mariah and Boyz II Men songs to death and went into a more Pop-Rock route (No Doubt, Matchbox 20, Smash Mouth, Natalie Imbruglia, Third Eye Blind, The Cardigans, Green Day, etc). And the new Pop-Rock stuff they were playing just so happened to be the singles labels didn't want to release.. Can't really blame Billboard as it was an age old policy and the idea of NOT releasing singles was almost completely unheard of before '95. I just wish BB had changed the rule much sooner, but better late than never I suppose.

Another problem BB couldn't see coming was the division of US radio into different genres, and how large their respective audiences would become. There was no way those 80's pop artists were going to survive in the new era, except for a few: Whitney, Mariah and Janet went an R&B route. Bryan Adams kept doing movie soundtracks and taking an AC-ish route. Madonna kept doing what she did best- adapting to changes in the musical environment. The rest were toast.

About the division of radio, it was like the new generation of music listeners only wanted to listen to just one genre and so they split off into different groups based on what genre they liked. The problem: only one of those groups bothered to buy physical singles (the R&B/ Hip Hop fans) and the other group only really bought albums (Grunge/ Modern Rock fans; AC and Country fans did this too). Of course, this was going to make the Hot 100 biased and alienate non R&B/ Hip Hop fans.

And then labels went nuts with chart manipulation. Like, "let's wait 6-8 weeks, when airplay is nice and high to build demand, ship out 500k copies, and bam easy #1. Who cares if they sell out in a month, at least we got a nice peak and it won't eat into album sales!" Fast forward to 1999 and they do that to teen pop acts (aka singles artists), forcing people to buy albums when all they want is the singles.. yeah that worked out real well in the end didn't it I can see why people got fed up and flocked to Napster. I would too if I had to wait 2 months to get just the single itself, if it even came out at all...

This is why I use CHR charts from the 90's to find those lost songs from childhood. Ironic, Torn, Iris, 3 AM, Love Fool, Tub thumping- I remember hearing them all the time. They could've all been #1's under different cicumstances. But it was what it was.

[renfield75]

Love seeing your perspective ry4n. It's interesting to see how people born in the Soundscan era view the one that came before. I also like that you can appreciate older eras. I hate when people of ANY generation have no respect for what happened before their time, or dismiss everything that comes from younger generations. It's all interesting to me.

We should do a "when did you discover Billboard" thread. Not sure what forum it should go in, but I would love to see who has watched the charts longer than me, who is from my era, and who came up in the 21st century.

[areyoureadytojump]

^The first issue of Billboard I bought was the August 6, 1983 issue.

[HolidayGuy]

The year 1993 wasn't so bad (four new airplay-chart-only hits made the airplay top 40), but that number reached 16 in 1994, 25 in 1995, 32 in 1996, 27 in 1997 and 25 in 1998 (not to mention the loads of airplay-only tracks peaking in the 41-75 range on Hot 100 Airplay). There were even more notable airplay-only hits in 1998, but they eventually charted on the Hot 100 with the change, in positions not reflecting their airplay success (i.e. "Torn").

Withholding CD singles did do wonders for teen pop acts' album sales during that few years stretch, but once the iTunes era arrived and really took off, album sales started their annual declines.

[jebsib]

ry4n, for someone that just started following the Hot 100 in '05, you have an incredibly good grasp of how things were and how BB struggled to keep up in the 1990s!

I agree with renfield75: It is silly to dismiss another generation's music wholesale. There's good and bad in every era... It is amazing to me how frequently you hear people (on YouTube or in life) grumble so passionately about how "music sucks now" or "I can't believe they are passing X off as music now." Chances are the stuff you loved, that was so great (and that reminds you of good, carefree times in your youth) was also disliked at the time by the older generations. It's almost a territorial thing.

My first Billboard was in Aug 1981.

[ƒony (Les taches faibles™)]

The Hot 100 was a "weird beast" prior to this change. Looking at the Hot 100 from Oct. 12, 1991, the Top 10 looks like this:

HHP | SP | AP |
01 | 10 | 02 | EMOTIONS, Mariah Carey
02 | 02 | 08 | GOOD VIBRATIONS, Marky Mark & The Funkybunch
03 | 11 | 04 | DO ANYTHING, Natural Selection
04 | 05 | 01 | I ADORE MI AMOR, Color Me Badd
05 | 36 | 06 | ROMANTIC, Karyn White
06 | 17 | 22 | SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, Bonnie Raitt
07 | 20 | 09 | HOLE HEARTED, Extreme
08 | 08 | 11 | LOVE OF A LIFETIME, Firehouse
09 | 03 | 03 | MOTOWNPHILLY, Boyz II Men
10 | 67 | 25 | EVERYBODY PLAYS THE FOOL, Aaron Neville

From these positions we gather that the Hot 100 ranking seem kinda random. There's no doubt about airplay being favored. BUT... Color Me Badd is above Mariah Carey in both sales and airplay, and is ranked #4 in the combined chart.
The #1 in sales is "Everything I Do" by Bryan Adams. This song is also #5 in airplay, but is ranked #24 on the Hot 100.


HHP = Hot 100 Position
SP = Sales Chart Position
AP = Top 40 Airplay Position

[imbondz]

Dec 1, 2011 17:36:30 GMT -5 renfield75 said:

Dec 1, 2011 16:15:15 GMT -5 jebsib said:

Man, I remember this like it was yesterday. And we all freaked at the time.

* Gee, the chart is so slow suddenly
* What, Songs regularly spending more than 4 weeks at #1?!?
* What's a Recurrent, and why are songs being pulled off the Hot 100 chart after 20 weeks?
* After 21 years, American Top 40 no longer uses the Hot 100? What would Casey say?!?
* OMG! Did Michael Jackson just jump from #35 - #3? How is THAT possible?
* What's with all these hip hop songs near the top?
* Wait-a-sec: Did that song just lose its bullet and fall and then go back UP the chart again??

Lots to get used to.

Ha ha ha ahhh, the memories. I remember being so confused that week. "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" only spent one week at number one, but the Hot 100 is showing three? Michael Jackson was actually number 19 last week? What?

And then there were the songs that benefitted from the change not coming a week earlier: Curtis Stigers and Guns'N'Roses (with "Don't Cry") would not have landed top ten singles. Michael Bolton would not have landed a number one (nor possibly Prince either).

Then there was poor Nia Peeples, who was at number 12 with "Street of Dreams" and clearly ready to bound into the top ten the following week. Then it turns out she was actually only at number 20 and losing steam. One more week of the old system and she would almost certainly have gotten her only top ten hit.

It was confusing but exciting. And while I miss the more conventional chart runs of the old days, I'm glad the Hot 100 is more accurate now.

lol. I remember being so confused too w/ Set Adrift already having 3 weeks at #1.

[renfield75]

Dec 6, 2011 20:26:00 GMT -5 ƒony (Les taches faibles™) said:

The Hot 100 was a "weird beast" prior to this change. Looking at the Hot 100 from Oct. 12, 1991, the Top 10 looks like this:

HHP | SP | AP |
01 | 10 | 02 | EMOTIONS, Mariah Carey
02 | 02 | 08 | GOOD VIBRATIONS, Marky Mark & The Funkybunch
03 | 11 | 04 | DO ANYTHING, Natural Selection
04 | 05 | 01 | I ADORE MI AMOR, Color Me Badd
05 | 36 | 06 | ROMANTIC, Karyn White
06 | 17 | 22 | SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, Bonnie Raitt
07 | 20 | 09 | HOLE HEARTED, Extreme
08 | 08 | 11 | LOVE OF A LIFETIME, Firehouse
09 | 03 | 03 | MOTOWNPHILLY, Boyz II Men
10 | 67 | 25 | EVERYBODY PLAYS THE FOOL, Aaron Neville

From these positions we gather that the Hot 100 ranking seem kinda random. There's no doubt about airplay being favored. BUT... Color Me Badd is above Mariah Carey in both sales and airplay, and is ranked #4 in the combined chart.
The #1 in sales is "Everything I Do" by Bryan Adams. This song is also #5 in airplay, but is ranked #24 on the Hot 100.


HHP = Hot 100 Position
SP = Sales Chart Position
AP = Top 40 Airplay Position

This used to confuse me too; it turns out the Sales and Airplay charts published at that time (i.e., most of 1991) were the Soundscan/BDS charts that would be used for the revamped Hot 100. The older method, which was still used at that time to compile the Hot 100, wasn't published. That's why Paula Abdul's "Promise Of A New Day" reached #1 while appearing to peak on the component charts at nos. 5 and 25 (airplay and sales, respectively). So those sales and airplay charts aren't really reflective of the Hot 100 Billboard published until November 30, 1991.

[renfield75]

Dec 3, 2011 10:47:24 GMT -5 jebsib said:

ry4n, for someone that just started following the Hot 100 in '05, you have an incredibly good grasp of how things were and how BB struggled to keep up in the 1990s!

I agree with renfield75: It is silly to dismiss another generation's music wholesale. There's good and bad in every era... It is amazing to me how frequently you hear people (on YouTube or in life) grumble so passionately about how "music sucks now" or "I can't believe they are passing X off as music now." Chances are the stuff you loved, that was so great (and that reminds you of good, carefree times in your youth) was also disliked at the time by the older generations. It's almost a territorial thing.

My first Billboard was in Aug 1981.

So true...for example, so many people think the 60s were the best and just the Beatles and Motown and Dylan and the Doors etc. But it was also the era of the Archies, Tommy Roe, "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!!," "Winchester Cathedral" etc. Not that I don't like some of those songs, I'm just saying there is good and bad to every generation's music. And while Rihanna and Katy Perry may not be the most ground-breaking artists ever, I enjoy their brand of catchy pop. Everything has to be taken on its own merits, and just because it's not your generation's music doesn't mean it has no value. New songs are not always derivative trash and older songs are not always boring and outdated. Enjoy it all!

[Deleted]

If BillBoard had been using SoundScan data from May 25/91 (when they first starting publishing SoundScan sales data), it's pretty safe to assume the following would not have gone #1 (from looking at sales/ airplay rankings) :

I Don't Wanna Cry- Mariah Carey
Unbelieveable- EMF
Promise of a New Day- Paula Abdul
Good Vibrations- Marky Mark
Romantic- Karyn White
Cream- Prince
When a Man Loves a Woman- Michael Bolton

These 2 had stiff competition and would've been a real toss up:
More Than Words- Extreme (close with Rush Rush)
I Adore Mi Amor- Color Me Badd (close with Everything I Do)

The most obvious non #1-- Promise of a New Day-- it went #1 in a week where Bryan was still #1 in both sales AND airplay.

Baby Baby, Rush Rush, Everything I Do and Emotions would've had more weeks at #1 instead.

And "I Wanna Sex You Up" would've likely taken #1 for 3-4 weeks, as it was Top 3 in sales and airplay for many weeks..

[RadioKaKa]

OMG, thanx for intro to the evolution of Hot 100

[lugus15]

Personally I dislike the change (and I started chart watching in 2001; 2001-2005 were really awful, static years for the Hot 100).

I look back and I would have loved to have been a chart watcher in 1987-1991. Almost a different #1 every week. It must have been exciting.

[jebsib]

May 24, 2012 8:04:37 GMT -5 lugus15 said:

I look back and I would have loved to have been a chart watcher in 1987-1991. Almost a different #1 every week. It must have been exciting.

Yeah, despite the charts operating in a pattern with no ups & downs and very few weeks at #1, the charts were never boring. Hits were in & out and then on to the next single. No agonizing 20 weeks in the top 10...