Billboard Hot 100 8/26/17

[areyoureadytojump]

We talked about this. Labels wants to stand out from the Friday pack and also the Australia/European markets.

www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/7897888/why-thursday-is-the-new-friday-for-new-tunes

Why Thursday Is the New Friday for New Tunes
By Steve Knopper | August 10, 2017 11:37 AM EDT

Why some artists are breaking the industry's Friday-release rule: "It's a little bit less about the chart game, a little bit more about the global reach game."

Major Lazer's single "Know No Better" has racked up over 119 ­million streams on Spotify since the six-song EP of the same name was released June 1. But the EP sold only 1,000 ­copies in its first week, ­according to Nielsen Music.

The reason for the tepid start: It was released on a Thursday, an increasingly popular yet risky tactic that artists and their labels are using to maximize exposure and stand out from the Friday pack.

"It's a little bit less about the chart game, a little bit more about the global reach game," says Zack Gershen, executive vp at mTheory, a digital ­consultancy that advises Major Lazer and advocates violating the Friday-release rule.

Though Friday has been the global industry's official day for new music for the past two years, star acts are jumping the gun with increasing frequency. The strategy can help cut through the noise while ­giving the Australian, Asian and European markets more time to drive music up the global streaming charts and through social media, since Australia's Friday is well ­underway by the time New York's ­officially begins. The year's biggest hit, the Justin Bieber-assisted remix of "Despacito," arrived on a Monday.

Going early is a gamble for several reasons. First-week sales of a Thursday release appear puny (because the music has been on the market for only a sliver of the Friday-to-Friday week), while an early release that might have been No. 1 could start ­slipping on the charts by the time Friday ­competitors enter the race. Early releasers also risk ­getting overlooked by fans who are used to searching for new tunes on Fridays.

Tom Corson, president/COO of RCA Records, which recently put out Kesha's "Praying" and Miley Cyrus' "Malibu" on separate Thursdays, ­supports the ­strategy but notes that it requires a lot of extra work, and "the ­streaming services and platforms don't always like it either."

But for stars such as Sam Hunt, who released "Drinkin' Too Much" on a Sunday and "Body Like a Back Road" on a Wednesday, breaking the rule appears to be ­paying off.

"You're ­separating ­yourself from ­everything else that's ­coming out on Friday," says Hunt's manager, Brad Belanger. "Anybody can pop up big sales for one or two weeks. It's where are you at week 16 -- that's what I'm ­interested in."

[areyoureadytojump]

Aug 10, 2017 9:50:44 GMT -5 renfield75 said:

Aug 10, 2017 9:28:29 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

^I don't think any of us expected it to debut at #1.

I posted about it because the Hot 100 needs a new hit single. Everything released lately has been middling.

"Wild Thoughts" was the last Top 10 debut 7 weeks ago.

I've seen some people post that they thought it had a shot. I think there some who are just desperate for anything to knock "Despacito" out.

Radio deal:

hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=307850

The radio emphasis is naturally Pop and Hot AC, with iHeart playing the track every hour on the hour on release day. The song dropped at 5am ET, which happens to be Friday midnight in Australia.

[inverse]

Aug 9, 2017 9:14:25 GMT -5 Gary said:

Lots of longevity records being challenged in the current top 10

That's What I Like, challenging the Top 5 record held by Shape of You
Shape Of You challenging the top 10 record held by Closer/How Do I Live
Despacito challenging the weeks at #1 record held by One Sweet Day

Closer holds the top 5 record as well. Its 27 weeks for each song

[koreanjesus]

Aug 10, 2017 12:51:56 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

We talked about this. Labels wants to stand out from the Friday pack and also the Australia/European markets.

www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/7897888/why-thursday-is-the-new-friday-for-new-tunes

Why Thursday Is the New Friday for New Tunes
By Steve Knopper | August 10, 2017 11:37 AM EDT

Why some artists are breaking the industry's Friday-release rule: "It's a little bit less about the chart game, a little bit more about the global reach game."

Major Lazer's single "Know No Better" has racked up over 119 ­million streams on Spotify since the six-song EP of the same name was released June 1. But the EP sold only 1,000 ­copies in its first week, ­according to Nielsen Music.

The reason for the tepid start: It was released on a Thursday, an increasingly popular yet risky tactic that artists and their labels are using to maximize exposure and stand out from the Friday pack.

"It's a little bit less about the chart game, a little bit more about the global reach game," says Zack Gershen, executive vp at mTheory, a digital ­consultancy that advises Major Lazer and advocates violating the Friday-release rule.

Though Friday has been the global industry's official day for new music for the past two years, star acts are jumping the gun with increasing frequency. The strategy can help cut through the noise while ­giving the Australian, Asian and European markets more time to drive music up the global streaming charts and through social media, since Australia's Friday is well ­underway by the time New York's ­officially begins. The year's biggest hit, the Justin Bieber-assisted remix of "Despacito," arrived on a Monday.

Going early is a gamble for several reasons. First-week sales of a Thursday release appear puny (because the music has been on the market for only a sliver of the Friday-to-Friday week), while an early release that might have been No. 1 could start ­slipping on the charts by the time Friday ­competitors enter the race. Early releasers also risk ­getting overlooked by fans who are used to searching for new tunes on Fridays.

Tom Corson, president/COO of RCA Records, which recently put out Kesha's "Praying" and Miley Cyrus' "Malibu" on separate Thursdays, ­supports the ­strategy but notes that it requires a lot of extra work, and "the ­streaming services and platforms don't always like it either."

But for stars such as Sam Hunt, who released "Drinkin' Too Much" on a Sunday and "Body Like a Back Road" on a Wednesday, breaking the rule appears to be ­paying off.

"You're ­separating ­yourself from ­everything else that's ­coming out on Friday," says Hunt's manager, Brad Belanger. "Anybody can pop up big sales for one or two weeks. It's where are you at week 16 -- that's what I'm ­interested in."

I think it's quite dumb to ruin your sales just so that you can stand out. Why not just release saturday and only lose one day instead of six?

[areyoureadytojump]

^Labels want to make $$$. Not all care about chart position.

[imbondz]

All I care about is chart position.

[askme]

Aug 10, 2017 9:50:44 GMT -5 renfield75 said:

Aug 10, 2017 9:28:29 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

^I don't think any of us expected it to debut at #1.

I posted about it because the Hot 100 needs a new hit single. Everything released lately has been middling.

"Wild Thoughts" was the last Top 10 debut 7 weeks ago.

I've seen some people post that they thought it had a shot. I think there some who are just desperate for anything to knock "Despacito" out.

[Zach]

Aug 10, 2017 20:19:48 GMT -5 koreanjesus said:

I think it's quite dumb to ruin your sales just so that you can stand out. Why not just release saturday and only lose one day instead of six?

But makes you think releasing on a Thursday ruins sales? A song's standing out from the pack with a non-Friday release may actually help sales. Unless you mean ruin having a full 7 day sales tracking week contributing to a song's debut.

[Au$tin]

Aug 10, 2017 21:50:56 GMT -5 Zach said:

Aug 10, 2017 20:19:48 GMT -5 koreanjesus said:

I think it's quite dumb to ruin your sales just so that you can stand out. Why not just release saturday and only lose one day instead of six?

But makes you think releasing on a Thursday ruins sales? A song's standing out from the pack with a non-Friday release may actually help sales. Unless you mean ruin having a full 7 day sales tracking week contributing to a song's debut.

Yeah, in the long run, no one gives a shit if it doesn't have the best debut on the Hot 100 it can get. Labels would rather their artists have long, worthwhile success that pulls in steady streams of income rather than running the risk of getting lost in the shuffle just to stick to Billboard's chart week schedule.

[koreanjesus]

Aug 10, 2017 21:50:56 GMT -5 Zach said:

Aug 10, 2017 20:19:48 GMT -5 koreanjesus said:

I think it's quite dumb to ruin your sales just so that you can stand out. Why not just release saturday and only lose one day instead of six?

But makes you think releasing on a Thursday ruins sales? A song's standing out from the pack with a non-Friday release may actually help sales. Unless you mean ruin having a full 7 day sales tracking week contributing to a song's debut.

look how it fucked malibu

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

^Malibu's problem wasn't Digital Song Sales even if most of its sales where in its first full tracking week and it has needed to be put on sale on iTunes to continue to sell relatively well.

Digital Song Sales run: 22 - 2 - 14 - 13 - 22 - 14 - 4 - 7 - 25 - 13 - 12 - 15 - 21

It's biggest problem I'd argue were the two other component charts of the Hot 100: #27 peak in Radio Songs (not currently charting in the top 50) and #11 peak in Streaming Songs (not currently charting in the top 50).

[koreanjesus]

Aug 11, 2017 1:06:53 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

^Malibu's problem wasn't Digital Song Sales even if most of its sales where in its first full tracking week and it has needed to be put on sale on iTunes to continue to sell relatively well.

Digital Song Sales run: 22 - 2 - 14 - 13 - 22 - 14 - 4 - 7 - 25 - 13 - 12 - 15 - 21

It's biggest problem I'd argue were the two other component charts of the Hot 100: #27 peak in Radio Songs (not currently charting in the top 50) and #11 peak in Streaming Songs (not currently charting in the top 50).

It would have debuted higher than the position it eventually reached in its first real tracking week (#10), and therefore had a higher peak.

[kcdawg13]

Good news folks. Pink just released her first single from her upcoming album, "What About Us" is currently sitting at #1 on iTunes, above Despacito. How long it will stay is the real question. Pink has always done well on the charts, so I see it debuting pretty high. Too early to tell though.

Wild Thoughts has just been discounted on iTunes, and with it's huge airplay and Despacito weakening, I see it hitting #1 very soon. Most likely next week following Despacito's 14th at the top.

[Au$tin]

The interesting thing about P!nk being #1 isn't that she'll magically sell a ton a dethrone Despacito because that's out of the question. What she did do, though, is kick it out of the top spot on iTunes, meaning it's not the first song people see when they go to iTunes, and naturally, its sales will decline a little because of this (this phenomenon has happened countless times before when an older hit finally falls from that position). With Wild Thoughts getting a discount, its sales will increase. Thus, the sales gap between the two will greatly decrease, giving it a chance to maybe take the #1 spot on the Hot 100. And P!nk is playing a small part in that, which is cool.

[MilesW1998]

P!nk's lead single, Wild Thoughts getting a discount, Despacito's decline, and a potential album boost for Kesha. These could be the ingredients for Despacito's dethroning at #1. (Maybe not the Kesha bomb, but you never know, she's got a good fanbase)

[MilesW1998]

So, What About Us makes it at #1 on iTunes, and yet the original Despacito is also discounted along with Wild Thoughts. This is gonna hurt the next few weeks.

[jayhawk1117]

I'm still not sure how another song getting to number one affects the amount of sales Despacito has but alright. I'm sure Fetish getting to number one on iTunes really killed it huh? Just like 2U. Both massive flops.

Let's be real for a second, I'd love for Kesha to do some work with Rainbow but let's be real, only Praying has even made the iTunes top 10, it'll have negative impact on Despacito.

I'm not sure why "the next few weeks" is being discussed like it's got 5 or 6 weeks until 16. There's literally only 2 more Fridays. 14 weeks is locked and unless it's airplay just evaporates them 15 looks pretty good especially with the original being discounted as well keeping the sales lead pretty similar to what it was before the discounts.

The one big thing Despacito still has is discounting the version that people actually want, the remix. Right now it seems like tying the record is much more likely than breaking it.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

What About Us actually does have two listings, one at #1 and #16, currently, which surpass Despacito's two versions #2 and #25. We'll have to see whether the former can manage to take #1 in Digital Song Sales for the week. Regarding Wild Thoughts being on sale, it seems to have steadied its sales which are rising compared to almost everything else above it in iTunes, so a top 10 return for the week is probable, but the sales gap between it and Despacito's two versions will remain significant for the week.

In Radio Songs, I do think Wild Thoughts should be able to grab #1 in Radio Songs next week. This means at least two of Despacito's #1 Hot 100 components are finally in jeopardy. In Streaming Songs, though, it will surely remain #1. As mentioned above, whether it can break One Sweet Day's Hot 100 weeks at #1 record is not quite a sure thing at this point.

[Dylan :)]

Aug 11, 2017 1:38:19 GMT -5 koreanjesus said:

Aug 11, 2017 1:06:53 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

^Malibu's problem wasn't Digital Song Sales even if most of its sales where in its first full tracking week and it has needed to be put on sale on iTunes to continue to sell relatively well.

Digital Song Sales run: 22 - 2 - 14 - 13 - 22 - 14 - 4 - 7 - 25 - 13 - 12 - 15 - 21

It's biggest problem I'd argue were the two other component charts of the Hot 100: #27 peak in Radio Songs (not currently charting in the top 50) and #11 peak in Streaming Songs (not currently charting in the top 50).

It would have debuted higher than the position it eventually reached in its first real tracking week (#10), and therefore had a higher peak.

Has it been confirmed that it would have gotten more points than Stay? At least it made the top 10, it doesn't really matter whether that be #10, #9 or #8. If it was top five than I get it but top ten is still perfect. Don't get me wrong, I wish she could've gotten higher too with a Friday release, but I much prefer them not risking it. For all they knew, someone could've been planning a surprise release or a big discount. Thursday almost guarantees having the day to yourself, or at least with no one who will be a threat

[imbondz]

69 cent deal is shooting Wild Thoughts up iTunes.

[fhas]

Pandora Top Spins Chart

Bodak Yellow debuts at #34.
Bank Account debuts at #72.
Unforgettable reaches a new peak at #4.


www.nextbigsound.com/charts/top-spins

[jenglisbe]

Aug 10, 2017 12:51:56 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

Why Thursday Is the New Friday for New Tunes

So, as more and more artists release on Thursday, will Wednesday become the new Thursday? More so we may just see an increase in the random days a la Sam Hunt.

Aug 10, 2017 20:19:48 GMT -5 koreanjesus said:

I think it's quite dumb to ruin your sales just so that you can stand out. Why not just release saturday and only lose one day instead of six?

I have no data on this so it's purely my speculation, but Saturdays are tough because people aren't reading news, watching charts, downloading music, etc like during the week.

[garrettlen]

Aug 11, 2017 9:08:39 GMT -5 imbondz said:

69 cent deal is shooting Wild Thoughts up iTunes.

Desperate much?

[NeRD]

Aug 11, 2017 10:05:50 GMT -5 garrettlen said:

Aug 11, 2017 9:08:39 GMT -5 imbondz said:

69 cent deal is shooting Wild Thoughts up iTunes.

Desperate much?

Desperate how? Especially when Despacito and 5 other songs in the top 10 are discounted as well..

[jenglisbe]

Aug 11, 2017 9:08:39 GMT -5 imbondz said:

69 cent deal is shooting Wild Thoughts up iTunes.

We'll have to see where it all settles because for the moment:
Despacito - #2 and #17
Wild Thoughts - #11 and #20

In other words, in this very moment "Wild Thoughts" is still behind "Despacito" by a decent margin.

[MilesW1998]

And Despacito is behind P!nk by a decent margin as well.

[NeRD]

Aug 11, 2017 10:10:50 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Aug 11, 2017 9:08:39 GMT -5 imbondz said:

69 cent deal is shooting Wild Thoughts up iTunes.

We'll have to see where it all settles because for the moment:
Despacito - #2 and #17
Wild Thoughts - #11 and #20

In other words, in this very moment "Wild Thoughts" is still behind "Despacito" by a decent margin.

#11 and #15 for WT

[koreanjesus]

Wild thots went from 13 to 11 with discount. Gj Khaled

[CF15]

Aug 11, 2017 10:11:59 GMT -5 MilesW1998 said:

And Despacito is behind P!nk by a decent margin as well.

I hope Pink can take over at #1. I heard a snippet of it and it's quite nice. Moreover, I'm sick of seeing Justin Bieber sitting at the top, and I really would much rather he doesn't pass "Uptown Funk!" for the longest #1 of the decade. I still prefer "Wild Thoughts" over Pink's new song by a lot, though. However, it doesn't look like that one will get to #1 at this point.

[truemusicreviews]

Aug 11, 2017 4:27:06 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

 14 weeks is locked and unless it's airplay just evaporates them 15 looks pretty good

"Wild Thoughts" looks like it might leapfrog "Despacito" on airplay soon though...almost undoubtedly by next Monday (when the airplay tracking week begins).