Billboard Hot 100: 12/14/2019

[weirdo]

Dec 10, 2019 12:17:54 GMT -5 Naos said:

Dec 10, 2019 11:55:15 GMT -5 weirdo said:

I think next week's deopouts will be Baby, How Do You Sleep?, I Don't Care, Graveyard & Talk

"Graveyard" hasn't had 20 weeks yet. "Time" will drop out though.

Oh. Well Graveyard will go recureent wben jt does hit 20 weeks. As you said Time will fall out. Im wondering how much longer On Chill can hold on. It may go the way of Talk or Sucker but i feel like its decline through December has been slower then others. I think it could survive the Christmas stoem

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2019 11:12:09 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Dec 10, 2019 10:02:11 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Record labels are the Republicans of the music industry; when has fairness ever been their concern?

You keep saying record labels wouldn’t want Christmas songs charting but do they not have a stake in this too? Mariah may not be with Sony/Columbia anymore but surely the benefit of AIWFCIY returning year after year isn’t only to her. This is money in the bank for Sony too, isn’t it? The only exception I can see you have a point might be the really old songs from now-defunct labels but even then, there must be something on that end receiving those cheques for digital streams and sales. I just don’t get why labels would be against this when it’s such easy money.

Sony's revenue is still there for AIWFCIY, regardless of chart placement. I'm sure they would prefer to have their current hits by their current artists reaching new peaks over old holiday catalog hits that will make money anyway. That's the whole point of the Hot 100: a marketing tool to help maximize exposure - and acquire bragging rights - for current hits by current artists. If that weren't the case, there would be no recurrency rules at all and we'd have a (very accurate) mess of a Hot 100 year round.  As we know, recurrency and other rule changes exist to try and keep the chart from being occupied by yesterday's hits that linger (or in this case, return) endlessly. Labels need to move on from one single to the next. A song that remains on the chart for 52 weeks isn't making any more money for them than if it had gone recurrent at 20 weeks. Plus, a song lasting a year on the chart isn't exactly a selling point, either. By that time, it's already been sold. It's an achievement worthy of social media mention, perhaps, but it's not a revenue tool at that point. 

These same old holiday hits that chart nearly every year do so pretty much on their own. They're on curated playlists, but mostly because they're established and in-demand perennial classics that people want to hear, not because there's a label push. And to that point, I'd venture to guess that most of these holiday songs aren't even being individually played on-demand, they are all on said playlists (radio and streaming) that go from one song to the next, over and over. 

A label's focus - when it comes to singles - is always on enhancing current acts' resumés, and also who they're trying to break next, and the Hot 100 is a tool that helps them with these things.  If the chart is clogged up with older and/or just plain old stuff, even just for a few weeks, it messes with (or could even sabotage) the chart momentum and/or peaks of the current songs they are actively spending money on to promote.

[tanooki]

Billie Eilish Returns to No. 1 on Artist 100 for Sixth Week on Top
12/10/2019 by Xander Zellner
www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8545875/billie-eilish-returns-no-1-artist-100-chart

She reigns thanks to two albums on the Billboard 200 and three songs on the Hot 100.
Billie Eilish rises 2-1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Dec. 14) to become the top musical act in the U.S. for a sixth total week.

The singer-songwriter returns to the summit thanks to her album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which stands at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 (after ruling for three weeks beginning in April) with 50,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week, according to Nielsen Music. Plus, 2017's Don't Smile at Me ranks at No. 29 (19,000 units).


Eilish also charts a trio of songs on the Billboard Hot 100: "Bad Guy," at No. 21 (after spending a week at No. 1 in August); "Everything I Wanted," at No. 25; and "All the Good Girls Go to Hell," at No. 79.


The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Plus, The Weeknd surges 43-3 on the Artist 100 as he scores his fourth career Hot 100 No. 1 with "Heartless," while his other new single, "Blinding Lights," debuts at No. 11.

Rounding out the Artist 100's top five, Post Malone dips to No. 2 after 13 total weeks in charge, Taylor Swift holds at No. 4 and Lizzo keeps at No. 5.

Check out this week's full Artist 100 chart here.

[kierz7]

What exactly is the “Artist 100”? LMAO.

Is it a significant chart of any kind or...?

I don’t know why I’m just paying attention to it.

[tanooki]

Dec 10, 2019 14:06:14 GMT -5 kierz7 said:

What exactly is the “Artist 100”? LMAO.

Is it a significant chart of any kind or...?

I don’t know why I’m just paying attention to it.

Yeah, Billboard considers it one of their main charts along with the Hot 100 and Billboard 200. It ranks artists based on the same data as the hot 100, along with social media activity and I believe touring as well.

[moonlite]

Dec 10, 2019 14:06:14 GMT -5 kierz7 said:

What exactly is the “Artist 100”? LMAO.

Is it a significant chart of any kind or...?

I don’t know why I’m just paying attention to it.

Its the most meaningless chart they have, it always feels so inaccurate

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

^Anything taking into account the Social 50 is inaccurate ...

[musicspy]

It may sound like a silly question, could anyone explain to me why AIWFCIY is no1 on the streaming songs, and not Heartless? Where does it get all those points from..

[jenglisbe]

Dec 10, 2019 17:39:29 GMT -5 musicspy said:

It may sound like a silly question, could anyone explain to me why AIWFCIY is no1 on the streaming songs, and not Heartless? Where does it get all those points from..

There are many streaming services, but Amazon Music seems to be a main one for "AIWFCIY" (and other holiday songs).

[Normi]

Dec 10, 2019 17:43:40 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Dec 10, 2019 17:39:29 GMT -5 musicspy said:

It may sound like a silly question, could anyone explain to me why AIWFCIY is no1 on the streaming songs, and not Heartless? Where does it get all those points from..

There are many streaming services, but Amazon Music seems to be a main one for "AIWFCIY" (and other holiday songs).

Makes sense. A lot of families own Amazon Echos

[Lukas]

Dec 10, 2019 17:39:29 GMT -5 musicspy said:

It may sound like a silly question, could anyone explain to me why AIWFCIY is no1 on the streaming songs, and not Heartless? Where does it get all those points from..

It's doing incredibly well for streaming on Pandora and Amazon Music, and it has a lot of UGC views as well.

[Au$tin]

I'm surprised no one has brought this up, but a Christmas influx doesn't HAVE to mean all these songs go recurrent. Recurrent rules already get suspended on airplay over Christmas and New Year's. Why can't the Hot 100 do the same thing?

Dec 10, 2019 12:17:54 GMT -5 Naos said:

Dec 10, 2019 11:55:15 GMT -5 weirdo said:

I think next week's deopouts will be Baby, How Do You Sleep?, I Don't Care, Graveyard & Talk

"Graveyard" hasn't had 20 weeks yet. "Time" will drop out though.

Time is still gaining in airplay, so it likely won't be sent to recurrency based on that stat.

[forg]

I appreciate Empress Tanooki sharing the various charts here, I hope you don't get in trouble with that.

[85la]

Dec 10, 2019 19:18:24 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

I'm surprised no one has brought this up, but a Christmas influx doesn't HAVE to mean all these songs go recurrent. Recurrent rules already get suspended on airplay over Christmas and New Year's. Why can't the Hot 100 do the same thing?

No, they don't have to, and the Hot 100 can do the same thing, but does it? What are exactly the "current" recurrent rules on the Hot 100 regarding the influx of Christmas songs?

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Dec 10, 2019 13:04:38 GMT -5 @benson said:

Dec 10, 2019 11:12:09 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

You keep saying record labels wouldn’t want Christmas songs charting but do they not have a stake in this too? Mariah may not be with Sony/Columbia anymore but surely the benefit of AIWFCIY returning year after year isn’t only to her. This is money in the bank for Sony too, isn’t it? The only exception I can see you have a point might be the really old songs from now-defunct labels but even then, there must be something on that end receiving those cheques for digital streams and sales. I just don’t get why labels would be against this when it’s such easy money.

Sony's revenue is still there for AIWFCIY, regardless of chart placement. I'm sure they would prefer to have their current hits by their current artists reaching new peaks over old holiday catalog hits that will make money anyway. That's the whole point of the Hot 100: a marketing tool to help maximize exposure - and acquire bragging rights - for current hits by current artists. If that weren't the case, there would be no recurrency rules at all and we'd have a (very accurate) mess of a Hot 100 year round.  As we know, recurrency and other rule changes exist to try and keep the chart from being occupied by yesterday's hits that linger (or in this case, return) endlessly. Labels need to move on from one single to the next. A song that remains on the chart for 52 weeks isn't making any more money for them than if it had gone recurrent at 20 weeks. Plus, a song lasting a year on the chart isn't exactly a selling point, either. By that time, it's already been sold. It's an achievement worthy of social media mention, perhaps, but it's not a revenue tool at that point. 

These same old holiday hits that chart nearly every year do so pretty much on their own. They're on curated playlists, but mostly because they're established and in-demand perennial classics that people want to hear, not because there's a label push. And to that point, I'd venture to guess that most of these holiday songs aren't even being individually played on-demand, they are all on said playlists (radio and streaming) that go from one song to the next, over and over. 

A label's focus - when it comes to singles - is always on enhancing current acts' resumés, and also who they're trying to break next, and the Hot 100 is a tool that helps them with these things.  If the chart is clogged up with older and/or just plain old stuff, even just for a few weeks, it messes with (or could even sabotage) the chart momentum and/or peaks of the current songs they are actively spending money on to promote.

Old songs not removed by recurrent rules make the chart look stagnant. In the case of AIWFCIY, the song, while old, is still something people are watching for and every year for the past couple years, it has generated excitement. I can certainly understand cases like Brenda Lee making the chart feel stale every December, but in the case with Mariah, I disagree.

[sirskimask]

Dec 10, 2019 23:27:48 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Dec 10, 2019 13:04:38 GMT -5 @benson said:

Sony's revenue is still there for AIWFCIY, regardless of chart placement. I'm sure they would prefer to have their current hits by their current artists reaching new peaks over old holiday catalog hits that will make money anyway. That's the whole point of the Hot 100: a marketing tool to help maximize exposure - and acquire bragging rights - for current hits by current artists. If that weren't the case, there would be no recurrency rules at all and we'd have a (very accurate) mess of a Hot 100 year round.  As we know, recurrency and other rule changes exist to try and keep the chart from being occupied by yesterday's hits that linger (or in this case, return) endlessly. Labels need to move on from one single to the next. A song that remains on the chart for 52 weeks isn't making any more money for them than if it had gone recurrent at 20 weeks. Plus, a song lasting a year on the chart isn't exactly a selling point, either. By that time, it's already been sold. It's an achievement worthy of social media mention, perhaps, but it's not a revenue tool at that point. 

These same old holiday hits that chart nearly every year do so pretty much on their own. They're on curated playlists, but mostly because they're established and in-demand perennial classics that people want to hear, not because there's a label push. And to that point, I'd venture to guess that most of these holiday songs aren't even being individually played on-demand, they are all on said playlists (radio and streaming) that go from one song to the next, over and over. 

A label's focus - when it comes to singles - is always on enhancing current acts' resumés, and also who they're trying to break next, and the Hot 100 is a tool that helps them with these things.  If the chart is clogged up with older and/or just plain old stuff, even just for a few weeks, it messes with (or could even sabotage) the chart momentum and/or peaks of the current songs they are actively spending money on to promote.

Old songs not removed by recurrent rules make the chart look stagnant. In the case of AIWFCIY, the song, while old, is still something people are watching for and every year for the past couple years, it has generated excitement. I can certainly understand cases like Brenda Lee making the chart feel stale every December, but in the case with Mariah, I disagree.

Right now yeah sure it's exciting because people want to see it hit #1, but 5 years from now when it does it for the 5th year in a row it won't be.

[Deleted]

i think the fairest thing to do is to only allow hollyday songs to chart above #25

[𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤]

Dec 11, 2019 1:12:17 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

i think the fairest thing to do is to only allow hollyday songs to chart above #25

I could get behind that

[Mylo13 💜]

Dec 11, 2019 1:12:17 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

i think the fairest thing to do is to only allow hollyday songs to chart above #25

See I get it because holiday songs often do pollute the charts but this wouldn't stop Mariah or Brenda from hitting the top of the charts year after year anyway, which is what some people fear. I feel bad for Billboard staff who have to make the decision here because I don't think there's any clear way to decide what to do. It either becomes notably indirect with what people are listening to or it becomes "boring" and you get people demanding change anyway. 

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2019 1:17:46 GMT -5 Mylo13 💜 said:

Dec 11, 2019 1:12:17 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

i think the fairest thing to do is to only allow hollyday songs to chart above #25

See I get it because holiday songs often do pollute the charts but this wouldn't stop Mariah or Brenda from hitting the top of the charts year after year anyway, which is what some people fear. I feel bad for Billboard staff who have to make the decision here because I don't think there's any clear way to decide what to do. It either becomes notably indirect with what people are listening to or it becomes "boring" and you get people demanding change anyway. 

I think Mariah or Brenda should be allowed to top the chart year after year anyways since they are getting more popular every year and the most sucessful song of any given week should be number one

[Au$tin]

Dec 11, 2019 1:12:17 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

i think the fairest thing to do is to only allow hollyday songs to chart above #25

That's precisely what will happen when each song reaches 52 weeks, which isn't that far off for some. AIWFCIY is already at 34 weeks, and it still has 3 more weeks to chart this year before the holiday season is over. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is at 29 weeks. "Jingle Bell Rock" is at 27 weeks. Etc.

If Mariah gets an addition 5-7 weeks every year, she'll hit 52 weeks during the 2022 holiday season, so she would need to reach the top 25 to chart in 2023.

Dec 11, 2019 0:33:52 GMT -5 sirskimask said:

Dec 10, 2019 23:27:48 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Old songs not removed by recurrent rules make the chart look stagnant. In the case of AIWFCIY, the song, while old, is still something people are watching for and every year for the past couple years, it has generated excitement. I can certainly understand cases like Brenda Lee making the chart feel stale every December, but in the case with Mariah, I disagree.

Right now yeah sure it's exciting because people want to see it hit #1, but 5 years from now when it does it for the 5th year in a row it won't be.

Can't be any more boring than "Old Town Road" dominating for 19 weeks.


When are we just going to deal with the fact that the general public consumes music in a boring way, completely different from us chart watchers?

[rimetm]

Dec 11, 2019 2:42:02 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

Dec 11, 2019 1:12:17 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

i think the fairest thing to do is to only allow hollyday songs to chart above #25

That's precisely what will happen when each song reaches 52 weeks, which isn't that far off for some. AIWFCIY is already at 34 weeks, and it still has 3 more weeks to chart this year before the holiday season is over. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is at 29 weeks. "Jingle Bell Rock" is at 27 weeks. Etc.

If Mariah gets an addition 5-7 weeks every year, she'll hit 52 weeks during the 2022 holiday season, so she would need to reach the top 25 to chart in 2023.

This is likely incorrect, we've seen before an oldie with a year under its belt (Wake Me Up) re-enter below the top 25 on account of death, so I suspect the holidays have the same exemption.

[Au$tin]

Dec 11, 2019 6:02:57 GMT -5 rimetm said:

Dec 11, 2019 2:42:02 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

That's precisely what will happen when each song reaches 52 weeks, which isn't that far off for some. AIWFCIY is already at 34 weeks, and it still has 3 more weeks to chart this year before the holiday season is over. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is at 29 weeks. "Jingle Bell Rock" is at 27 weeks. Etc.

If Mariah gets an addition 5-7 weeks every year, she'll hit 52 weeks during the 2022 holiday season, so she would need to reach the top 25 to chart in 2023.

This is likely incorrect, we've seen before an oldie with a year under its belt (Wake Me Up) re-enter below the top 25 on account of death, so I suspect the holidays have the same exemption.

I wouldn't think so since it's annual and not a one time deal.

[tanooki]

Dec 11, 2019 6:02:57 GMT -5 rimetm said:

Dec 11, 2019 2:42:02 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

That's precisely what will happen when each song reaches 52 weeks, which isn't that far off for some. AIWFCIY is already at 34 weeks, and it still has 3 more weeks to chart this year before the holiday season is over. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is at 29 weeks. "Jingle Bell Rock" is at 27 weeks. Etc.

If Mariah gets an addition 5-7 weeks every year, she'll hit 52 weeks during the 2022 holiday season, so she would need to reach the top 25 to chart in 2023.

This is likely incorrect, we've seen before an oldie with a year under its belt (Wake Me Up) re-enter below the top 25 on account of death, so I suspect the holidays have the same exemption.

Billboard has said before that they do allow re-entries such as Wake Me Up! if they feel that there is good reason for a song to re-enter outside of their rules. The death of an artist is one thing, idk if they would make the same exceptions for Christmas.

[tanooki]

'One' Is No. 1: Old Dominion Scores Seventh Country Airplay Leader, Sony Music Nashville Is Top Country Label of 2019
12/10/2019 by Jim Asker
www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8545871/old-dominion-seventh-no-1-country-airplay-chart

Old Dominion's "One Man Band" ascends 2-1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart dated Dec. 14 with 38.8 million audience impressions in the week ending Dec. 8, according to Nielsen Music.

The song, written by Josh Osborne and the group's Trevor Rosen, Matthew Ramsey and Brad Tursi, is the act's seventh Country Airplay No. 1 and sixth in a row. (Old Dominion also includes Whit Sellers and Geoff Sprung.)

On the airplay-, streaming- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart, "Band" holds at its No. 2 high, also drawing 10.7 million streams and 7,000 sold in the week ending Dec. 5.

The song is the second single from Old Dominion's self-titled third studio LP, which debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums (Nov. 9) with 31,000 equivalent album units, including 19,000 in album sales. Launch single "Make It Sweet" led Country Airplay on May 4, marking the group's sixth No. 1.

Old Dominion scored its first Country Airplay No. 1 in November 2015, when "Break Up With Him" led for two weeks. Follow-up "Snapback" peaked at No. 2 in June 2016, followed by five consecutive leaders before "Band": "Song for Another Time" (December 2016; one week); "No Such Thing as a Broken Heart" (September 2017; one); "Written in the Sand" (February 2018; one); "Hotel Key" (September 2018, two); and "Sweet."

Now with six straight Country Airplay No. 1s, Old Dominion, which won for vocal group of the year at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 13, boasts the second-longest active run, after Luke Combs (seven). "Band" dethrones Combs' seventh consecutive No. 1, "Even Though I'm Leaving," which led for three weeks.

(Note that many of the songs on this week's Country Airplay chart decrease in audience, as several iHeartMedia stations held annual St. Jude Radiothons, raising funds for St. Jude Hospital, during the tracking week.)

SONY No. 1 FOR 2019 Both Old Dominion and Luke Combs are on the Sony Music Nashville (SMN) roster, which also includes Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Brad Paisley and Chris Young, among others, and SMN is Billboard's Top Country Label of 2019, an honor that it claims for the first time since 2011. (That year, the company's lineup also included Kenny Chesney, now with Warner Music Nashville, and Carrie Underwood, who now records for Capitol Records.)

In 2012, Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) was the top country label, while Universal Music Group reigned for the next six years (2013-18).

For 2019, UMG finishes second, followed by, respectively, BMLG, Warner Music Nashville and Broken Bow Records.

Capitol Records, under the UMG umbrella, repeats as the year's top Country Airplay label, thanks to a roster that includes, among others, Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi and Keith Urban.

NEW TOP 10s Dustin Lynch banks his eighth Hot Country Songs top 10, as "Ridin' Roads" lifts 11-9. It ranks at No. 5 on Country Airplay with 27.1 million audience impressions, while collecting 4.8 million U.S. streams and selling 2,000 downloads.

"Roads" is Lynch's second Hot Country Songs top 10 of 2019, following "Good Girl," which reached No. 8 in January. It also led Country Airplay for a week that month, becoming his sixth No. 1.

Plus, Jon Pardi adds his sixth Hot Country Songs top 10, as "Heartache Medication" pushes 12-10. It ascends 7-6 on Country Airplay, up 1% to 26.1 million in audience, while sporting 4.6 million U.S. streams and 2,000 sold.

"Medication" is Pardi's second Hot Country Songs top 10 this year, after "Night Shift" reached No. 8 in May.

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2019 6:33:38 GMT -5 tanooki said:

Dec 11, 2019 6:02:57 GMT -5 rimetm said:

This is likely incorrect, we've seen before an oldie with a year under its belt (Wake Me Up) re-enter below the top 25 on account of death, so I suspect the holidays have the same exemption.

Billboard has said before that they do allow re-entries such as Wake Me Up! if they feel that there is good reason for a song to re-enter outside of their rules. The death of an artist is one thing, idk if they would make the same exceptions for Christmas.

Can you post the hot Christmas songs ? I wanna know how close Santa tell me is to charting 

[tanooki]

Dec 11, 2019 7:08:08 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

Dec 11, 2019 6:33:38 GMT -5 tanooki said:

Billboard has said before that they do allow re-entries such as Wake Me Up! if they feel that there is good reason for a song to re-enter outside of their rules. The death of an artist is one thing, idk if they would make the same exceptions for Christmas.

Can you post the hot Christmas songs ? I wanna know how close Santa tell me is to charting 

I'm putting all Holiday Charts here

HOLIDAY 100
The week of December 14, 2019
34 33 34 27 Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande ( 1 ) Republic

HOLIDAY STREAMING SONGS
The week of December 14, 2019
24 20 31 27 Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande ( 1 ) Republic

HOLIDAY DIGITAL SONG SALES
The week of December 14, 2019
27 27 17 63 Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande ( 1 ) Republic

[Deleted]

The point of my post wasn't to advocate my personal feelings in this potentially endless discussion/debate (which is probably annual, amirite?), but to try to further present the business side/perspective of it, which seems to be lost on many of us. We all have our own idea about what the Hot 100 is or should be, and it's increasingly more and more about longevity with today's generation, so I'm trying to circle back to the underlying purpose of the Hot 100's existence. 

This isn't about optics or how the chart looks with old holiday songs on it, or if it's stagnant with songs lingering for 30-52 weeks. It's about the value of the positions these songs are occupying - from the label's perspective.

The radio charts are probably the best example to help make my point. To me, it's very clear that the radio charts are an industry tool and not an accurate representation of radio's biggest 40/50 biggest songs at any given format. Many songs that would be charting in any given week, on Pop for example, are removed while still doing big numbers, allowing new songs to move up at a steady clip and reach those coveted peaks. Obviously, without recurrent rules, these radio charts wouldn't be an effective tool for labels to promote new songs/artists. Labels actually WANT a song to go recurrent so the next song can move up quicker. Their job is done with the first song, so it's time for stations to focus on the new one. Or at least for it to appear that way on the chart. This is all by design, and I don't really see anyone having a problem with this, it's just the way it is.

Over on the Hot 100, it's the same (but a much different) story (apparently). In the age of endless streaming and no physical singles to discontinue, songs linger too long after they've already been worked to filth. Is it more accurate? Yes. Is accuracy for old songs the point of the chart, especially from a label's perspective? I would think not. Old songs are occupying valuable real estate after they've already peaked - real estate they'd prefer to see occupied by their new singles they're tying to promote. A single has a purpose, to promote an album of several songs. So, unless there's no album to promote, they need to move on and try and sell more albums with another single. In the case of Mariah Carey, her first holiday album continues to sell well because of the song and rereleases, anniversaries, etc. It's going to continue to sell well for years I'm sure, but it doesn't need AIWFCIY to appear on the Hot 100 every year to continue to do its thing. Seems inevitable it'll reach #1 this year, and potentially for many years to come. I see the joyous novelty in it, but I also see how it's problematic for the labels, including Sony.

Imagine if you're Sony, and you have a new song by a new artist bounding up the Hot 100 in November, all signs pointing to an easy #1 against anything else out there. But wait, the holiday songs reappear and suddenly your new song by your new act is stuck at No. 2 behind Mariah Carey's AIWFICY for 5 weeks. While you're making money from both, do you care that AIWFCIY is #1 again for the 4th year in a row? Or are you livid that it kept your new song by your new act from hitting #1 after spending buttloads to promote the hell out it? Is anything ever going to be enough to surpass the holiday cheer that AIWFCIY (and several other songs) brings every year for a month? Even if we think it shouldn't matter, hopefully we can see the potential problematic side for the labels.

I saw someone say "is it fair?" in one of these threads. I understand the sentiment there. But instead of asking whether it's fair or not, I'd ask, is it beneficial to the industry or not? Because, after all, that's really the point of it, like it or not. Every part of the industry, including Billboard, is working in tandem to keep it moving forward and making money by breaking new acts that appeal to new audiences. Every segment benefits from the others. Nobody in the industry is moving forward off a super accurate chart of older and relatively ancient songs. It's all about what's now and what's next. Billboard is not making or changing chart rules in a vacuum.

Having the Hot 100 celebrate AIWFCIY and other holiday songs every year by allowing them to chart is something we can all have our own opinion on. But ultimately it's going to be up to the industry on how to move forward. Given that most new holiday songs don't do well in their first year out, maybe some type of rule allowing holiday songs to chart for 5 (or however many) years will exist? Or maybe the Holiday 100 becomes a bigger deal and all holiday songs are relegated to that chart only after initial chart runs on the Hot 100. Or maybe it just is what it is, and there will be no rule changes, and labels will just avoid releasing Q4 singles and focus on promoting their holiday music. I just wonder how 2-3-5-10 years in a row of holiday song dominance for a month will sit with the industry, especially if holiday songs are occupying #1 and most of the top 10 every year? Nothing lasts forever, but 5, 10 years is forever in this industry.

Sorry this got long, and hopefully its coherent for being so early in the morning. 

[Enigma.]

People make too big of a deal about Xmas music though. They are a "problem", if you want to see them as such, only for like 4-5 weeks and hardly affects several songs in their runs. I can't see any reason why Dance Monkey (blocked from top ten as of now) wouldn't reach top ten in early January and if it does end up being blocked, then it's just bad luck.

That airplay point is super valid though. In Finland there is no such thing as recurrence rule and songs might end up spending YEARS on airplay chart and even climbing a year after the release.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

If the labels have to fight against annual holiday trends that are a guarantee every year, they’re stupider than we give them credit for. If they need to coerce Billboard to make a rule disallowing holiday songs to chart to prove their own successes, they clearly haven’t learned from the CD/download debacle of 15+ years ago.