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How Billboard's charting formula has changed over the decades

Jun 12, 2019
The formula for getting that No. 1 hit album has gone through a lot of transitions.
DJ Khaled performs onstage at a STAPLES Center Concert in Los Angeles, California.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET

"Black Panther" soundtrack soars

Feb 19, 2018
While the movie breaks box office records, its soundtrack debuted at number-one on the Billboard charts.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park to end extreme poverty by 2030 at Central Park on September 24, 2016 in New York City.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

For a song's popularity, not all streaming platforms are created equal

Feb 9, 2018
Whether a song becomes a hit will depend where people listen.
Cardi B arrives for the 60th Grammy Awards on Jan. 28, 2018, in New York. In 2017, the Bronx-born rapper became the first solo female rapper to reach the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1998. Her success relied heavily on fans streaming her song "Bodak Yellow."
(JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

That's what they call a canvas in the big city

Jan 8, 2015
L.A. company Walldogs company hand-paints those ads found on the sides of buildings.

Billboard 200 will now account for streamed music

Dec 3, 2014
But how much will it change album rankings?

Twitter to list which music is most tweeted about

Mar 27, 2014
After the failure of their music app, Twitter tries to get back in the game.

Digital billboards: Public service in Boston, public nuisance to other cities

Apr 22, 2013
On the day digital billboards spread news of the Boston Marathon bombing among Boston drivers, a judge's decision turned off digital billboards in Los Angeles. Cities and advertising companies argue over the bright billboards' value.

For public good, not for profit.

YouTube gets legit on the Billboard Hot 100

Feb 21, 2013
The site is a mecca for musical artists. Now their YouTube hits can send them to the top of the Billboard charts.

Heartbreak Hotel: Lil Wayne passes Elvis for Billboard record

Sep 27, 2012
Rapper Lil Wayne has surpassed Elvis Presley's record of appearances on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

What makes a summer hit song?

Sep 3, 2012
Sometimes a little tweet is all it takes to catapult a relatively unknown artist to the top of the charts.