The
Billboard charts is the main U.S. single and album chart
used by Billboard
magazine in the USA. Billboard started
the Top 100 charts on August 4, 1958. Currently, Billboard
uses a system called Nielsen Soundscan to track the cumulative
sales volumes of singles and albums. However, the sales
is not representative of the true sales of a single or
record/album as it is only counted if it is bought at
a store that uses the Sound Scan technology that monitors
sales. Radio airplay is also monitored using the Broadcast
Data Systems. All radio play points are added up each
week among all existing radio stations that use BDS.
In
2005, Billboard changed its methodology to allow paid
digital music downloads from digital music stores such
as Apple iTunes, eMusic, RealRhapsody, Napster and Music
Match. All chart results are posted online at billboard
.com and publishing in their billboard
magazine.
Billboard
offers charts to:
Billboards
Singles:
• THE BILLBOARD HOT 100
• HOT R&B/Hip-Hop SINGLES & TRACKS
• HOT RAP SINGLES
• HOT COUNTRY SINGLES & TRACKS
• MAINSTREAM ROCK TRACKS
• MODERN ROCK TRACKS
• ADULT CONTEMPORARY
• HOT DANCE MUSIC/CLUB PLAY
• HOT DANCE MUSIC/MAXI-SINGLES SALES
• HOT LATIN TRACKS
• LATIN POP AIRPLAY
• LATIN REGIONAL MEXICAN AIRPLAY
• LATIN TROPICAL/SALSA AIRPLAY
• TOP 40 TRACKS
• RHYTHMIC TOP 40
• TOP 40 ADULT
• TOP 40 ADULT RECURRENTS
• TOP 40 MAINSTREAM
• CANADIAN SINGLES CHART
Billboards
Albums:
• THE BILLBOARD 200
• TOP INDEPENDENT ALBUMS
• TOP INTERNET ALBUM SALES
• TOP SOUNDTRACKS
• TOP R&B/Hip-Hop ALBUMS
• TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS
• HEATSEEKERS
• TOP CLASSICAL
• TOP CLASSICAL CROSSOVER
• TOP LATIN ALBUMS
• LATIN POP
• REGIONAL MEXICAN
• TROPICAL/SALSA
• TOP BLUES ALBUMS
• TOP CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN
• TOP CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUMS
• TOP GOSPEL ALBUMS
• TOP ELECTRONIC ALBUMS
• TOP JAZZ ALBUMS
• TOP KID AUDIO
• TOP NEW AGE ALBUMS
• TOP REGGAE ALBUMS
• TOP WORLD MUSIC ALBUMS
• TOP CANADIAN ALBUMS
As
of the Hot 100 chart dated February 12, 2005, Billboard
introduced the Pop 100 Chart and the Pop 100 Airplay Chart.
The two charts track mass-appeal mainstream hits. See
Hot Digital Songs. Also the Billboard Hot 100 now tracks
paid digital downloads from such websites as iTunes,
Napster,
Musicmatch,
Rhapsody
etc. With paid digital downloads added to the airplay-sales
formula of the Hot 100, many songs benefited on the charts
from the change. Also because of the digital download
sales, the Hot 100 now shows many singles on the chart
with gold and platinum bullets. This is the first major
overhaul of the Hot 100's chart formula since December
1998. The charts offer the top10, top20, top40, top100
and top200.
