Billboard has been providing a list of the most popular songs for centuries.  The company uses a system called the Nielsen Soundscan that tracks the sale of singles, albums, videos, and DVDs.  The system works by registering when a product is purchased at a retail store.  However, the store has to use the Soundscan system in order for the purchase to be recorded.  Along with Soundscan, Billboard also tracks radio airplay by using a system called Broadcast Data Systems.  Each song that is played on the air has a “fingerprint” that allows the Data System to track when it is played.  Radio stations all over the world add up each musical fingerprint detection and calculate the airplay points.  Statistics for the airplay detection include how many people listened to the song and at what time of day was it listened to.

When Billboard was first made popular, a song had to be widely available to consumers as a single for it to be considered Billboard chart music.  During this time, Billboard did not use any data calculation systems.  Instead, they obtained their records from radio stations and stores who had to manually record when an album or single was sold or heard.  The country genre was the first to use the song detection scan in 1990.  They were soon followed by the R&B genre in 1991.  Before 1995, a song was allowed to make the charts if the sales were based solely on airplay.  After 1995, a single was not allowed to make the charts unless it had airplay points and sale revenue.  Because of this factor, there were several tracks that could be listed as number one.

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Alicia Keys has been the leader on the Billboard chart music list for the past few months.  Her new single “As I Am” is the reason for her latest success.  Keys, who is only 27 years old, presents a personality full of wisdom.  Her music is filled with her “old soul” style of experience.  The songs that she plays have been said to melt the heart of any person.  The song, “Songs in A Minor”, was the song that first placed her on the charts.  The song was also her debut that she produced under the Clive Davis J Records label.  There are many genres in the song such as R&B, hip-hop, classical, and jazz.

The first day that her album was on the shelves, there were 50,000 copies sold.  The revenue did not end there.  During the week that the album was released, similar statistics were recorded.  Alicia Keys was a mystery to all.  No one had ever heard of her before, and with her jaw dropping first song, many people were eager to know more.  People in Alicia’s life first realized her talent when she was a choir major at the Professional Performance Arts School in Manhattan.  While attending the school, she obtained vocal advice from a teacher.  At age 16, Keys graduated from the school and enrolled in Columbia University.  However, Keys quickly realized that music was still calling her name, and she eventually left Columbia.  In 1998, she was signed with Arista Records.  Clive Davis, the man who helped produce her debut song, was an employee at Arista when she was signed.  He left the company, made his own label, and Alicia followed him, which brings us now to her current success.

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Mary J. Blige has recently been listed on the Billboard’s Top 200 list for her song “Growing Pains”.  Mary J. has been one of the top R&B artists since 1992.  Her first debut was “What’s the 411?”  Not only were her fans amazed by her mix of R&B and unique rap sound, but critics were surprisingly impressed as well.  Mary J. writes and sings about things that are important to her or have played a significant part in her life.  Her top chart music does not contain poetic words, but the songs are the story of her life.  Mary J. had a very difficult childhood while growing up in New York.

Mary J. has matured greatly since the beginning of her career.  She has evolved from having blonde hair and combat boots, to a successful businesswoman in designer clothes.  Either way, girls all across the world have turned to her music to heal their wounds.  Mary was first discovered when Uptown Records heard a tape of her singing karaoke.  She was signed and her urban sound has been popular ever since.  Sean P. Diddy Combs has been her mentor ever since the debut of her first album.  Combs also helped her to write and produce the songs on the album.  Mary has been compared to Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin.  Her second album, “Mary”, was just as successful as the first.  Artists such as Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill contributed material to the album.  Her latest songs about peace, pain, and harmony have touched the souls of many.

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Similar to the Billboard charts, the Hit Parade is also a list of songs that are categorized by popularity during a certain time period.  The term ‘hit parade’ was first introduced in the 1930s when broadcast stations played the popular program called ‘Your Hit Parade’.  The program was on the radio and television for many years.  Songs were originally submitted to the public in a sheet music form.  Artists were encouraged to get the word out about their song by using different formats such as chart music lists.

The music chart list was an organized list of a single, released by an artist, not an actual album.  In the early years, songs were reproduced by multiple artists.  Popular radio stations were required to release the work from local talent artists and, because the time space was limited, the music charts became useful.  Songs that were produced by multiple artists were not well liked by fans.  An artist covering a song was considered to be another way for them to compete for placement on the charts or to compete for airplay.

Apparently, ‘Your Hit Parade’ was almost canceled when singer Snooky Lanson tried to reproduce “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley.  The program was taken off the air in 1959 but the term Hit Parade is still used.  The Hit Parade lists all of the songs that are most popular during the recent production.  The term Hit Parade was introduced to the public again during the early 1970s with the production of an automatic music format by the Drake Chenault Company.  The program was presented on many radio stations.

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Chart Music companies do not exist only in English speaking countries.  Oricon Incorporated was started in 1999 as a corporate company that provides ranking information involved with the music industry.  The company was originally established in 1967 under the name of Original Confidence Incorporated, which was started by Soko Noike.  The company quickly became known for its music charts.  Oricon was originally established as a spin-off company of Original Confidence.  However, Oricon took off much more quickly than Original Confidence did and it took over the music charts for Original Confidence in April 2002.  Oricon has been managed by the family of Soko Noike since his death in 2001.

The Oricon music charts are organized using ranking information that is received from the surrounding 3,020 retail outlets.  The charts also provide data information for the sales of DVDs, video games, and other entertainment devices.  The data is categorized on a week-by-week basis.  The results of the music and electronic sales are reported to the public every Tuesday by being announced in Oricon’s publication ‘Oricon Style’, as well as on Oricon’s website.  Among the music data, the results of a television commercial survey are also listed.

Oricon receives the data collections recorded every Monday from outlets or other shops.  However, music sold in independent stores is not recorded through Oricon.  For example, music sold in convenience stores or small kiosks are not able to give reports to Oricon.  Therefore, speculation has been considered as to whether Oricon’s records are truly accurate if all song reports are not listed on the charts.  Prior to the data collection being organized electronically, all sales were faxed to Oricon from the stores.

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The Dutch Top 40, also pronounced as Nederlandse Top 40, is a music chart that is compiled on a weekly basis.  The chart was started on January 2, 1965 with the single “I Feel Fine” by The Beatles.  The song quickly became the number one hit throughout the Netherlands.  Because of the song’s success, the Dutch Top 40 quickly became a hit as well.  The chart was originally named the “Veronica Top 40”, after the radio station ‘Radio Veronica’.  The chart name was changed to the Dutch Top 40 in 1974 when the radio station was cancelled.  Joost den Draaijer was the person who started the music chart program.  The Dutch Top 40 has been compared to the Billboard’s Hot 100 list in the United States.

It has been said that other charts such as the National Hit Parade, the Mega Top 100 and the Hilversum Top 30 were all created because of the Dutch Top 40 list.  The Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 purchased the Top 40 and renamed it the ‘De Nederlandse Top 40’.  The radio station, 538, is the sponsor for the Dutch Top 40 and the television channel, TMF host the show on TV.  When a song becomes more popular on the chart and moves up three places, the song will get a dot or a ‘stip’.  If a song moves up five or more places and is then in the top 10, it receives a ‘superstip’ or a super dot.  Also, if a song is entered on the chart above the number 25 position, and it moves up 10 or more places, then it also receives a super stip.

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The longest running British chart music program is called Top of the Pops.  The program has been broadcasted by the BBC each week since January 1, 1964.  However, as of July 30, 2006 the show was canceled, with an occasional Christmas special since then.  Every week between 1964 and 2006, a music group would perform on the show if their song was listed among the top favorites for that week.  A spin-off version of the show continued the tradition for several years, called Top of the Pops 2, or TOTP2.  Top of the Pops 2 was started in 1994.

Several surrounding countries have purchased a franchise package from Top of the Pops so that they too can use the show’s format.  Several countries were very successful with the program; however, many of them have now been cancelled.  Top of the Pops was started on Dickenson Road in Longsight, Manchester.  The BBC had bought the studio from the Mancunian Films Company in 1954.  DJ, Jimmy Savile, opened the first show.  The show order that day consisted of The Rolling Stones song “I Wanna Be Your Man’’, Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to be With You”, Dave Clarke Five’s “Glad All Over”, The Hollies with “Stay”, The Swinging Blue Jeans offering, “The Hippy Hippy Shake”, and the Beatles hit song “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.  The show always ended with the most popular single of that particular week.  After DJ, Savile opened; other people such as Alan Freeman, Pete Murray and David Jacobs were also presenters.  The ‘disk girl’ was Samantha Juste, who the BBC employed from Mancunian Films.

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