Billboard is a weekly American
magazine devoted to the
music industry. It is often considered to be one of the 'holy grails' of the entertainment industry, and the official trade publication of the music industry; it is typically regarded as one of the most relevant and unbiased sources of information on the music industry, as opposed to others that can have a significant
bias. It maintains several internationally recognized
music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis. Among the two most important charts, the
Billboard Hot 100 ranks the top 100 songs regardless of genre and is frequently used as the standard measure for ranking songs in the United States, while the
Billboard 200 survey is the corresponding chart for
album sales.
History
When founded in
Cincinnati in 1894,
Billboard Advertising magazine was a
trade paper for the bill posting industry, hence the magazine's name. Within a few years of its founding, it began to carry news of outdoor amusements, a major consumer of billboard space. Eventually
Billboard became the paper of record for
circuses,
carnivals,
amusement parks,
fairs,
vaudeville,
minstrels,
whale shows and other live entertainment. The magazine began coverage of
motion pictures in 1909 and of
radio in the 1920s.
It was the development of the
juke box industry during the 1930s which led
The Billboard to begin publishing the music charts for which it ultimately became famous. This also began the process which would lead the magazine to gradually cede coverage of other parts of the entertainment industry to such publications as
Variety and
The Hollywood Reporter. In the 1950s it introduced a section covering the television industry, including ratings charts for programs. It continued to carry news of fairs, carnivals, theme parks and other outdoor entertainments until 1961 when these departments were transferred to a new weekly magazine called
Amusement Business. By this time television coverage had also been transferred to another publication.
From 1961 until 2005,
Billboard was devoted entirely to the
music industry. In 2005, the magazine and its web sites were repositioned to provide coverage of all forms of digital and mobile entertainment.
Amusement Business prospered for a few decades, but was struggling by the beginning of the new century. Shortly after that its frequency of publication was reduced to monthly, and it finally ceased publication altogether following its May, 2006 issue.
Billboard charts
On January 4, 1936
The Billboard published its first music
hit parade, and on July 20, 1940 the first
Music Popularity Chart was calculated. Since 1958 the
Hot 100 has been published, combining
single sales and radio
airplay.
Billboard currently puts out over 100 charts each week, the most popular ones being
Hot 100,
Billboard 200, and
Hot 100 Airplay.
Radio countdown programs
For many years, the weekly syndicated radio program
American Top 40, hosted by
Casey Kasem (July 4, 1970 to August 6, 1988), and
Shadoe Stevens (August 13, 1988 to January 28, 1995), played the
top 40 songs on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart in reverse order; in late November 1991, it switched to using the top 40 portion of the
Hot 100 Airplay chart. Later, in early 1993, it began using the
Top 40 Mainstream chart until it temporarily went off the air in 1995. When the show returned in 1998, it no longer used
Billboard charts as its source.
A country music version of
American Top 40, called
American Country Countdown, has been on the air since October 1973. The show is hosted each week by
Kix Brooks of the country duo
Brooks & Dunn, who replaced radio legend
Bob Kingsley in January 2006.
American Country Countdown used the top 40 songs of the
Hot Country Songs chart until August 2009.
Billboard today
Billboard magazine covers every aspect of the music business, from radio and television to
CD,
DVD and
video cassette sales and
internet music downloads. It features charts, news stories, features and opinion articles. For the most part,
Billboard is intended for music professionals, such as
record label executives and
DJs. It is generally considered a business-to-business magazine, for music industry professionals, though it can be found at many bookstores. The magazine extensively covers the entertainment business, but Billboard remains best known for its charts. The editorial coverage and broader strategy is guided by its editorial director, Bill Werde.
Much of the magazine, in addition to up-to-the-minute coverage, is available at Billboard's B2B site, Billboard.biz. Billboard.com is the consumer-centered site, and includes artist interviews, daily news and, of course, charts.
Billboard.com also features video programming, including artist interviews, performances and event coverage. For instance, Billboard has red carpet footage from the 2009 Grammy Awards and intimate interviews with acts like
Keyshia Cole,
Adele and
30 Seconds to Mars.
Billboard Books
The group behind the magazine has an
imprint of the
Crown Publishing Group (itself a part of
Random House) known as
Billboard Books. Their publishing agency describes itself as "a leading publisher of music and entertainment titles".
Corporate ownership
As of 2007,
Billboard is owned by the
Dutch conglomerate The Nielsen Company.
Lottery
The New Hampshire Lottery has a
Billboard scratch ticket.
See also
