TWITTER IS THE NEW HOT 100
May. 31st, 2014 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogSomeone hipped me to the fact that Billboard has teamed up with Twitter to create two new charts: Trending 140 and Emerging Artists.
Essentially, it rates new songs in real time based on how many people are tweeting about it.
From the FAQ:
There’s also a weekly ranking based on the same criteria.
I confess I’m fascinated by the idea. It only makes sense in an age where radio doesn’t really as big a role in breaking new records as it used to. Radio airplay used to be THE benchmark for how popular a song is. Now it’s arguably Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
At the same time, I’m not convinced it actually means anything. For a start, I wonder what’s the most active demographic sharing songs on Twitter? If it’s the demo that generally listens to One Direction, Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande (who are currently at the top of the Trending 140 list as I type this), then the range of information is somewhat limited.
Also, I wonder how many of those tweets are the results of PR flacks and crowdsourced fan initiatives gaming the system to push a given artist up the chart? If there’s not that many now, there will be later. I don’t know if Billboard is doing anything to screen those out.
And either way, does it really mean anything to have a No.1 song even if it’s just for two hours after you played on (say) Late Night With David Letterman?
Maybe not. I guess the way to look at it is that Trending 140 is introducing an all-new metric in music charts. Traditional charts measure what songs are getting the most airplay on radio, and/or which artists are selling the most records. Trending 140 is basically measuring word-of-mouth – which artists people are talking about (and promoting via sharing).
And considering that trad charts are really only intended for music label executives anyway, I can see where they’d find that useful.
Off the charts,
This is dF
Essentially, it rates new songs in real time based on how many people are tweeting about it.
From the FAQ:
Billboard Twitter Trending 140
An up-to-the-minute ranking of the fastest moving songs shared on Twitter in the U.S., measured by acceleration over the past hour. Titles are ranked based on a formula comparing the number of times they are shared within the last hour to the hourly average of shares over a rolling 24-hour period. The chart can also be filtered to present a real-time view of the most shared tracks in the U.S. on Twitter over the past 24 hours.
Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists
A ranking of the most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by up-and-coming artists (defined as artists with fewer than 50,000 Twitter followers who have also not appeared as a lead artist in the top 50 songs on the Billboard Hot 100), ranked by the number of times each song was shared over the past 24 hours.
An up-to-the-minute ranking of the fastest moving songs shared on Twitter in the U.S., measured by acceleration over the past hour. Titles are ranked based on a formula comparing the number of times they are shared within the last hour to the hourly average of shares over a rolling 24-hour period. The chart can also be filtered to present a real-time view of the most shared tracks in the U.S. on Twitter over the past 24 hours.
Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists
A ranking of the most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by up-and-coming artists (defined as artists with fewer than 50,000 Twitter followers who have also not appeared as a lead artist in the top 50 songs on the Billboard Hot 100), ranked by the number of times each song was shared over the past 24 hours.
There’s also a weekly ranking based on the same criteria.
I confess I’m fascinated by the idea. It only makes sense in an age where radio doesn’t really as big a role in breaking new records as it used to. Radio airplay used to be THE benchmark for how popular a song is. Now it’s arguably Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
At the same time, I’m not convinced it actually means anything. For a start, I wonder what’s the most active demographic sharing songs on Twitter? If it’s the demo that generally listens to One Direction, Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande (who are currently at the top of the Trending 140 list as I type this), then the range of information is somewhat limited.
Also, I wonder how many of those tweets are the results of PR flacks and crowdsourced fan initiatives gaming the system to push a given artist up the chart? If there’s not that many now, there will be later. I don’t know if Billboard is doing anything to screen those out.
And either way, does it really mean anything to have a No.1 song even if it’s just for two hours after you played on (say) Late Night With David Letterman?
Maybe not. I guess the way to look at it is that Trending 140 is introducing an all-new metric in music charts. Traditional charts measure what songs are getting the most airplay on radio, and/or which artists are selling the most records. Trending 140 is basically measuring word-of-mouth – which artists people are talking about (and promoting via sharing).
And considering that trad charts are really only intended for music label executives anyway, I can see where they’d find that useful.
Off the charts,
This is dF
