Are there hits any more? An article by Bob Lefsetz

[CTListener]

That started in mid-decade, in the 2010's. Sales really don't count for much now, according to the RIAA. The dominant method of music consumption is streaming, and it has been the dominant method for over seven years. Streaming overtook music sales in 2015. Last year streaming accounted for over 83% of music revenues and music consumption (caveat -- the RIAA doesn't count broadcast listening as 'consumption', only the method through which music creates revenues -- physical sales, downloads, streaming, etc.). This year streaming's share is undoubtedly higher than 83%.

So, naturally, it has to affect the charts. It's why they appear more volatile.

Huh? Songs hanging around the top 40 for a year? Surely you mean less volatile!

 

[boombox4]

Huh? Songs hanging around the top 40 for a year? Surely you mean less volatile!

How many songs hang around on the Hot 100 for a year? Not that many. I'm talking about the churn.

Just over a month or so ago an artist named Gunna had 12 songs on the Hot 100, and some were either in the top 10 or close to it.. He doesn't even have one track on there now. Last week Lil Baby had 22 tracks on the chart. Now he has only 11, and they're all dropping, even 'California Breeze' the biggest hit. That's pretty heavy churn in just one week. You're seeing 20 percent of the chart taken up by one artist, and then two weeks later that artist who had 20 percent of the entire chart either completely or mostly disappears.

That is pretty heavy turnover.

Now Taylor has a slew of 21 songs on there. Maybe a couple of them will hang around for a year. But how many slots?

So yeah, I think it's more volatile than it was 10-15 years ago. Maybe the individual radio format charts are less volatile, but the Hot 100 is like watching the neighbors shoot off all of their fireworks in an hour or two.

Now, if the experts here have noticed this sort of turnover all along -- I'm willing to stand corrected. I used to follow the charts as late as 2005, and then started watching the Hot 100 about 4-5 months ago, so maybe this high turnover and tendency of one artist to plaster 20% of the chart and disappear a couple weeks later has been standard operating procedure over the past decade.

 

[vchimpanzee]

How many songs hang around on the Hot 100 for a year? Not that many. I'm talking about the churn.

Now Taylor has a slew of 21 songs on there. Maybe a couple of them will hang around for a year. But how many slots?

Taylor has all 10 of the top 10 on the Hot 100.

https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/celebrities/article268104627.html

 

[TheBigA]

I haven't heard it on any of the country stations here yet. I wonder if there's an edit of the line "Is dad still doin' dumb s***?". SiriusXM's The Highway is playing it with the swear word intact.

You asked this question a few weeks ago and the answer is yes. The radio version isn't labeled an edit, but it is.

 

[CTListener]

You asked this question a few weeks ago and the answer is yes. The radio version isn't labeled an edit, but it is.

I've heard it on two of the local stations so far and both are using the edit. There's silence where the S-word should be, However, I was listening to a country station in Texas, KAYD, on the Audacy app this morning and they were using the uncensored track.

 

[TheBigA]

Update on Zach Bryan's Something In The Orange. It's #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Chart, but just outside the Top 30 on the radio airplay chart. Here's an analysis of what radio programmers think about the song:

What’s The Future For Zach Bryan And ‘Something In The Orange’ At Country Radio?

Zach Bryan had one of country music’s best streaming years in 2022, but his rise at radio has only begun. Bryan’s raw and haunting “Something in the Orange” had 432.1

www.countryinsider.com

The song is also nominated for a Grammy Award.

 

[landtuna]

Why are we obsessing over jet ownership? Is it being implied that the country stars who are renting a jet to get them to their sold-out stadium gigs are somehow less successful than those who ride their own to identical sellouts? ... It's a smart way to tour.

Richie Valens, JP Richardson (Big Bopper), Buddy Holly, Glenn Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Patsy Cline, Lynyrd Skynyrd (3 members), Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band, Aaliyah, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, The Bar-Kays (4 members) would probably all disagree with you.

About half my list are the ones coming readily to mind and not all were Country nor based in Nashville.