Thursday, October 1, 2009

Billboard Hot 100: Not About the Music

Here are the top 20 songs and artists from this week's Billboard's Hot 100, as well as the record label for each.  Brace yourself....

1.  I Gotta Feeling, The Black Eyed Peas : Interscope Records
2*. Down, Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne : Cash Money Records
3*. Party in the U.S.A., Miley Cyrus : Hollywood Records
4. Run This Town, Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West : Roc Nation
5*. Whatcha Say, Jason DeRulo : Beluga Heights/Warner Bros
6. You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift : Pacificcoastmusic.com
7*. Paparazzi, Lady Gaga : Interscope Records
8. Use Somebody, Kings of Leon : RCA Records
9*. Obsessed, Mariah Carey : Island Records
10. Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z + Alicia Keys : Roc Nation
11*. Cowboy Casanova, Carrie Underwood : 19 Recordings Limited
12. Forever, Drake Featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem : Interscope Records
13. She Wolf, Shakira : Epic Records
14. Hotel Room Service, Pitbull : Mr. 305/Polo Ground Music/J Records
15*. Sweet Dreams, Beyonce : MusicWorld/Columbia Records
16. Best I Ever Had, Drake : Young Money Entertainment
17. Good Girls Go Bad, Cobra Starship Featuring Leighton Meester : Fueled by Ramen
18*. Throw It In The Bag, Fabolous Featuring The-Dream : Desert Storm/Def Jam
19. Knock You Down, Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-yo : Mosley/Interscope
20*. Break Up, Mario Featuring Gucci Mane & Sean Garrett : J Records

*The asterisks indicate "Titles with the greatest airplay and sales gain this week," which, after watching Money for Nothing, we know means absolutely nothing as far as the quality of music goes.  All it means is that these songs and artists have been promoted and backed by the large corporations.  They simply have the most money behind them.

Here are the companies that own the record labels of each artist in the top 20:

Walt Disney Records
Miley Cyrus

Warner Music Group
Jason Derulo

Universal Music Group
Drake
Jay-Z
Mariah Carey
Jay Sean
Black Eyed Peas
Lady Gaga
Fabolous
Keri Hilson

Sony Music Entertainment
Shakira
Kings of Leon 
Pitbull 
Beyonce
Mario
Carrie Underwood

Big Machine Records (Independent, records distributed by Universal Music Group): 
Taylor Swift

Fueled by Ramen (Independent, records distributed by Atlantic Records, which is owned by Warner Music Group)
Cobra Starship

As you can see, a startling 14 of the 18 different primary artists in the top 20 of the Hot 100, are signed with a record label that is owned by either Universal Music Group or Sony Entertainment.  These two companies are clearly dominating the popular music market, and because of their dominance, are able to use popular music to serve their own purposes.  

The commercializing of music, turning it into a purely money-making industry run by people who know next to nothing about music, has devastated popular music.  The corporate monopolization of the public airways has made it virtually impossible for independent or up and coming musicians to have their music heard by a widespread audience, and as a result, there is very little variety in today's popular music.  Also, the focus has turned from musical talent and innovation to marketability.

Just look at the number one songs from each week of the Billboard Hot 100 from any year between 1959, the inaugural year of the Hot 100, and 1979, and you will see a great variety of music, a number of different artists, and most importantly, quality music that has a message and uses the media of music as it deserves to be used.  When the airways were public, DJs had a say in what songs to play, and the choices they made depended on the quality of the music, what the DJ deemed worthy of playing, and what the people wanted to hear, not which corporation had the most money.  

Let's take a quick look at the Billboard Hot 100 from 1973. (a random choice)
The list can be seen by clicking HERE.  
In 1973, the Hot 100 included everything from The Rolling Stones to Stevie Wonder.  It included lasting hits, hits that are still popular today, including Superstition, Crocodile Rock, Love Train, Let's Get it On, and more.  

Now take another look at this week's Hot 100 and ask yourself if any of these songs will be anywhere near relevant 36 years from now.  My guess is NO.  

The popular music industry needs to see a complete overhaul in order for popular music and the Billboard Hot 100 to actually mean something again.  Until then, I will continue to distance myself from the popular music of today, knowing that it is being used primarily as a source of income for a handful of large corporations.  

1 comment:

  1. I always laughed everytime any adult who says "I don't understand the music you kids listen to these days." Yet, I am now looking at all the music I love and what is popular today with a different viewpoint. I am disgusted with the current concentration of ownership, especially as you displayed in the top songs. Yet, they will always be making tons of money since by pushing their songs, most people especially teenagers will download the songs because they think they're "popular." Today's society is all about conformity and this urge to be cool- which is seen in the music industry as many teens will just download the latest Miley Cyrus song to fit in. Yet, they don't realize that they're endorsing low quality, mass-produced music that just has a catchy beat to sell.
    The public, I agree with you, cannot think for itself and likes usually whatever is played on the radio most frequently, because they think everyone else enjoys it and that their radio station endorses it. And who doesn't trust a professional?

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