From Billboard to DJ Mag and Beatport, booking agents often look to these places to determine who would be a good fit for venues, and of course, who will bring in the most revenue. If you’ve already made it to these charts, well lucky you, you’re doing something right! But if you haven’t, don’t fear, when there’s a will there’s a way, and we’re here to help you understand the how, what and why behind who gets placed on these.
In order to understand these charts and their influence on the dance music industry, you have to first understand how they work. A popular news outlet that can be looked to for much deserved bragging rights is Billboard. The magazine is known for its several music charts that range from its well-known Hot 100 to trending charts and genre-specific ones. Last year, Gary Trust, Billboard Associate Director of Charts/Radio and Chart Columnist, gave us a glimpse into how the magazine determines who lands a spot in their Top 100 in the article “Ask Billboard: How Does The Hot 100 Work?” In response to a reader’s question about the point system, Trust said “Generally speaking, our Hot 100 formula targets a ratio of sales (35-45%), airplay (30-40%) and streaming (20-30%).”
As you all know, one of the most popular sources in dance music is online music store and community, Beatport. Several charts are found throughout Beatport as well, including its Top 100. In a statement released in 2011 when the store was revamping its music platform, Clark Warner released a statement clarifying how the chart, which is based off sales, is calculated:
– Top 100 Tracks on Home and Genre pages are the best-selling tracks individually purchased within the past 7 days. – Top 100 Releases on Home and Genre pages are the best-selling full releases purchased in their entirety within the past 7 days. – Top 10 Tracks on artist and label pages are the best-selling tracks individually purchased within the past 12 months.
Lastly, we have DJ Mag, the dance music magazine that is well known for its Top 100 DJ’s list. DJ’s get ranked from 1 to 100 based off how many fan votes they get. Of course, there are many more charts in addition to these three, but the information behind this is enough to give you a good overview of what it takes to get listed on them. Three things that stood out were music sales, streams, and fan votes.
So how can you start working your way to the top of these? Of course all great things take time, but you can start by taking a few steps and taking on some of the advice that we have to offer.
- Make music and get it out there! Vidiam is a great place for you to do this. Create playlists and keep them updated with your latest tracks. Putting out new content is a great way to begin engaging with fans.
- Make music videos and upload them to YouTube. As you read earlier, video streaming is taken into account when counting points for charts. Through Vidiam, you are able to easily keep track of them by uploading them directly to your playlists and thus getting more YouTube plays.
- Utilize social networks to interact with fans and promote your brand. Gaining fans and keeping them engaged isn’t always easy. You have to be consistent with updates on your music and touring. Vidiam makes it easy for fans to stay up-to-date with what you’re doing. They are able to listen to playlists, while at the same time share your music, check out your tour dates, and buy merchandise with just a few clicks.
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