ABSTRACT
In a wide range of cultural industries, information on comparative market performance of their products-be they books, films, or records-is frequently presented in the form of a bestseller chart compiled by a trade publication. This chapter examines the evolution and impact of Billboard magazine and the Billboard chart that presents information on music industry sales. The influence of this magazine, and more particularly its well-known chart, on the music industry has been profound. Roger Karshner (1971, p. 115), former vice president of Capitol Records, put it best: “Everybody in the record business is constantly lipping chart potential, trade picks, chart positions and chart life. In fact, the entire industry rises and falls upon the waves of this silly numbers game.”
