Total Popular Music

'Total Popular Music' Revising Charts Methodology for the New Year MHBC's "Total Popular Music" announces a new methodology for airplay data on its exclusive TPMusic Charts -- the weekly Super Sixty and the Daily Dozen -- for the new year. Beginning Jan. 1, the Daily Dozen listing will be presented in two versions -- one using the previous formula, and a second with the new methodology. MHBC's Mark Harris explains, "Since we converted to airplay-based rankings in July 2009, I have been concerned that our CHR-Top40 component over-dominates our overall TotalPlaysMonitored, because of its much larger airplay totals compared to the Hot Adult format's stats. For example, the current number one song at Top 40 radio, based on a published panel's airplay totals, shows 15,500+ total plays, while the Hot Adult (Hot AC/Adult Top 40) component's number one song has 4550+ total plays, also based on a published panel. The new methodology will use an 'all-stations monitored' airplay total for the Hot Adult component. Currently that component format's total airplay for the highest ranked song is about 1,000 plays greater than the total for the published panel. The change we are making will both better reflect the Hot Adult format from a wider sampling of airplay, and give that component an increased influence for our overall total airplay data used to rank songs on our original and exclusive charts. The CHR-Top40 component will still, though, be the dominant influence even with this change." Harris notes that this will create "major changes" in the overall Total Popular Music TotalPlaysMonitored listed on TPM charts, which is why a brief transition period, for the first three days of 2013, is being offered with the dual daily Top 12 listings. Starting January 4 only the new version of the Daily Dozen will be published. "The next weekly Super Sixty Airplay chart, January 6, will include an explanatory notice, and will utilize the new methodology data with 'last week' stats from an unpublished December 30 listing," says Harris. "Obviously, this will create some confusion with the variation from one week to the next, but I'm hopeful the brief transition period with the daily listings will help our readers and followers to adjust to the change. The end result, I believe, will be a better reflection of the 'new mass appeal hit music radio format' that Total Popular Music was created to be." The utilized airplay data for CHR-Top40 will continue to be from the published panel data.