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Charts

BILLBOARD CHARTS

The Billboard charts tabulate the popularity of songs and albums in the USA and elsewhere. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams or airplay, or according to all three data if it's a main chart.TRACKING WEEK FOR SALES & STREAMS
• Starting time : Friday 12AM EST (Friday 2PM KST)
• Ending time : Thursday 11:59PM EST (Friday 1:59PM KST)
Radio airplay song charts, however, follow the Monday-to-Sunday cycle.The charts are released each Tuesday with an issue date the following Saturday.

KOREAN CHARTS

The Korean charts refer to various music charts that rank the most popular songs in South Korea based on factors such as digital downloads, streaming, and physical sales.They play an essential role in determining which songs are eligible for music show awards. Typically, music shows consider factors such as chart rankings, digital sales, physical album sales, and fan votes when deciding which artist and song will receive an award.Currently, the most important charts in South Korea are:

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Billboard Charts

The Billboard Hot 100 is based only in the US and Puerto Rico, so do not attempt to use VPN.
It ranks the 100 most popular songs of the week across all genres.

Note: There is also Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart which ranks the 25 songs right under the HOT 100 chart.

The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States, based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital –, but also includes streaming and digital track sales.Albums that are not licensed for retail sale in the United States (yet purchased in the U.S. as imports) are not eligible to chart.

The Billboard Global 200 ranks the top songs globally and is based on digital sales and online streaming from over 200 territories worldwide.

The Billboard Global 200 (Excl. USA) ranks the top songs globally and is based on digital sales and online streaming from over 200 territories worldwide, excluding the US.

The Billboard Hot Trending Songs (BHTS) is a chart powered by Twitter that provides real-time ranking of the most discussed songs on Twitter globally.It has Real-Time Last 24 Hours and Real-time Last 7 Days chart, as well as weekly final chart with tracking from Fridays-Thurdsdays ET.

GUIDELINES

Engage with media outlets and with other tweets talking about the songs (like, RT, QRT and reply with hashtags). Include song discussions in all tweets. (Ex: “My hot trending song choice is…”, “My favorite song is…”, “I’m listening to…”, “This song is really…”, etc).
DO NOT spam. The chart measures the quality of posts and discussions, spams are considered poor quality posts.
Make unique and different tweets: always add sentences and text, change the wording whenever you can, and try to add something new on each post. (Like pictures, videos, gifs, or links to articles talking about the songs).
Share the direct link to the songs in your tweet. You can link from Youtube and Youtube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, or any other streaming platform where the songs ARE officially available.
You can use premade tweets provided by fanbases to save time, all you have to do is to click on the links we’ll share, and then customize it by adding your own unique text!

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Billboard Strategy

PHYSICAL SALES
DIGITAL SALES
STREAMING
RADIO AIRPLAY

PHYSICAL SALES

TOWARDS: BILLBOARD 200

Stores: Target, B&N, Amazon, Walmart, Subkshop (US), etc.
Limit your purchase to 4 albums at max per transaction
If buying more than 4, split transaction. Recommended to buy from stores.
Your album will count on billboard upon shipment, not when ordered.
Offline Buying: Maximize first week sales.
Limit your purchase to 4 albums at max per transaction

DIGITAL SALES

TOWARDS: BILLBOARD HOT 100 + BILLBOARD 200 + BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200 + BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200 EXCL. US

BILLBOARD RULEOnly 1 purchase will count per customer/email, per tracking week.
More than 1 unit of a UPC or IRSC is a Bulk Purchase = sale is adjusted down to 1 unit.UNIQUE purchases = MORE individual buyers. So it's HIGHLY recommended to use a new payment method for each platform you are buying on, in the same tracking week.

PURCHASING RULES
Stores: iTunes, Amazon Music, Qobuz, 7Digital.

Buy only 1 copy per account/card, for each platform, per week;
EPs/Albums: Buy the title track first then Complete the album. Do NOT purchase tracks individually;
Singles: Buy the single;
Use gift cards to purchase again with a new account/email;
All versions of a track count as a UNIQUE purchase. Ex: original track + instrumental + remix = 3 unique versions of the same track. You can buy EACH version once using the same payment method.
DO NOT gift songs/albums. Gifting does not count on Billboard. Instead, send funds and let the recipient buy their own.
Itunes purchases must be Deleted from Library in Apple Music, for streams to count.
With the same card, you can buy on Itunes + 1 title track on another digital store, per week, BUT as mentioned before, if possible, try using a new payment method.

STREAMING

TOWARDS: BILLBOARD HOT 100 + BILLBOARD 200 + BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200 + BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200 EXCL. US

PREMIUM x AD-SUPPORTED STREAMSPaid streams [PREMIUM] weigh MORE on Billboard charts than ad-supported streams [FREE].

ALWAYS stream Premium to MAXIMIZE streams for charting! Free Premium trials count as Premium!
Streams from Premium accounts are less likely going to be filtered out;
If you can, stream across multiple streaming platforms that count on Billboard to maximize streams!

Please notice that paid (or premium free trial) streams weigh up 4.5X more on Billboard charts, as you can see below:

HOT 100

Stream Value	Premium	Free	Programmed
1 stream	1 full point	0.66 point	0.5 point

BILLBOARD 200

Album Sale	Premium	Free
1 album sale	1.250 streams	3.750 streams

BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200

Track Sale	Premium	Free
1 track sale	200 streams	900 streams

BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200 EXCL USA

Track Sale	Premium	Free
1 track sale	250 streams	1.125 streams

RADIO AIRPLAY

TOWARDS: BILLBOARD HOT 100

Airplay is radio play and audience impressions. This takes into account how many times a song has been played on the radio. It can be one of the most heavy-weighted factors for a song to chart. It is important to be consistently requesting a song on radio.

How do you request on radio?Certain radio shows have hours where they take requests, but some also have links where we can request songs to be played.Most importantly, every saturday night "Most Requested Live" takes requests that are broadcasted every hour to countless stations across the country.You can check Radio Stations here:

RADIO REQUESTS

TIPS WHEN REQUESTING SONGS:

Research how your preferred radio station takes requests.
Most of them use Social Media - tag them on Twitter, reply to their Instagram stories and posts, message them on Facebook and reply to posts.
Some still have phone numbers you can call or text during certain hours when they are accepting requests.
Phone calls requests are more considered than twitter requests
Request a few days before the comeback and after.

REMINDERS

Always be respectful when requesting song.
DO NOT spam them and only call/text during programs.
Be specific about the song you are requesting, indicate: Song Title, Artist and Album. Add a link to the song, if possible.
DO TRY to stay tuned and show your appreciation when they do play the song. Post it on social media and thank the DJ.

SHAZAM
Radios choose the most shazamed songs to play at their stations.

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Korean Charts

ICHART

Melon

Genie

Flo

Bugs!

Youtube

Vibe

Circle

Hanteo

Counted for: Show Champion, Music Bank and Inkigayo; The Show and Music Core, via Circle Digital Chart; and MCountdown, via Global K-pop Chart.

Melon is one of the largest music streaming platforms in South Korea, owned by Kakao M. It has a real-time chart that reflects the popularity of songs based on the number of streams, downloads, and user recommendations. Melon's weekly chart is based on the accumulated points of the daily chart throughout the week. Melon is considered one of the most influential charts in the Korean music industry, as it has a large user base.Recently it was announced that Melon streams will count towards Billboard Global 200.

Counted for: Show Champion, Music Bank and Inkigayo; The Show and Music Core, via Circle Digital Chart; and MCountdown, via Global K-pop Chart.

Genie is a music streaming service owned by KT Corporation. It provides a real-time chart and a daily chart that are based on the number of streams and downloads. Genie's weekly chart is based on the accumulated points of the daily chart throughout the week. Genie is one of the major music charts in Korea.

Counted for: Show Champion, Music Bank and Inkigayo; The Show and Music Core, via Circle Digital Chart; and MCountdown, via Global K-pop Chart.

Flo is a music streaming service owned by SK Telecom. It has a real-time chart that ranks songs based on the number of streams and downloads. Flo's weekly chart is based on the accumulated points of the daily chart throughout the week.Recently it was announced that FLO streams will count towards Billboard Global 200.

Counted for: Show Champion and Music Bank; The Show and Music Core, via Circle Digital Chart; and MCountdown, via Global K-pop Chart.

Bugs is a music streaming service owned by NHN Entertainment Corporation. It has a real-time chart that reflects the popularity of songs based on the number of streams and downloads. Bugs' weekly chart is based on the accumulated points of the daily chart throughout the week. Bugs is one of the major music charts in Korea.

Counted for: MCountdown, via Global K-pop Chart.

YouTube Music is a music streaming platform owned by Google, which has a dedicated chart for South Korea. It ranks songs based on the number of views on YouTube and combines them with data from other music streaming services, such as Melon, to create a comprehensive chart. YouTube Music's chart is updated every week and is considered a valuable source of information for international fans interested in the Korean music scene.

Counted for: Music Bank; The Show and Music Core, via Circle Digital Chart; and MCountdown, via Global K-pop Chart.

Vibe is a music streaming service owned by Naver Corporation. It relies on artificial intelligence to curate music and recommend songs based on what users listen to based on the sound of the music rather than what's popular on charts. Vibe's weekly chart is based on the accumulated points of the daily chart throughout the week. Vibe is one of the major music charts in Korea, and it is known for its influence and accuracy. It is particularly popular among fans of ballads and other slow-tempo music genres.

Circle Chart, formerly known as Gaon Chart, is a national chart that ranks the most popular songs in Korea based on physical and digital sales. Circle Chart is operated by the Korea Music Content Association and is considered one of the most important charts in the Korean music industry. It is released every week and provides a comprehensive view of the Korean music market.The chart is also used as one of the many criteria of music shows, which means that a high ranking on the Circle Chart can significantly increase an artist's chances of winning.The Circle Chart consists of 10 charts: Global K-pop, Digital, Download, Streaming, BGM, Album, Retail Store Album, Social 2.0, Mobile and Karaoke Chart, but here we'll explore just the 3 most important and also most commonly used charts as criteria for music shows:

Global K-Pop Chart
Counted for: MCountdown.
It's a chart that ranks the most popular K-pop songs worldwide, based on their global popularity and influence. The chart considers data from various sources, including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms, along with the Korean charts.Album Chart
Counted for: MCountdown, Music Bank, Music Core, Inkigayo.
It's a chart that aggregates the manufacturer shipment unit wholesale quantity (reflecting the return value) of albums - this means that the chart is based on the number of albums that have been produced and sent to retailers.Digital Chart
Counted for: The Show, Music Core.
It's a chart that combines the streaming chart + download chart + BGM chart, multiplying these numbers by weighted values for each source and summing them up. It currently compiles data from Melon, Genie, FLO, Bugs, VIBE, Samsung Music, Spotify Korea and Apple Music Korea.

Counted for: The Show, Show Champion.

Hanteo Chart is a chart that ranks the sales of physical albums in Korea. It is considered one of the most reliable sources for album sales data, as it tracks sales in real-time and provides accurate information. Hanteo Chart is widely used by fans and music industry professionals to monitor album sales and predict the success of new releases.

iChart is a real-time music chart system that combines various digital music charts in South Korea to provide an overall ranking of the most popular songs in the country. It aggregates data from several music platforms, including Melon, Genie, FLO, Bugs, VIBE and Youtube Music.iChart also provides a unique ranking system called "Certified All Kill" (CAK) and "Perfect All Kill" (PAK).A CAK is achieved when a song ranks number one on all major daily and real-time charts simultaneously, while a PAK is achieved when a song ranks number one on all major daily and real-time charts plus the weekly chart of iChart.CAK and PAK are highly coveted achievements in the K-pop industry and are often used as a measure of a song's success and popularity. Fans of K-pop artists actively work to achieve CAKs and PAKs by purchasing and streaming their favorite songs across multiple music platforms.Overall, iChart is an essential tool for K-pop fans and industry insiders as it provides a comprehensive and real-time snapshot of the current state of the Korean music scene.

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GUIDES

Amazon Music
Apple Music
Deezer
Shazam
Spotify
YouTube

AMAZON MUSIC

APPLE MUSIC

Deezer

Shazam

Spotify

Youtube

Song Requests

Here you can request songs to be played on the radio.
It is advised to first enter the name of the song instead of the artist to avoid confusion with the name.If you're unsure on how to request songs, you can check the strategy for Radio Airplays in our Billboard Strategy Section: