The Gamification of Music: History of the Billboard Charts with Bryan Rolli

What’s all this talk about fans “gaming” the Billboard Charts? In recent months, music critics have argued that BTS’ “Butter” is not the biggest song in America, despite sitting at No 1 on the Hot 100 for 9 weeks, pointing fingers at BTS’ ARMY fanbase for manipulating their position by buying and streaming the song. 

If it sounds hypocritical, it is. Since the creation of the Billboard Charts in 1958, record labels and industry insiders have been using tactics to inflate artists’ numbers and in turn, boost their position on the charts. 

In this episode, we’re joined by music journalist Bryan Rolli to take a look at the history of the charts, inflation tactics, and examine the case studies of Lil Nas X’s unprecedented 19-week No 1 streak with “Old Town Road” and the manipulation accusations surrounding BTS’s “Butter.” 

You can read Bryan’s work on Forbes and follow him on Twitter for more. 

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Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million

Check out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com 

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