You’ll now be able to see more than just trending hashtags on Twitter. You can track the most popular songs and artists as they ascend and descend the charts in real time.
Billboard and Twitter just debuted the new Billboard + Twitter Real-Time Chart, an interactive list that shows which songs have been shared on Twitter in a 24-hour span. The trending 140 chart documents the 140 most popular songs of the day (several Lady Gaga songs have been vacillating wildly today), and the emerging artists chart tracks the most popular songs by newer artists.
These charts are produced by tracking links shared on Twitter via streaming sites like Spotify or YouTube, or more general terms like “song” or “listen.” At its core, the project functions as a musical trend-tracker, but it also documents how people share and interact on Twitter.
Back in March, Bob Moczydlowsky, head of Twitter music, explained the partnership in a blog post:
“Music is one of the most talked about topics on Twitter. It’s where influencers, artists and fans discover and discuss new music in the moment. Every day, new songs and new artists get people tweeting in real-time, creating a social soundtrack of ongoing music conversation on Twitter.”
On Tuesday, Austin Mahone performed at a launch event in New York City, and songs from his new album, The Secret, immediately inundated the real-time chart, as his millions of fans (Mahomies, as they’re called) shared links to his songs or the album on Twitter.
In the wake of Twitter Music’s death, this looks to be the platform’s way of rebounding and highlighting the digital gulf between what’s on the Billboard Hot 100 and what fans and artist are talking about on Twitter. It could change what the #nowplaying tag actually means.
The charts will be rolling out over the summer.
Photo via Jason H. Smith/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
