Hit Songs Deconstructed - Powerful Analytical Tools for the Music Industry

Then & Now


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A lot can happen in the course of a year, especially when it comes to hit songwriting. However, sometimes things don’t change all that much.

Compared to this time last year, some of the most notable trend shifts are that the Electropop and R&B sub-genres are as popular as Hip Hop/Rap, and prominent drums/beats/percussion are as prevalent as the synth. Among the trends that remained the same are the top record label, most popular primary genre, and top first chorus occurrence categories.

What follows is a comparison of the top performing categories within the HSD Music Charts during the last week of October in 2014 and 2015.

Songs In The Hot 100 Top 10
Then (Week of 11/1/14)

Now (Week of 10/31/15)

*Note: Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off and Wildest Dreams are not included in the 2014 and 2015 Spotify playlists, respectively.

Remained The Same From 2014 to 2015

Categories Then Now
Top Lyrical Theme Love/Relationships
Top Electric Vs. Acoustic Instrumentation Category Primarily Electric
Top Primary Genre Pop
Top Record Label Republic
Top Lead Vocal Category Solo Male
Top Song Length Category 3:00 – 3:29
Top First Chorus Occurrence Category Moderately Late (0:40 – 0:59)
Top Intro Length Category Moderately Short (0:10 – 0:19)
Top Songwriter Count Three-Writer Teams

Changed From 2014 to 2015

Categories Then Now
Top Song Title Word Count Category Three Words Two Words
Top Primary Instrumentation Category Synth Prom. Drums/Beats/Perc. Synth
Top Sub-Genre/Infuencer Hip Hop/Rap Electropop Hip Hop/Rap R&B/Soul
Top Song Title Appearance Category 6 – 10 Appearances
21+ Appearances
6 – 10 Appearances

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