Analyzing the Year in Billboard Charts

by Liz Colville

NPR music blog The Record has a nice research-heavy post today running down 2010 in Billboard charts, looking at the trends and stats surrounding the best contemporary music available to our ears. Not surprisingly (irritatingly?), most of the hits this year fell into the pop category, and a lot of the credit goes to one songwriter by the name of Dr. Luke. As for the rest of the credits, they seem dominated by “an Apatovian cabal of producers and songwriters, except with buzzy guitars and handclap beats instead of pot jokes and life lessons for immature men.” Indeed!