Pop 100 - History

History

The Pop 100 was conceived by Michael Ellis, and was first published in the Billboard issue of February 12, 2005. It was created to focus "on the songs with the greatest mainstream appeal, while the Hot 100 will be driven by the songs with the highest song rotations," according to Billboard chart editor Geoff Mayfield. In a press release about the new chart, he also stated that "the Pop 100's construction also makes sense when you notice the high correlation between the songs with the most top 40 plays and the best selling digital tracks."

The Pop 100 used only mainstream radio impressions data, derived from the Pop 100 Airplay chart. Its calculation also considered digital and physical sales. When the Pop 100 was first published, the Hot 100 changed its format as well. Digital downloads were incorporated into the equation which tabulates a song's rank on the chart. Prior to this, only radio airplay and physical singles sales were used to determine positions.

A Pop 100 Airplay chart was created alongside the Pop 100. It measured mainstream top 40 radio airplay and was the successor to Top 40 Tracks, the Billboard chart that formerly tracked airplay at that format after the Hot 100 panel was expanded to include a broader range of stations.