Top 40

This article is about the generic music industry term. For the radio format, see Contemporary hit radio.

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The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. When used without qualification, it typically refers to the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music songs of the previous week. Top 40 became the dominant radio format of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s

1 History
2 In contemporary publications
3 In contemporary radio
4 Further reading
5 References
6 External links

History

The Top 40, or top forty, whether surveyed by a radio station or a publication, was a list of songs that shared only the common characteristic of being newly released. Its popularity coincided with the rapid changes in recording technology in the 1950s and 60s. In 1954, the recording industry agreed upon a standard recording format for higher fidelity music, so any new record player could play any new record. Also that year, new single records were released on 45 rpm records and the Top 40 thereafter became a survey of the popularity of these records. Tape recording had become perfected, allowing artists more freedom as they composed songs, especially novelty songs.

publication]]s.

Other lists of hit songs may include a different number of entries, such as a "Top 50" or "Top 100".

By the late eighties and early nineties, the 45 rpm record would decrease in popularity and other means would be used to evaluate the popularity of new songs. As a result, chart runs for songs tend to be longer than they were in the 1960s and 70s.

In contemporary publications

The current top songs are tracked by a variety of trade publications, such as:

Top 40 Mainstream, a chart of current popular songs in the United States, compiled by Billboard Magazine and its various predecessors
Radio & Records magazine, recently purchased by Billboard Publications
Top Latino, the Latin American Music Chart.
UK Top Forty, the British version of the same concept.
Dutch Top 40, the Dutch music chart.
Ö3 Austria Top 40, the official Austrian music chart.
Los 40 Principales, in Spain.
The Net 40, a worldwide user generated Top 40 show.

Radio programs that highlight currently popular songs also refer to the "Top 40":

In contemporary radio

Top 40 (radio format), a radio format based on playing the top 40 popular songs of the week (may or may not be based on Billboard's chart), also known as "contemporary hit radio" or "CHR"
The Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40, a weekly syndicated countdown started and hosted by synonymous radio personality Rick Dees and sometimes his son Kevin Dees as well as celebrities who fill in when Rick Dees is committed elsewhere.
American Top 40, a weekly radio syndicated countdown radio show originally created and hosted by Casey Kasem from 1970 to 1988 and again from 1998 to 2004, and hosted by Ryan Seacrest, as of 2004.
EHR Top 40, European Hit Radio Top 40 aired in Latvia and Lithuania.