Billboard
American music-industry publication and chart authority covering recorded music, artists, touring, business, and entertainment.
Last updated October 22, 2026
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Overview
Billboard is an American music-industry media brand whose best-known products are the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts. The publication began in 1894 in Cincinnati, Ohio, when William Donaldson and James Hennegan established a trade paper serving the bill-posting and outdoor-entertainment business. Its early editorial remit extended across circuses, fairs, amusement attractions, burlesque, and other forms of traveling entertainment. The business also operated a mail service for traveling entertainers, reflecting the fragmented nature of the entertainment economy at the time. The title developed as technologies and audience habits changed. Donaldson bought Hennegan’s interest in 1900 after a period of disagreement, and the paper moved from monthly publication to a weekly format with a stronger emphasis on current news. During the first half of the twentieth century, Billboard followed the rise of phonographs, jukeboxes, and radio. Those developments gradually made recorded music and broadcasting more central to the publication’s identity. Rather than functioning only as a consumer music magazine, Billboard became an industry-facing source of information about sales, radio exposure, touring, retail, publishing, and later streaming. As its music focus strengthened, subjects that had once appeared within Billboard’s pages were separated into specialist publications. Amusement Business, launched in 1961, addressed outdoor entertainment and related sectors, allowing Billboard to concentrate more heavily on music. Billboard Publications also owned or acquired other trade and consumer titles, including publications connected with vending and advertising. The company remained under the ownership of Donaldson and Hennegan family interests until its sale to private investors in 1985, after which the brand passed through several ownership structures. Billboard’s authority rests particularly on its chart methodology and historical continuity. The Hot 100 measures the performance of individual songs, while the Billboard 200 ranks albums. Over time, the chart portfolio expanded to cover genres, formats, radio, digital downloads, streaming, touring, publishing, and other segments of the music business. The charts are used by record companies, artists, managers, broadcasters, retailers, streaming services, journalists, and advertisers as reference points for market performance and cultural visibility. The modern Billboard is a multiplatform business rather than a print-only magazine. Its website publishes music news, interviews, criticism, photographs, videos, chart reports, business coverage, and searchable chart archives. The brand also extends into live events, conferences, editorial franchises, and awards programming, most visibly the Billboard Music Awards. International activity includes localized editorial and event relationships, including Billboard Japan coverage, while the main brand continues to operate from the United States. Billboard’s current positioning combines trade journalism, data products, entertainment reporting, and brand-led events. Its influence comes from connecting public-facing music culture with the commercial infrastructure behind it. The publication’s long history gives its charts and editorial franchises archival value, while its digital operations allow it to cover streaming-era releases, catalog activity, creator careers, touring, music rights, and industry transactions in near real time. Ownership and operating arrangements have changed repeatedly, but the Billboard name remains active and internationally recognized as a music-media authority.
History
Billboard was established in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters and outdoor entertainment. The founders’ original market was broader than the modern music business: the paper reported on circuses, fairs, amusement attractions, burlesque, and other traveling shows. It also offered a mail service for entertainers on the road, providing practical information to a mobile entertainment workforce. The partnership changed at the beginning of the twentieth century. After a temporary separation connected with editorial differences, Donaldson acquired Hennegan’s interest in 1900. On May 5 of that year, the publication changed from a monthly to a weekly paper and placed greater emphasis on timely news. This shift helped Billboard compete in an entertainment economy in which schedules, bookings, advertising, and audience demand changed quickly. During the following decades, the publication tracked the effects of new technologies. Phonographs, jukeboxes, and radio expanded the reach of recorded music and created new commercial relationships among performers, publishers, manufacturers, broadcasters, retailers, and venues. Billboard increasingly concentrated on these sectors. Its editorial and data functions evolved from general entertainment trade coverage toward specialized reporting on music consumption and the businesses supporting it. Billboard Publications expanded through additional titles and acquisitions. A magazine serving candy and cigarette-machine vendors, Vend, and an advertising trade publication, Tide, were among the properties associated with the company. By 1969, Billboard Publications was reported to own 11 trade and consumer publications. As the company diversified, some subjects were moved into separate publications. Amusement Business began in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment, enabling Billboard to devote more space and institutional attention to music. The publication’s family ownership continued after Donaldson’s death in 1925, with descendants of Donaldson and Hennegan retaining control until the company was sold to private investors in 1985. Billboard subsequently passed through multiple ownership periods. The title’s most enduring asset was its chart franchise, which developed from trade information into a widely cited record of popular-music performance. The Hot 100 and Billboard 200 became especially prominent, and additional charts were introduced for genres, formats, radio, retail, digital downloads, streaming, and other areas. The digital era broadened Billboard’s role. In addition to the magazine, the brand built an online publishing operation offering breaking news, artist interviews, videos, photographs, chart analysis, and music-business reporting. It also expanded its event and awards activities, including the Billboard Music Awards and industry conferences. These activities turned Billboard into a media and experience brand whose commercial model includes editorial content, events, partnerships, advertising, and chart-related products. In the twenty-first century, Billboard has covered the transformation of the music business from physical sales and radio-centered promotion toward downloads, on-demand streaming, global touring, catalog investment, music publishing, and data-driven discovery. Its reporting links artist careers and consumer culture with the financial and operational decisions of labels, publishers, platforms, promoters, and investors. The brand remains active as a United States-based publication with international digital reach and localized or partner activity in markets including Japan.
- 2019
Eldridge becomes associated with Billboard ownership
[1]Billboard becomes part of the privately held media portfolio associated with Eldridge Industries.
- 1985
Family ownership ends
[2]The publication is sold to private investors after remaining under Donaldson and Hennegan family ownership.
- 1961
Amusement Business is launched
A separate publication is created for outdoor entertainment, helping Billboard focus more strongly on music.
- 1925
Death of William Donaldson
[2]After Donaldson’s death, ownership remains with the Donaldson and Hennegan families for several decades.
- 1900
Donaldson assumes control
[2]William Donaldson purchases James Hennegan’s interest and changes the publication from monthly to weekly, increasing its emphasis on current news.
- 1894
Billboard is founded
[2]William Donaldson and James Hennegan establish a trade publication serving bill posters and the outdoor-entertainment business.
Products and positioning
A leading music-chart authority and entertainment-industry publication combining audience-facing music coverage with trade reporting, data, events, and awards.
Music chart · 1958
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard’s principal singles chart, ranking song performance in the United States through a methodology that has evolved with changes in music consumption. The chart has become a central reference for commercial success, radio and streaming visibility, artist milestones, and popular-music history.
Music chart · 1956
Billboard 200
Billboard’s principal album chart for the United States. It provides a recurring measure of album performance and has adapted over time as the market moved from physical formats toward downloads and streaming-equivalent consumption.
Magazine and digital media · 1894
Billboard magazine and digital publishing
The core editorial operation publishes music news, artist interviews, photographs, videos, chart stories, reviews, and coverage of the recording, publishing, touring, radio, streaming, and live-entertainment businesses.
Awards and live entertainment
Billboard Music Awards
An awards franchise associated with Billboard that recognizes artists, recordings, and music-industry performance through categories connected with Billboard chart activity and related audience metrics.
Controversies
2022
Billboard faces backlash over attribution in BTS coverage
Billboard faced online criticism after its initial article attributed Jimmy Kimmel's words comparing BTS and COVID-19 to actress Ashley Park. The outlet later edited the headline and introduction. The source reports accusations of racism but does not establish that allegation as a determination.
2020
Billboard responds to allegations about Hot 100 chart sales
In May 2020, Billboard responded to allegations concerning sales of the songs "Stuck With U" and "Gooba" and their placement on the Hot 100 chart. The allegations claimed that Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande bought their way to the top of the chart. Billboard explained how sales of both songs were counted in response to these claims. The response addressed the counting of sales for the two tracks rather than confirming or denying any specific allegation of chart manipulation.
Brand decisions
1961
Separate outdoor-entertainment coverage into Amusement BusinessStrategyBackground
Billboard historically covered many forms of entertainment, including circuses, fairs, and other outdoor attractions.
Action taken
A separate publication, Amusement Business, was established to cover outdoor entertainment and allow Billboard to concentrate more heavily on music.
Aftermath
The change reinforced Billboard’s identity as a music-industry publication.
- Expand from print publication to digital music-media platformStrategy
Background
Changes in music consumption and the growth of online media reduced the sufficiency of a print-only publishing model.
Action taken
Billboard developed digital news, video, photography, chart-access, and online audience products alongside its magazine and event businesses.
Aftermath
The brand operates as a multiplatform media and entertainment business with international digital reach.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Billboard faces backlash over attribution in BTS coverage[4]
Reported:
Billboard faced online criticism after its initial article attributed Jimmy Kimmel's words comparing BTS and COVID-19 to actress Ashley Park. The outlet later edited the headline and introduction. The source reports accusations of racism but does not establish that allegation as a determination.
Billboard launches two Vietnam music charts[5]
Reported:
Billboard launched two Vietnam charts: Billboard Vietnam Hot 100 and Billboard Vietnam Top Vietnamese Songs.
TWICE’s album debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200[6]
Reported:
TWICE’s album “Formula of Love: O+T=<3” debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, marking the group’s highest ranking on the chart to date.
BTS tops seven Billboard year-end chart categories[7]
Reported:
Billboard's 2020 year-end charts placed BTS at the top of seven categories, including Top Artist Duo/Group and Social 50 Artist. The article reports that Billboard released the year-end charts on Friday.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Billboard wins two ASME awards[8]
Reported:
Billboard won two awards in the American Society of Magazine Authors' Best Cover Contest 2020 + Awards for Photography and Illustration.
Billboard responds to allegations about Hot 100 chart sales[3]
Reported:
Billboard explained how sales of “Stuck With U” and “Gooba” were counted in response to allegations that Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande bought their way to the top of the chart.
Sources8 sources
- 1Billboard — Music Charts, News, Photos & Videobillboard.com
- 2Billboard (magazine)en.wikipedia.org
- 3Billboard responds to allegations about Hot 100 chart salesjustjared.com
- 4Billboard faces backlash over attribution in BTS coveragesputnikglobe.com
- 5Billboard推出两个越南音乐排行榜zh.vietnamplus.vn
- 6TWICE专辑首次登上Billboard 200第三名soompi.com
- 7BTS在Billboard年终榜单七个类别中排名第一kpopstarz.com
- 8Billboard获得两项ASME奖项billboard.com
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