Billboard On The Record How The Billboard Charts Actually Work w/ Keith Caulfield
Oct 30, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Keith Caulfield, the Managing Director of Charts & Data Operations at Billboard, shares his wealth of knowledge on how songs land on the charts. He unpacks the evolution of Billboard’s methodologies from combining radio airplay and sales to incorporating streams and social media. Caulfield explores the impact of physical formats on first-week sales, the rise of catalog albums, and the role of fandom in chart success. He also highlights the challenges and strategies artists use today to make chart history.
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Started As An Intern And Stayed
- Keith Caulfield started at Billboard as an intern and stayed on after college.
- He pressed colleagues until they hired him and has worked at Billboard for decades.
How The Two Flagship Charts Work
- The Hot 100 mixes radio airplay, sales, and streaming to rank songs nationally.
- The Billboard 200 combines album sales, track purchases, and streams to rank albums.
New Formats Enter Charts Carefully
- Billboard adds new consumption formats cautiously and only when they reflect real market behavior.
- User-generated content (UGC) like TikTok posts currently does not count directly toward chart metrics.