Hot Dance Singles Sales
Encyclopedia
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard
magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music
and remixes. It was formerly known as Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, when the chart was restricted to sales of the 12" Maxi Single and CD Maxi Single format, but in recent years, singles only released in the CD Single
format have apparently been counted too.
The Hot Dance Singles Sales once included non-dance songs and singles without dance remixes if they were released as maxi single
s, including singles by such artists as the Industrial metal
band Ministry
and alternative rock
band The Smiths
. It was felt that this rule misled the chart's purpose of measuring the sales of dance music, and thus non-dance/non-remix maxi singles have more recently been excluded from this chart. As a result, although many non-dance acts release singles today in the maxi single format, they are not included in this chart unless the single includes dance remixes.
At first when the chart was introduced, it had a 50-song chart position. But by 2001 it was reduced to 25 and after the introduction of the Dance Airplay Chart in 2003 was reduced even further to its current 10-song chart position. They were also featured alongside the Dance Club Play Chart in the print edition of Billboard until 2003, when it became online only through Billboard.biz.
In 2004 the single "Me Against The Music" by Britney Spears and Madonna won the award for "best-selling singles dance" at the Billboard Music Awards.
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and remixes. It was formerly known as Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, when the chart was restricted to sales of the 12" Maxi Single and CD Maxi Single format, but in recent years, singles only released in the CD Single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
format have apparently been counted too.
The Hot Dance Singles Sales once included non-dance songs and singles without dance remixes if they were released as maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
s, including singles by such artists as the Industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
. It was felt that this rule misled the chart's purpose of measuring the sales of dance music, and thus non-dance/non-remix maxi singles have more recently been excluded from this chart. As a result, although many non-dance acts release singles today in the maxi single format, they are not included in this chart unless the single includes dance remixes.
At first when the chart was introduced, it had a 50-song chart position. But by 2001 it was reduced to 25 and after the introduction of the Dance Airplay Chart in 2003 was reduced even further to its current 10-song chart position. They were also featured alongside the Dance Club Play Chart in the print edition of Billboard until 2003, when it became online only through Billboard.biz.
In 2004 the single "Me Against The Music" by Britney Spears and Madonna won the award for "best-selling singles dance" at the Billboard Music Awards.