A summer hit is a term in entertainment industry which refers to a title (song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

, album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

) released and peaked in its popularity during summer

Summer

Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...

 and often later quickly faded away..

Rick Lyman, a culture reporter for The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, wrote:

"The summer hits of 2001 are making about as much money as hits from previous summers, but they are making it quicker, making more of it that ever on opening weekend. Movies are opening on more screens, generating staggering grosses, and then plummetting off the radar. Many executives of the Hollywood see this trend, which the call "front loading," as a fundamental change in the way the summer movies are watched."

A number of compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s are titled with words "Summer Hits", such as Hits 93 Volume 3 (22 Hot Summer Hits)

Hits 93 Volume 3

Hits 93 Volume 3 is a 22-track compilation album which charted on 14 August 1993 and was released by Telstar Records in association with BMG. The release was subtitled "22 Hot Summer Hits"....

or Summer Hits 2006, etc.

Songs that are marketed to be summer hits are very common, and often feature an upbeat tempo and descriptions of things such as relaxation outdoors and beach parties. These are songs considered ideal listening during summer activities. The summer hit is particularly common in modern country pop

Country pop

Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...

: see, for instance, Kid Rock

Kid Rock

Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...

's "All Summer Long

All Summer Long (Kid Rock song)

"All Summer Long" is the title of a song recorded by Kid Rock. It was released in 2008 as the third single from his ninth studio album Rock n Roll Jesus. The song contains musical and lyrical references to several hit songs of the 1970s, including Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", and Lynyrd...

" (which charted in multiple genres), Faith Hill

Faith Hill

Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

's "Sunshine and Summertime

Sunshine and Summertime

"Sunshine and Summertime" is the fourth single from American country singer Faith Hill's album Fireflies that reached the Country Top 10 in 2006, peaking at #7 on the Hot Country Songs charts.-About the song:...

," Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

' "Summer Nights

Summer Nights (Rascal Flatts song)

"Summer Nights" is the title of a song recorded by the country music group Rascal Flatts. It was written by the band's lead singer, Gary LeVox, along with Brett James and Busbee...

," Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

's California Gurls

California Gurls

"California Gurls" is an electropop song by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry and is the lead single of her third studio album, Teenage Dream. The song features rapper Snoop Dogg, and was produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco. According to Perry, the song is an answer song to...

, and Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney

Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...

's "Summertime

Summertime (Kenny Chesney song)

"Summertime" is the title of a song written by Craig Wiseman and Steve McEwan, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released in April 2006 as the third single from Chesney's 2005 album The Road and the Radio...

."

The opposite of a summer hit in the music industry would be a Christmas song

Christmas music

Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...

, a category that usually incorporates general winter songs as well.