The Hot Chart uses the following logic for publication:
To qualify for the chart, a song must have spins from a minimum of 2 reporting stations. Songs not yet qualified may appear on the “Bubbling Under” list to reflect airplay.
Songs that have been on the chart more than 36 weeks are automatically moved to the Recurrent chart. The Recurrent chart shows up to the 30 most-spun songs. The 36 week threshold may change according to a vote of reporting stations. Recurrent chart will take several weeks to fully populate.
The chart reflects airplay for the previous Monday-Sunday week and is tabulated at 12pm the following Monday. Most charts are published immediately at 12:01pm on Mondays unless verification of spins is needed.
How Our Chart Weights Are Determined:
Our chart is built on actual airplay spins reported by radio stations across the country — but not all spins are counted equally. The weight a station carries is determined by two things: whether the station qualifies for weighting at all, and how large its audience is relative to other qualifying stations.
Station Eligibility:
Not every reporting station receives weighted credit. To qualify for full weighting, a station must broadcast on a primary FM signal. Stations that are streaming-only do not receive weighted status, as their reach and measurement methodology differ significantly from over-the-air broadcasting. Similarly, stations broadcasting on HD-2 or HD-3 subchannels are not eligible for weighting — these signals reach a much smaller subset of listeners and are not measured by standard cume reporting in the same way as a primary signal. This means a spin from a qualifying full-power FM station counts for more than a spin from an HD subchannel or an internet-only stream, even if both stations report the same song. All reporting stations contribute to the chart, but only qualifying stations carry weighted influence.
Audience Size:
Among qualifying stations, spins are further weighted by weekly cumulative audience (cume). A song heard by more listeners represents broader cultural reach, so stations with larger audiences carry more influence. However, the relationship isn’t simply proportional — we use a tiered model to prevent any single large-market station from dominating the chart. Broad, multi-station support still matters more than concentrated major-market spins.
The Result:
This methodology rewards songs with genuine cross-market momentum on real over-the-air radio while still giving proper credit to stations reaching the largest audiences.
The reporting panel itself is given the opportunity annually to vote on changes to the methodology.