08/09/2025
Dear Musicians,
How to Get on Big Charts International
If your goal is to get on Hip Hop 100, Top 100, Rolling Stone, or any of the major charts, there’s something most independent artists overlook: proper tracking and registration of your songs. It’s not enough to just release music on Spotify or Apple Music—the industry needs proof that your song is being played, purchased, and streamed.
Here’s where BDS, Mediabase, and SoundScan come in:
📡 BDS (Broadcast Data Systems)
BDS monitors radio and TV airplay across thousands of stations. Every spin is logged digitally. Without BDS registration, airplay won’t be officially counted, which means your song may be played, but it won’t contribute to chart positions or royalties.
📈 Mediabase
Mediabase tracks which songs are trending across radio stations. Charts, labels, and promoters use Mediabase data to see what’s hot and who’s moving. If your music isn’t registered here, you miss out on the data that proves your popularity and influence.
💿 SoundScan (Nielsen Music/MRC Data)
SoundScan tracks sales and digital streams for albums and singles. Billboard and other major charts rely on SoundScan data to determine rankings. Without registration, your sales and streams won’t be officially counted, meaning you could have a hit and it wouldn’t even appear on the charts.
🔥 Why It Matters:
If you want your music to appear on major charts, to attract labels, managers, promoters, and bookings, you cannot skip this step. These organizations collect the numbers, organize the data, and feed it to the charts. In other words: no registration = no chart presence, no proof of success, and lost opportunities.
✅ Pro Tip for Independent Artists:
Register your songs with BDS, Mediabase, and SoundScan early. Make sure your music is tracked, credited, and reported properly. Every radio spin, every stream, every sale matters — and now it can count toward your breakthrough.
Your music deserves recognition. Make the charts notice you. Make
