Baauer's "Harlem Shake" No. 1; New Billboard Chart Formula

Producer/DJ Baauer’s viral hit “Harlem Shake” is the No. 1 song in the country. That may come as no surprise—the inescapable track has been all over the Web lately. But its chart peak is also the result of a new Billboard Hot 100 method that now factors in YouTube views.

The remixed criteria will allow songs with high YouTube numbers to nudge their way on Billboard’s weekly Hot 100 singles chart. According to the New York Times, the chart adjustment has been in the works for some time, but the success of “Harlem Shake" compelled Billboard to incorporate it sooner.

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Simply put, YouTube creates stars. In an industry where sales are still slumping, the definition of a “hit song” has changed drastically (see: PSY’s “Gangnam Style”), so this upgrade makes sense.

“The notion that a song has to sell in order to be a hit feels a little two or three years ago to me,” Billboard’s Editorial Eirector Bill Werde told the Times. “The music business today—much to its credit—has started to learn that there are lots of different ways a song can be a hit, and lots of different ways that the business can benefit from it being a hit.”