A
hit single is a
recorded track or
single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official
music chart through repeated
radio airplay and/or significant commercial sales.
In the United States and the United Kingdom, a single is usually considered to be a hit when it has reached the official Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 or the Top 75 of the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for at least one week (the definition used by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles since the 1970s).
A hit single may be described as a "number one hit", a "top 10 hit", a "top 20 hit" or a "top 40 hit", depending on its peak position. In the UK, (where radio play is not included in the official charts) this ranking may not completely reflect the song's overall popularity, as the weekly chart position is solely based on a direct comparison with the sales of other singles released at around the same time. It is therefore not uncommon for a single to fail to chart, but to have actually sold more copies than other singles which are regarded as "hits" purely from their higher chart placement during a period of generally low sales.
In the UK the number of sales required to achieve a hit single has been steadily declining in line with the general decline in single sales. Actual figures vary considerably depending on the time of year. In 2006 a number one single has usually sold around 30,000 copies per week. Sales of around 13,000 have been sufficient to reach the top ten. A single selling over 2,500 copies could make the top forty. These figures have approximately halved since 2002,[1] however, the growing popularity of download single sales in the UK and their recent inclusion in the UK charts indicate that sales are now increasing.[2]
