Analysis of Billboard Magazine Billboard magazine was first published in November 1894, this means that the magazine has been around for nearly 121 years! Originally the magazine focused on bill posting and outdoor amusements. It only began to specialize in the music industry in the 1950s. With the development of the jukebox ‘The Billboard’ began publishing music charts focusing on only 3 specific genres Pop, Rhythm & Blues and Country & Western. In 1961 ‘The Billboard’ was renamed ‘Billboard Music Week.’ The magazine then became devoted to the music industry. The title was then changed to ‘Billboard’ at the start of 1963. In 2005 the magazine and website were repositioned to provide coverage of all forms of digital/mobile entertainment. The iconic Billboard logo was used from October 1984 until January 2013, when they changed the style and typography of their logo. Before October 1984 the logo changed multiple times before sticking with the iconic logo for 29 years. After January 2013 Billboard got rid of the capital letter, the colours and made their font bolder. The logo no longer stays black and white the font changes colour every issue. Currently they still use this logo [October 2015].
Logo from Oct 1984 until Jan 2013
Current Logo
Billboard is not only a magazine but also has its own international charts and award show. Billboard maintains several internationally recognized charts, which track the most popular songs and albums. Billboard upholds charts across several categories on a weekly basis. The different charts include the Hot 100, Billboard 200, Dance and R&B/Hip-Hop. The Hot 100 and Billboard 200 rank the top songs and albums regardless of the genre. The Billboard Music Awards is an honor given Billboard. The show was held every year from 1989 until 2007. The awards returned in 2011 and is help in May of every year. It contains many categories including top artist, top group, top 100 album etc.
Billboard’s charts cover a wide variety of music including Hip Hop, Pop, R&B, Country, therefore the target audience of the magazine would also be varied, although typically it is more aimed at the younger generation as the majority of the time the magazine features more common artists opposed to those of the older generation of music.