Katy Perry tops new MTV Hit List

Big news from hip music channel MTV. This is the launch of Your MTV Top 20, which aims to be the world’s most comprehensive weekly music video chart and, take careful note of this unique quality, it is the only one ultimately determined by fan interaction via social and digital media.

Do you hear the sound of the hammer on the nail in the coffin of the radio top tunes or of Billboard’s weekly Hot 100? Perhaps almost imperceptibly now. It could get louder later although there is always bound to be a hit list wherever there is music. Spotify, Pandora or whatever service you use will most likely still have its own version. But it cannot be denied that music is now also visual and videos like those seen on MTV are very important.

As Bruce Gilmer, EVP, Music, Talent Programming and Events of Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), of which MTV is a part, says: “Music videos are hotter than ever and fans have a huge appetite for them across MTV’s platforms. They’re also highly competitive via social media when demonstrating their allegiance to their favorite artists. Entry onto the Your MTV Top 20 chart will be gained through MTV’s ‘most played’ videos as programmed by our music and talent themes around the world.”

The Your MTV Top 20 chart will be compiled based on fan interactions with the week’s most popular global music videos from MTV’s own websites and apps, social media and data from industry-leading music intelligence platform and Spotify subsidiary, The Echo Nest. Your MTV Top 20 will specifically leverage The Echo Nest’s “artist and song hotness” data to track popularity and trending metrics of music across a variety of sources across the web.

From what I understand in this description, the list will be truly global or whatever you call what encompasses data culled from wherever the web or MTV is available. This means that we now have easy access to varieties of foreign music. This chart can open our ears and eyes to music and video activity from almost everywhere in all types and languages.

And vice versa, our hit artists will now also be seen and heard in all those other places if they make the hit list. I sure hope that this development will encourage local artists and producers to improve the quality of their work.

Each week MTV will curate a shortlist of the most played videos from more than 60 MTV branded TV networks across 160 countries around the world. The chart will be fast and accurate updating every five minutes right up to the weekly publish every Monday or Tuesday depending on where you are in the world.

The chart website www.yourmtvtop20.com will be accessible in English, German, Italian, Spanish and French, with more languages to follow. It will also be fully adaptive for access via mobile or tablet and have inbuilt share and social functionality.

As fans view or stream these videos on the chart website or via third party platforms and like, share, tweet and vote for their favorites via social media, their activity will influence the rankings and ultimately define the Top 20 hottest videos from around the world each week.

The first artist to top Your MTV Top 20 first tabulation last week is Katy Perry. This comes as no surprise as Perry was also confirmed as the best-selling digital artist of all time after shifting over 72 million downloads. Yes, you read it right, it is 72 million downloads. Hit songs can generate that much in sales. So fret not that physical CDs are not selling anymore. Hits will be hits in whatever form they come in and the trend now is downloads from the net.

Back to MTV and here it is, the very first-ever Your MTV Top 20 chart dated July 7: Katy Perry — Birthday; One Direction — You & I; Michael Jackson feat. Justin Timberlake — Love Never Felt So Good; Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea — Problem; Lady Gaga — G.U.Y.; Ed Sheeran — Sing; Calvin Harris — Summer; Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX — Fancy; Sia — Chandelier; 5 Seconds Of Summer — She Looks So Perfect.

Coldplay — A Sky Full Of Stars; Katy Perry — Dark Horse; John Legend — All Of Me; Paramore — Ain’t It Fun; Lana Del Rey — West Coast; Coldplay — Magic; OneRepublic — Love Runs Out; Rita Ora — I Will Never Let You Down; Jennifer Lopez — First Love; and Aloe Blacc — The Man.

Now just thinking, with the ears and eyes of the world open to other sounds, could the arrival of Your MTV Top 20 also mean the end of the dominance of American and British pop music all over the world?

More MTV news. The upcoming 2014 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) is getting more and more exciting by the day. First, it was announced that pop’s rising star Ariana Grande will make her very first appearance on the VMAs main stage with her new single Break Free, that was produced by Zedd.

Now comes that news that Usher, star of many memorable numbers at the VMAs, will be returning this year. And hold on to your horses, set to make their debut at the awards will be Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin of the hot Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer.

The big day is on Aug. 24 which, I guess, means that we will be getting the show live from the Forum in Inglewood, California on Monday morning, Aug. 25.