Shazam predicts 2013's Billboard chart toppers

Shazam predicts 2013's Billboard chart toppers

Shazam is a London-based company whose app has more than 250 million registered users; it provides a service enabling users to tag songs. Last Friday it released its third annual predictions for Billboard chart toppers in 2013.

The list was compiled using basically two kinds of inputs: tagging data (coming from the users) and editorial judgement. Shazam executive VP of marketing David Jones also pointed out that no "vested interests" (read: no lobbying from artists and their representatives) had any influence.
Basically Shazam has a constant flow of raw data from people who have expressed enough interest in a song to make the effort to identify it. So it's not the volume that's taken into account, Jones said, but also the "velocity" of the tagging (how fast it's catching on). The second element is editorial, reflecting the judgement of Shazam's music team.

Shazam's formula to identify potential hits has led to some success in the past: four of its 10 predictions last year ended up doing well in 2012, including Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, A$AP Rocky and Michael Kiwanuka.

So here are Shazam's predictions for 2013's chart toppers:

French Montana
Bei Maejor
AlunaGeorge
Kodaline
Becky G
Angel Haze
Rhye
Tito Lopez
Baauer
Haim