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It may seem like you’re hearing the same holiday songs being played over and over again during the holiday season, and you are.
The top 10 most-played holiday songs make up less than 1% of the total library, but garner 19% of the airplay. So, who tops the holiday music charts? And how do sales and on-demand streaming differ?
Although new artists are reproducing their own versions of classic holiday tunes while creating new ones as well, the charts seem to have a fondness for the classics, as they continue to top the charts.
During the holiday season, stations that switch to all-holiday are out with the new and in with the old. Adele, who’s song “Hello” typically tops the chart for U.S.-based AC stations, said goodbye to her ranking during the 2015 holiday season when Mariah Carey’s rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” took over.
Mariah’s song, which is now more than 20 years old, also ranked the highest in the number of streams, with approximately 44 million on-demand streams during the 2015 holiday period.
Holiday music has proven to be a huge success across the country’s radio airwaves. Nielsen research tells us which markets play the most holiday tunes and which songs are most popular.