Summer hit
Summer hit is a term in the music industry for the songs of popular music that are associated by many music consumers with the summer of a given year and by intensive airplay achieve a higher level of awareness than other songs of the same season.
Genesis
Summer hits, their textual content was focused on holiday or summer themes emerged first from the rather accidental release of songs during the summer time. Thus, published on June 11, 1958 Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran or Here Comes Summer by Jerry Keller in June 1959 to explain. Both developed into million-seller and was thus a model for other sellers of this type first number -one hit was then a year later Brian Hyland Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini, which was also sold over a million times. The first summer hits had thus also with the summer issues connected to the content, but this later was not always the case.
Contents of a Summer Hits
In retrospect, almost every year can be assigned at least one summer hit, although there is no official and neutral decision-maker who declares a song for the summer hit of the year. Rather, certain songs from promotional reasons are advertised with the title " summer hit" by the music industry in the spring of each year. Sometimes also try companies to stylize the music used in advertising as part of its communication policy to summer hits.
One study by the University of Huddersfield ( UK ) in September 2005 for the in-flight magazine "British Airways High Life Magazine" revealed one stereotyped formula that creates the perfect summer hit. Dr. Rupert Till analyzed classified as summer hits chart hits and reached in this way to a " catchy quotient " ( " catchiness quotient " ), composed of different variables. These include in particular the removal of half-tones to the highest and lowest tone in the chorus, the number of chords used, number of steps in a dance sequence or expenses for promotion by the record company. The quotient certify to the study, that there is a formula for the phenomenon of summer hits and why the charts were invaded by such a catchy and memorable songs from musicological reasons in almost every summer. However, the study leaves open whether all investigated from her summer hits follow this scheme and whether the buyer of phonograms focus their buying behavior afterwards.
Features a classic summer hits are therefore usually a simple melody, a danceable rhythm and simple text. As an accompaniment pattern often serve Latin American dances such as samba, salsa and merengue. In addition, a summer hit is very often associated with a very simple dance party, while the text mostly moved between holiday and summer themes.
In general, the summer hit and the interpreter is a one- hit wonder, or at least only of short-lived duration in the music business. From a real summer hit in the strict sense can be objectively speaking only when he reached number one in the charts in at least one country from June to September of the year ( in the southern hemisphere in accordance December to June ). In addition, summer hits, lift out by intensive airplay on the radio from other, simultaneously published titles. Sales Technically known in the music industry that a summer hit plate sales requires less than a published title in the winter if it is to achieve the same rank in the charts. The reason is that the seasonal sales focus of the record industry is in the winter. The phenomenon of the summer hits is only in the most liquid markets for recorded music known ( U.S., UK, Japan, Germany and others). Here also appear almost regularly in the secondary exploitation compilations summer hits, such as in Germany, the CDs " Biggest Hits of Summer" (2003) and " Hit Giganten - Summer Hits" ( 2004).
As one of the most successful summer hits of all time applies In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry, which was published on 22 May 1970 and has been at least six million copies. He realizes all the requirements of a summer hit: textually related to the summer recreational contents, danceable rhythms, catchy melody, timely publication and rank number one in the charts in 26 countries. Lou Bega's Mambo No. Even. 5 belongs to the category of best-selling summer hits.
This results from the interaction of typical summer songs and an intense radio airplay the peak season for pop music, although not exactly the fine art of pop.