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ROCK TRENDS deconstructed

Q4-2010 (October - December)

deconstructed

Q4-2010 Rock Analysis

Q4-2010 Top 10 Song List Page 3

At-A-Glance: Structure Chart: Page 4

At-A-Glance: Lyrical Theme/P.O.V Page 5

At-A-Glance: Song Titles Page 6

Summary Recap: #1 Hits Page 8

Summary Recap: Non-#1’s (#2-#10) Hits Page 9

Summary Recap: All Top 10 Hits Page 10

At-A-Glance Comparison Chart (#1’s, #2-#10, All) Page 10

Detail Recap: Song Structure Analysis Page 12

Detail Recap: Song Length Analysis Page 13

Detail Recap: Intro Analysis Page 14

Detail Recap: Outro Analysis Page 15

Detail Recap: 1st Chorus Hit – Timeframe Page 17

Detail Recap: 1st Chorus Hit – Percent of Total Song Page 18

Waveforms: #1 Hits Page 20

The Ideal Hit Rock Song: Q4-2010 Page 21

New Top 10 Hit Arrivals Chart: Q4-2010 Page 22

De-charted Top 10 Hits: Q3-2010 Page 23

New Q4 Arrivals / Q3 De-charted song comparison: #1 Hits Page 23

New Q4 Arrivals / Q3 De-charted song comparison: All Top 10 Hits Page 24

Q1 – Q4 Top 10 Rock Song Quarterly Comparison Chart Page 26

Q4 – Q3 Comparison Key Points Page 26

Q1 – Q4 Trend Analysis & Graphs Page 27

Trend Recap Q1 – Q4 Page 31

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 2 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. This Rock Trends Deconstructed Report is based on the 20 Hit Rock Songs that entered the Billboard Rock Top 10 during Q4-2010.

#1 Hit Rock Songs (5):

Peak position Song Artist

#1 Another Way To Die Disturbed

#1 Lay Me Down The Dirty Heads

#1 Say You’ll Haunt Me Stone Sour

#1 The Catalyst Linkin Park

#1 Tighten Up The Black Keys

#2 - #10 Rock Songs (15):

Peak position Song Artist

#2 Animal Neon Trees

#2 Waiting for the End Linkin Park

#3 Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons

#3 Nightmare Avenged Sevenfold

#3 Radioactive Kings Of Leon

#3 Savior Rise Against

#3 World So Cold Three Days Grace

#5 Lisztomania Phoenix

#5 Love-Hate-Sex-Pain Godsmack

#6 Kick in the Teeth Papa Roach

#7 Porn Star Dancing My Darkest Days

#9 My Best Theory Jimmy Eat World

#10 Lesson Learned Alice in Chains

#10 The Sex is Good Saving Abel

#10 Undisclosed Desires Muse

The chart below provides a snapshot of key structural elements present within the top 10 Rock songs from Q4-2010.

BB Peak Song Intro Outro 1st % Into Song Artist Structure Chorus Position Length Length Length Hits Song

Another Way To Die Disturbed 1 A-A-B-A-B-Solo-B 4:14 0:19 0:19 1:45 41%

Lay Me Down The Dirty Heads 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:36 0:10 0:22 0:55 25%

Say You’ll Haunt Me Stone Sour 1 A-B-A-B-Solo-C-B 4:24 0:14 n/a 0:50 19%

The Catalyst Linkin Park 1 A-A-Solo-C-A 5:43 0:32 0:25 n/a n/a

Tighten Up The Black Keys 1 A-A-B-A-A-B-C-B 3:31 0:21 n/a n/a n/a

AVERAGES FOR BILLBOARD #1 HITS 4:17 0:19 0:22 1:10 29%

Animal Neon Trees 2 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:32 0:16 n/a 0:47 22%

Waiting For The End Linkin Park 2 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 3:25 0:17 n/a 0:52 25%

Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons 3 A-B-A-B-Solo-C-B 4:07 0:28 n/a 0:55 22%

Nightmare Avenged Sevenfold 3 A-B-A-B-Solo-C-B 6:15 1:09 n/a 1:41 27%

Radioactive Kings of Leon 3 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 5:05 0:46 0:29 1:24 28%

Savior Rise Against 3 A-A-B-A-B-Solo-B-C-B 4:02 n/a 0:21 1:06 27%

World So Cold Three Days Grace 3 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-B 4:23 0:08 n/a 0:52 20%

Lisztomania Phoenix 5 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-B 4:09 0:16 n/a 1:10 28%

Love-Hate-Sex-Pain Godsmack 5 A-B-A-B-C-B 5:27 0:46 0:48 1:21 25%

Kick in The Teeth Papa Roach 6 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:18 0:30 0:22 0:56 28%

Porn Star Dancing My Darkest Days 7 A-B-A-B-C 5:47 1:12 0:52 2:07 37%

My Best Theory Jimmy Eat World 9 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-A-B 4:01 0:43 n/a 1:07 28%

Lesson Learned Alice in Chains 10 A-A-B-Solo-B 4:17 0:18 0:26 2:07 49%

The Sex is Good Saving Abel 10 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-A-B 3:31 0:06 0:22 0:38 18%

Undisclosed Desires Muse 10 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:56 0:16 0:21 0:50 21%

AVERAGES FOR BILLBOARD NON #1 HITS 4:21 0:30 0:33 1:11 28%

TOTAL AVERAGES 4:19 0:25 0:27 1:10 28%

The charts below provide a snapshot of each songs lyrical theme and the perspective in which it’s communicated.

#1 Hits

Song Artist Primary P.O.V. Lyrical Theme

Another Way To Die Disturbed 2nd Destroying the Earth

Lay Me Down The Dirty Heads 3rd Love/Relationships

Say You’ll Haunt Me Stone Sour 1st Love/Relationships

The Catalyst Linkin Park 1st Destruction of Society

Tighten Up The Black Keys 1st Love/Relationships

• After seeing more of a mix of lyrical themes during the previous quarter, we now see a small majority (60%) focusing on love/relationships. • The other two songs in the category focus on a destruction of society / destroying the earth theme. • A small majority of songs (60%) are told from a 1st person perspective, while the other two are conveyed from a 2nd and 3rd person point of view.

#2 - #10 Hits

Song Artist Primary P.O.V. Lyrical Theme

Animal Neon Trees 1st Love/Relationships

Waiting for the End Linkin Park 1st Love/Relationships

Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons 2nd Love/Relationships

Price you pay for being bad in Nightmare Avenged Sevenfold 2nd life (i.e. going to Hell)

Radioactive Kings of Leon 2nd Going back to your roots

Savior Rise Against 1st Love/Relationships

World So Cold Three Days Grace 1st Love/Relationships

Lisztomania Phoenix 1st Love/Relationships

Love-Hate-Sex-Pain Godsmack 1st Love/Relationships

Kick in the Teeth Papa Roach 1st Perseverance

Porn Star Dancing My Darkest Days 1st Strippers

My Best Theory Jimmy Eat World 1st Love/Relationships

Lesson Learned Alice in Chains 2nd Personal Development

The Sex is Good Saving Abel 1st Love/Relationships

Undisclosed Desires Muse 1st Love/Relationships

• In Q4 we saw 10 out of 15 songs (67%) dealing with a love / relationship theme, as opposed to 7 out of 15 songs (47%) during the previous quarter. • The next most popular theme deals with some type of personal development, including perseverance, going back to your roots and the price you pay for being bad in life. • The black sheep in the bunch is “Porn Star Dancing”, which has a stripper theme. • The majority of songs (73%) are told from a first person perspective (as opposed to 60% during the previous quarter). The remaining 27% are conveyed from the 2nd person.

AT-A-GLANCE: Song Titles

The Chart below shows how many times the title appears in the song, what section it appears in, how many times it occurs within the section, and where the title is placed in the section.

#1 Hits

Tot. Occurances Occurances Song Section(s) Placement in Section In Song in Section

Turn- By itself on the turn around, 2nd to last line in Turn (1), Around¸ verse (last phrase on line), last two lines of the Another Way To Die 10 Verse (1), Verse¸ chorus (last phrases on each line). Repeats in Chr (2) Chorus last section of song.

Repeated 4 times in the chorus, it’s the only Lay Me Down 12 Chorus 4 phrase in the section.

Occurs on the second line, last phrase and last Say You’ll Haunt Me 10 Chorus 2 line/last phrase of section.

The Catalyst 0 n/a n/a The title is not mentioned in the song.

First phrase on the line toward the middle of Tighten Up 1 Verse 1 the song.

Key Points • On average, the title appears 6.6 times per song in #1 hit Rock songs. • Three songs had between 10 and 12 occurrences, while two songs had 1 and no mention of the title within the song.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 6 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. • “Lay Me Down” had the most occurrences, at 12. • “The Catalyst” had the least amount of occurrences, at 0. • Only two songs had the title appear exclusively in the chorus (“Lay Me Down” and “Say You’ll Haunt Me”). • One song had the title appear only in the verse (“Tighten Up”). Note, however, that there isn’t a vocal oriented chorus in the song. • One song, “Another Way to Die”, had the title appearing in three sections within the song: turn-around, verse and chorus. • The placement of where the title appears in the section of the song is mixed. • The majority of titles appear at the end of a line.

#2 - #10 Hits

Tot. Occurances Occurances Song Section(s) Placement in Section In Song in Section Occurs in the middle of the first verse in the Animal 1 Verse 1 middle of the line (note that it’s plural).

Waiting for the End 1 Verse 1 First line of the section.

Little Lion Man 2 Verse 1 Middle of the section, last phrase on line.

Twice during the intro, middle of the line Intro, Turn Intro (2), T/A (1), Nightmare 7 in the turn-around, last line/phrase in the Around, Chorus Chr (1) chorus.

Radioactive 0 n/a n/a The title is not mentioned in the song.

Savior 0 n/a n/a The title is not mentioned in the song.

First line and third line of chorus, first phrase World So Cold 6 Chorus 2 on each line.

Lisztomania 5 Chorus 2 First line of both sections of the chorus.

First and third lines of the chorus (there are a Love-Hate-Sex-Pain 10 Chorus, Bridge 2 (Chr), 2 (Brg) total of 4 lines in the chorus), middle and end of the bridge.

Beginning, middle and end of chorus, repeats Kick in the Teeth 13 Chorus 3 toward the end of the song.

Last line/phrase of both sections during the Porn Star Dancing 6 Chorus 2 chorus.

My Best Theory 4 Chorus 1 Last line of the chorus, first phrase on line.

Verse, Bridge, 1 (Vrs, Brg) First line of the first verse, then between Lesson Learned 4 Outro 2 (Out) bridge and solo. Twice during the outro.

Occurs in the middle and the end of the sec- The Sex is Good 8 Chorus 2 tion, only phrase on line.

Undisclosed Desires 3 Chorus 1 Last line of section, middle of the line.

Key Points • On average, the title appears 4.6 times per song in #2 - #10 hit Pop songs. • The majority of songs had the title appearing once or twice in the section where it occurs. • One song, “Kick in the Teeth” saw the title occur 3 times per section. • “Kick in the Teeth” had the most overall occurrences, at 13. • “Radioactive” and “Savior” had the least amount of occurrences, at 0. • 47% of songs saw the title occur in just the chorus, while 20% saw the title occur in just the verse. • Three songs, “Nightmare”, “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” and “Lesson Learned” saw the title occurring in multiple sections within the song. • The placement of where the title appears in the section of the song is mixed.

SUMMARY RECAP

The information in this section provides a snapshot of the key findings present in songs that entered the Billboard Rock Top 10 during Q4-2010. It is broken down by #1 hits, non #1 hits, and all top 10 hits for comparison purposes.

#1 Billboard Pop Hits

Structure • Most Popular Song Structure: Mixed. See Detail Recap section of report • Average Song Length: 4:17 • Top Song Length Range: 3:30 – 3:59, 4:00 – 4:29 (tie) • Average Intro Length: 0:19 • Top Intro Length Range: 0:10 – 0:19 • Average Outro* Length: 0:22 • Top Outro* Length Range: 0:20 – 0:29 • 1st Chorus Hit Average: 1:10 into the song • Top 1st Chorus Hit Range: 0:50 – 0:59 into the song • 1st Chorus Hit % of Song: 29% into the song.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 8 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. • Top 1st Chorus Hit % of Song Range: Mixed. See Detail Recap section of report • Songs with a Pre-Chorus: 40% have a pre-chorus • Songs with a Solo: 60% have a solo • Songs with a Bridge: 80% have a bridge

Attributes • Most Popular Tempo: Mid/Up (60% of all songs) • Most Popular Tone (Acoustic/Electric): Electric (80% of all songs) • Most Popular Primary Instrumentation: Guitar • Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender: 100% Male • Most Popular Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships (60%) • Most Popular Style: Hard Rock + Alt, Metal, Blues or Pop influences

Non #1 Billboard Hits (#2 - #10):

Structure • Most Popular Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B (Occurs in 27% of the songs) • Average Song Length: 4:21 • Top Song Length Range: 4:00 – 4:29 • Average Intro Length: 0:30 • Top Intro Length Range: 0:10 – 0:19 • Average Outro* Length: 0:33 • Top Outro* Length Range: 0:20 – 0:29 • 1st Chorus Hit Average: 1:11 • Top 1st Chorus Hit Range: 0:50 – 0:59 into the song • 1st Chorus Hit % of Song: On average the 1st chorus hits 28% into the song • Top 1st Chorus Hit % of Song Range: 25% - 29% into the song • Songs with a Pre-Chorus: 40% have a pre-chorus • Songs with a Solo: 67% have a solo • Songs with a Bridge: 80% have a bridge

Attributes • Most Popular Tempo: Mid, Mid/Up (Tie) • Most Popular Tone (Acoustic/Electric): Electric (93% of songs) • Most Popular Primary Instrumentation: Guitar • Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender: 100% Male • Most Popular Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships (67%) • Most Popular Style: Hard Rock + Alt or Metal influences

Structure • Most Popular Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B (Occurs in 26% of all songs) • Average Song Length: 4:19 • Top Song Length Range: 4:00 – 4:29 • Average Intro Length: 0:25 • Top Intro Length Range: 0:10 – 0:19 • Average Outro* Length: 0:27 • Top Outro* Length Range: 0:20 – 0:29 • 1st Chorus Hit Average: 1:10 into the song • Top 1st Chorus Hit Range: 0:50 – 0:59 into the song • 1st Chorus Hit % of Song: On average the 1st chorus hits 28% into the song • Top 1st Chorus Hit % of Song Range: 25% - 29% into the song • Songs with a Pre-Chorus: 40% have a pre-chorus • Songs with a Solo: 65% have a solo • Songs with a Bridge: 80% have a bridge

Attributes • Most Popular Tempo: Mid & Mid-Up (50% & 45% respectively) • Most Popular Tone (Acoustic/Electric): Electric (90% of all top 10 hit Rock songs) • Most Popular Primary Instrumentation: Guitar • Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender: 100% Male • Most Popular Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships (65%) • Most Popular Style: Hard Rock + Alt or Metal influences

*Note: for purposes in this report, an “outro” is being defined as a section that differs in nature from any other section within the song.

AT-A-GLANCE: Comparison Chart

The chart below provides a side by side comparison of the key findings derived from the Summary Recap section.

CATEGORY #1 Songs #2-#10 Songs All Songs

Most Popular Song Structure n/a (mixed) A-B-A-B-C-B A-B-A-B-C-B

Average Song Length 4:17 4:21 4:19

Average Intro Length 0:19 0:30 0:25

Average Outro Length 0:22 0:33 0:27

Average Time For 1st Chorus To Hit 1:10 1:11 1:10

Average % Of Song Where 1st Chorus Hits 29% 28% 28%

Songs With A Pre-Chorus 40% 40% 40%

Songs With A Solo 60% 67% 65%

Songs With A Bridge 80% 80% 80%

Top Occuring Tempos Mid/Up Mid, Mid/Up Mid, Mid/Up

Most Popular Tone Electric Electric Electric

Most Popular Primary Instrumentation Guitar Guitar Guitar

Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender Male Male Male

Most Popular Lyrical Theme Love/Relationships Love/Relationships Love/Relationships

Most Popular Style Hard Rock+ Hard Rock + Hard Rock +

Key Points • The most popular song structure for all hits was A-B-A-B-C-B. This was also the case for #2 - #10 hits. #1 hits had a mix of structures within the category. There wasn’t one particular structure that was most popular. • Average song length for all categories was virtually the same. • The average intro length for #1 hits was 0:11 shorter than #2 - #10 hits. • The average outro length for #1 hits was also 0:11 shorter than #2 - #10 hits. • The average amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit was virtually the same for all categories. • The average percent of the song where the first chorus hits was also virtually identical for all categories. • All categories showed an almost equal amount of songs containing a solo, bridge and pre-chorus section within its structure. • The most popular style for all categories was Hard Rock + other elements including Metal, Alt, Pop or Blues. • All categories contained a majority of songs that were electric in tone, sung by a male, and featured a guitar as the primary instrument.

This section provides an in-depth, detailed structural analysis gained from the songs that entered the Billboard Rock top 10 during Q4-2010.

Song Structure

#1 Hit Songs • Each song in the category had a different song structure. There wasn’t one particular structure that was most popular. • Three songs (“Another Way to Die”, “The Catalyst” and “Tighten Up”) all started with a double verse. • Two songs (“The Catalyst” and “Tighten Up”) did not contain choruses in their structure. (Note – the “B” section in “Tighten Up” is a reoccurring instrumental passage that functions in a chorus type manner, but it’s not a “proper” vocal oriented chorus). • 3 out of 5 songs (60%) contain a chorus. • 3 out of 5 songs (60%) contain a bridge. • 2 out of 5 songs (40%) contain a pre-chorus. • Out of the songs that contain a solo, two follow with the bridge and one follows with the chorus. • All of the songs feature the chorus as the last section of the song, (before the outro, if applicable), except for “The Catalyst”, which ends with the verse. • All of the songs featured the verse as the first section of the song (in comparison to some current Pop hits, which kick the song off with the chorus).

#2 - #10 Hit Songs • The most popular song structure was A-B-A-B-C-B, though it only accounted for 4 out of 15 songs (27%). Most other song structures differed in nature from one another. • The majority, 13 out of 15 songs (87%), began with A-B-A-B. 9 followed with the bridge, 4 followed with a solo. • The other two songs (“Lesson Learned” and “Savior”) start with a double verse. • 7 out of 15 songs (47%) saw the bridge followed by another chorus. • 4 out of 15 songs (27%) saw the bridge followed by a solo. • 6 out of 15 songs (40%) have the solo followed by a chorus. • 2 out of 15 songs (13%) have the solo followed by the bridge. • 1 out of 15 songs (7%) has the solo followed by a verse.

#1 Hit Songs • The average song length for #1 hit Rock songs is 4:17. This is up from 4:08 during the previous quarter, • The longest song is “The Catalyst” at 5:43. • The shortest song is “Tighten Up” at 3:31.

#2 - #10 Hit Songs • The average song length for #2 - #10 hit Rock songs is 4:21. This is down from 4:26 during the previous quarter. • The longest song is “Nightmare” at 6:15. • The shortest song is ”Kick in the Teeth” at 3:18.

Song Length: #1 Hit Rock Songs

The majority of #1 hit Rock songs are landing in both the 3:30 – 3:59 & 4:00 – 4:29 ranges. The previous quarter saw the majority landing in just the 4:00 – 4:29 range.

Song Length: #2 - #10 Hit Rock Songs

As with the previous quarter, we see the vast majority of songs landing in the 4:00 – 4:29 range. 73% are landing 4:29 and under.

Down slightly from last quarter (@ 47% of the total), the vast majority of all top 10 Rock songs are landing in the 4:00 – 4:29 range. The next most popular range is 3:30 – 3:59, encompassing 25% of the total. 75% are landing 4:29 and under.

Intro Analysis

#1 Hit Songs • The average intro length is 0:19. This is down from 0:21 during the previous quarter. • The longest intro occurs in “The Catalyst”, at 0:32 • The shortest intro occurs in “Lay Me Down”, at 0:10 • All songs in the category contain a “proper” intro section.

#2 - #10 Hit Songs • The average intro length is 0:30. This is down from 0:32 during the previous quarter. • The longest intro occurs in “Porn Star Dancing”, at 1:12 • The shortest intro occurs in “The Sex is Good”, at 0:06. • 14 out of 15 songs (93%) have an intro section except for “Savior”, which starts with the 1st verse.

Intro Length of #1 Hit Rock Songs

The majority of #1 intro’s (60%) are short in nature, landing in the 0:10 – 0:19 range. This is up slightly from last quarter (50%). We don’t see any intro’s going past the 0:39 mark.

As with the previous quarter, and #1 hits from Q4, we see the majority of intro’s landing in the 0:10 – 0:19 range. 64% are landing 0:39 and under.

Intro Length of All Hit Rock Songs

Virtually identical to the previous quarter (@ 41% of the total), we see 42% of intro’s landing in the 0:10 – 0:19 range. The majority, (74% of the total), are landing 0:39 and under.

Outro Analysis

#1 Hit Songs • 3 out of 5 #1 hit Rock songs (60%) have an outro section that is different than any other section within the song (i.e. something other than a chorus out). Last quarter saw all the #1 hits containing a “proper” outro section. • The two songs that don’t contain a proper outro are “Say You’ll Haunt Me” and “Tighten Up.” • The average outro length is 0:22. This is down from 0:24 during the previous quarter. • The longest outro occurred in “The Catalyst”, at 0:25. • The shortest outro occurred in “Another Way to Die”, at 0:19.

#2 - #10 Hit Songs • 8 out of 15 songs (53%) have an outro section that is different than any other section within the song (i.e. something other than a chorus out). Last quarter saw 6 out of 14 songs (43%) containing a proper outro. • The other 7 songs all have the chorus as the very last section of the song.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 15 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. • The longest outro occurred in “Porn Star Dancing”, at 0:52 • The shortest outro occurred in “Savior”, at 0:21.

Outro Length of #1 Hit Rock Songs

Here we see the majority of outro’s landing in the 0:29 – 0:29 range, at 67% of the total. Last quarter saw an even split between the 0:10 – 0:19 and 0:20 – 0:29 ranges. Overall, outro length continues to trend relatively short in length.

Outro Length of #2 - #10 Hit Rock Songs

Up from 60% during the previous quarter, here we see the vast majority of outro’s landing in the 0:20 – 0:29 range, at 75% of the total. We also don’t see any outro’s that are shorter in length (i.e. the 0:10 – 0:19 range). This is in line with the previous quarter.

Outro Length of All Hit Rock Songs

As with the previous few quarters, here we see the vast majority of outro’s landing in the 0:20 – 0:29 range. Only 9% of outro’s are landing under 0:19, which is down from 20% in the previous quarter.

#1 Hit Songs • The average time that it took for the first chorus to hit within #1 Rock songs was 1:10. This is up from 1:02 during the previous quarter. • 2 out of 5 songs (40%) in the category did not contain a chorus (“Tighten Up” and “The Catalyst”). • The longest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit occurred in “Another Way to Die”, at 1:45. • The shortest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit occurred in “Say You’ll Haunt Me”, at 0:50.

#2 - #10 Hit Songs • The average time that it took for the first chorus to hit was 1:11. This is down from 1:13 during the previous quarter. • The longest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit occurred in “Porn Star Dancing” and “Lesson Learned”, both at 2:07 • The shortest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit occurred in “The Sex is Good”, at 0:38.

1st Chorus Hit of #1 Hit Rock Songs

Up from 50% during the previous quarter, here we see the majority of choruses (2 out of the 3 songs that have choruses, 67%) landing in the 0:50 – 0:59 range. The other song landed in the 1:40 – 1:49 range, comprising 33% of the total.

As with the previous quarter (@ 36% of the total), here we see the vast majority of first choruses (33%) landing in the 0:50 – 0:59 range. 86% of all first choruses are hitting 0:50 and up. The previous quarter saw 93% landing 0:50 and up.

1st Chorus Hit of All Hit Rock Songs

Again, we see the vast majority of first choruses (39%) landing in the 0:50 – 0:59 range. This was also the case during the previous quarter. 88% of all first choruses are landing 0:50 and up.

1st Chorus Hit - % Into the Total Song

#1 Hit Songs • On average, the first chorus kicks in at 29% of the way into the song within #1 hit Rock songs. This is up from 27% during the previous quarter. • The latest point where the first chorus hits occurs in “Another Way to Die.” It occurs 41% into the total song. This is primarily due to the double verse at the beginning of the song. • The earliest point in a song where the first chorus hits occurs in “Say You’ll Haunt Me.” It occurs at 19% into the song.

#2 - #10 Hit Songs • On average, the first chorus kicks in at 28% of the way into the song within these songs. This is up from 26% during the previous quarter. • The latest point where the first chorus hits occurs in “Lesson Learned.” It occurs 49% into the total song.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 18 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. This is primarily due to the double verse at the beginning of the song. • The earliest point in a song where the first chorus hits occurs in “The Sex is Good.” It occurs at 18% into the song.

1st Chorus Hit % into Total Song: #1 Hit Rock Songs

Here we have an equal distribution of what percentage of the song the first chorus kicks in. “Say You’ll Haunt Me” has the first chorus kicking in between 15% - 19% into the song, “Lay Me Down” has the first chorus hitting between 25% - 29%, and “Another Way to Die” kicks in between 40% - 44% into the song. During the previous quarter, the majority landed in the 20% - 24% range.

1st Chorus Hit % into Total Song: #2 - #10 Hit Rock Songs

In contrast to #1 hits, here we see the majority (53%) of first choruses occurring 25% - 29% into the song. This was also the case during the previous two quarters, were at 57% and 53% respectively.

1st Chorus Hit % into Total Song: All Songs

Exactly the same as the previous quarter, we see the vast majority (50%) of songs having their first chorus kick in between 25% - 29% into the song.

Below are the waveforms from the #1 hit Rock songs during Q4-2010. Once again, as we saw with the previous quarters, massive amounts of compression is being used to enable the songs to come across as loud as possible, especially during the choruses.

Another Way To Die (Disturbed)

The Catalyst (Linkin Park)

Say You’ll Haunt Me (Stone Sour)

Tighten Up (The Black Keys)

THE IDEAL HIT POP SONG: Q4-2010

Based on the analysis and findings in this report, the ideal hit Rock song from Q4-2010 would look like this:

• Style: Hard Rock + Alt or Metal influences. • Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B. • Tempo: Mid or Mid/Up . • Primary Vocal Gender: The lead vocal would be sung by a male. • Lyrical Theme: The song would have a love/relationship oriented theme. • Title: The title would most likely occur in the chorus, occurring at least twice. • Instrumentation: The primary instrumentation would be electric/distorted guitar based. • Song Length: The song would land between 4:00 and 4:29. • Intro Length: The intro would land in the 0:10 – 0:19 range.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 21 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. • Outro Length: The outro would land in the 0:20 – 0:29 range or not contain an outro. • 1st Chorus Hit: The 1st chorus would hit between 0:50 and 0:59 into the song. • 1st Chorus % of Song: The 1st chorus would hit between 25% - 29% into the song. • Pre-Chorus: A pre-chorus is optional, but would probably not contain one. • Solo: The song would most likely have a solo. • Bridge: The song would have a bridge. • Tone: The primary tone would be Electric/Distortion based. • Production: The song would be immensely compressed for maximum sonic impact.

NEW TOP 10 ARRIVALS: Q4-2010 Longest Shortest

The chart below shows key structural information exclusive to new songs that entered the Billboard Rock top 10 during Q4-2010

BB Peak Song Intro Outro 1st % Into Song Artist Structure Chorus Position Length Length Length Hits Song

Tighten Up The Black Keys 1 A-A-B-A-A-B-C-B 3:31 0:21 n/a n/a n/a

Q4 NEW ENTRY SONG AVERAGES: BILLBOARD #1 HITS 3:31 0:21 n/a n/a n/a

Waiting For The End Linkin Park 2 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 3:25 0:17 n/a 0:52 25%

Radioactive Kings Of Leon 3 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 5:05 0:46 0:29 1:24 28%

World So Cold Three Days Grace 3 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-B 4:23 0:08 n/a 0:52 20%

Love-Hate-Sex-Pain Godsmack 5 A-B-A-B-C-B 5:27 0:46 0:48 1:21 25%

Kick In The Teeth Papa Roach 6 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:18 0:30 0:22 0:56 28%

Porn Star Dancing My Darkest Days 7 A-B-A-B-C 5:47 1:12 0:52 2:07 37%

My Best Theory Jimmy Eat World 9 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-A-B 4:01 0:43 n/a 1:07 28%

The Sex Is Good Saving Abel 10 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-A-B 3:31 0:06 0:22 0:38 18%

Undisclosed Desires Muse 10 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:56 0:16 0:21 0:50 21%

Q4 NEW ENTRY SONG AVERAGES: BILLBOARD NON #1 HITS 4:19 0:31 0:37 1:07 27%

Q4 NEW ENTRY SONG AVERAGES: ALL TOP 10 HITS 3:55 0:26 0:37 1:07 27%

Q4-2010 saw the addition of 10 new songs to the Billboard top 10 Rock songs chart. One hit #1 and nine charted #2 - #10. All of these songs are new to the chart during this period, and did not chart in the top 10 during the previous quarter.

The chart below shows key structural information from songs that charted in the Rock top 10 during Q3-2010 but did not chart in the top 10 during Q4-2010.

BB Peak Song Intro Outro 1st % Into Song Artist Structure Chorus Position Length Length Length Hits Song

The Crow and the Butterfly Shinedown 1 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 4:14 n/a 0:40 0:52 20%

The Good Life Three Days Grace 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 2:53 0:23 0:14 0:38 22%

Q3 DE-CHARTED SONG AVERAGES: BILLBOARD #1 HITS 3:33 0:23 0:27 0:45 21%

Uprising Muse 2 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 5:05 0:46 0:29 1:24 28%

1901 Phoenix 3 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:18 0:30 0:22 0:56 28%

In One Ear Cage the Elephant 3 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-A-B 4:01 0:43 n/a 1:07 28%

This is War Thirty Seconds To Mars 4 A-B-A-B-C-B 5:27 0:46 0:48 1:21 25%

Let Me Hear You Scream Ozzy Osbourne 6 A-B-A-B-Solo-B 3:25 0:17 n/a 0:52 25%

Bad Company Five Finger Death Punch 7 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-B 4:23 0:08 n/a 0:52 20%

Resistance Muse 7 A-B-A-B-C 5:47 1:12 0:52 2:07 37%

Q3 DE-CHARTED SONG AVERAGES: BILLBOARD NON #1 HITS 4:29 0:37 0:37 1:14 27%

Q3 DE-CHARTED SONG AVERAGES: ALL TOP 10 HITS 4:01 0:30 0:32 0:59 24%

9 songs that charted in the top 10 during Q3-2010 fell completely off the top 10 Rock songs chart during Q4-2010. These included two #1 hits and seven songs that placed #2-#10 during Q3-2010.

NEW Q4 ARRIVALS VS. Q3 DE-CHARTED SONGS: #1 Hits

The purpose of this section is to provide a side by side comparison of key elements that are present in #1 hit songs that were new to the spot during Q4-2010 and #1 hit songs that didn’t make it from Q3-2010.

CATEGORY Q4-2010 (New Arrivals) Q3-2010 (Decharted) Change Q3-Q4

Most Popular Song Structure n/a (one song) n/a (mixed) n/a

Average Song Length 3:31 3:33 -0:02

Average Intro Length 0:21 0:23 -0:02

Average Outro Length n/a 0:27 n/a

Average Time For 1st Chorus To Hit n/a 0:45 n/a

Avgerage % Of Song Where 1st Chorus Hits n/a 21% n/a

Top Occuring Tempos Mid Mid & Mid/Up n/a

Electric & Electric/ Most Popular Tone Electric n/a Acoustic

Most Popular Primary Instrumentation Guitar Guitar Guitar

Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender Male Male Male

Songs With A Pre-Chorus 0% 50% -100%

Songs With A Solo 0% 50% -100%

Songs With A Bridge 100% 50% +50%

Bettering Yourself, Lyrical Theme Love/Relationships n/a Dealing w/Loss

Most Popular Style Garage Rock/Blues Hard Rock n/a

Most Popular Style Varied Electro + n/a

Key Points • Since there was only one #1 new arrival and two #1 de-charted songs, there isn’t enough data for a proper trend comparison. Please refer to the chart for details.

NEW Q4 ARRIVALS VS. Q3 DE-CHARTED SONGS: #All Top 10 Hits

This section provides a side by side comparison of key elements that are present in all songs that were new to the top 10 during Q4-2010 and songs that didn’t make it from Q3-2010.

CATEGORY Q4-2010 (New Arrivals) Q3-2010 (Decharted) Change Q3-Q4

Most Popular Song Structure A-B-A-B-C-B A-B-A-B-C-B / Same

A-B-A-B-Solo-B n/a 3:42 +0:01

Average Song Length 3:55 4:01 -0:06

Average Intro Length 0:26 0:30 -0:04

Average Outro Length 0:37 0:32 +0:05

Average Time For 1st Chorus To Hit 1:07 0:59 +0:08

Avgerage % Of Song Where 1st Chorus Hits 27% 24% +3%

Top Occuring Tempos Mid (70%) Mid/Up (67%) n/a

Most Popular Tone Electric Electric Same

Most Popular Primary Instrumentation Guitar Guitar Same

Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender Male (100%) Male (100%) Same

Songs With A Pre-Chorus 20% 44% -24%

Songs With A Solo 50% 56% -6%

Songs With A Bridge 80% 67% +13%

Lyrical Theme Love/Relationships Personal Development n/a

Most Popular Style Hard/Alt Rock Hard Rock n/a

Key Points • The most popular song structure amongst new arrivals was A-B-A-B-C-B, while de-charted song structures were split between A-B-A-B-C-B and A-B-A-B-Solo-B. • New arrival songs were on average 0:06 shorter in length than de-charted songs from Q3. Last quarter, new arrivals were 1:00 longer in length than de-charted songs. • New arrival song intro’s were on average 0:04 shorter than de-charted song intro’s. • New arrival outro’s were on average 0:05 longer than de-charted outro’s. • New arrival choruses hit on average 0:08 later in the song than in de-charted songs. • New arrival choruses hit on average 3% later in the song than in de-charted songs. • New arrival tempo’s were primarily mid, while de-charted songs were primarily mid/up. • Most popular tone, primary instrumentation and vocal gender were the same for both new arrivals and de-charted songs – electric, guitar and male respectively. • 24% fewer new arrivals contained a pre-chorus compared to de-charted songs. Last quarter saw 16% more new arrival songs having a pre-chorus section compared de-charted songs. • 6% fewer new arrival songs have a solo section compared to de-charted songs. • 13% more new arrival songs have a bridge section compared to de-charted songs. • The primary lyrical theme for new arrivals dealt with love and relationships, while de-charted songs dealt more with a personal development theme. This is the same as the previous quarter. • Both new arrivals and de-charted songs were primarily Hard Rock in nature, though new arrivals had more songs with an Alternative vibe.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 25 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. TOP 10 POP SONG QUARTERLY COMPARISON (Represents all songs that entered the Billboard Rock top 10 for each quarter)

The chart below provides a side by side comparison of key attributes present in top 10 charting Rock songs for each quarter during the year.

Q4-2010 Q3-2010 Q2-2010 Q1-2010 CATEGORY (All Songs) (All Songs) (All Songs) (All Songs)

Most Popular Song Structure A-B-A-B-C-B A-B-A-B-C-B A-B-A-B-Solo-B A-B-A-B-Solo-B

Average Song Length 4:19 4:08 3:49 4:07

Average Intro Length 0:25 0:21 0:21 0:25

Average Outro Length 0:27 0:24 0:23 0:23

Average Time For 1st Chorus To Hit 1:10 1:02 0:53 1:01

Avgerage % Of Song Where 1st Chorus Hits 28% 27% 23% 24%

Songs With A Pre-Chorus 40% 40% 50% 50%

Songs With A Solo 65% 60% 65% 63%

Songs With A Bridge 80% 60% 69% 69%

Top Occuring Tempos Mid, Mid/Up Mid/Up Mid/Up Mid/Up

Most Popular Tone Electric Electric Electric Electric

Most Popular Primary Instrumentation Guitar Guitar Guitar Guitar

Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender Male Male Male Male

Personal Dev… Love/Relation- Personal Devel- Love/Relation- Lyrical Theme Love/Relation- ships opment ships ships

Hard/Heavy Most Popular Style Hard Rock + Hard Rock Hard/Heavy Rock Rock

Q4 – Q3 Comparison Key Points: • Both Q4 and Q3 had their most popular song structures as A-B-A-B-C-B. • The average song length increased in Q4 by 0:11 to 4:19. • The average intro length increased by 0:04 in 0:25 • The average outro length increased by 0:03 to 0:27. • The average time that it took for the 1st chorus to hit in Q4 increased slightly (0:08) to 1:10. • The average % in a song where the first chorus occurs increased slightly from 27% to 28% in Q4.

ROCK Trends Deconstructed Q4 (October - December): Page 26 © 2010 Hit Songs Deconstructed. All Rights Reserved. • The most popular tempos in Q4 were split between mid and mid/up, compared to mid/up in Q3. • Primary vocal gender remained the same – 100% male. • Songs containing a pre-chorus remained the same – both at 40% of total. • 20% more songs contained a bridge in Q4 than in Q3. • 5% more songs contained a solo in Q4 than in Q3. • Love/Relationships became the primary lyrical theme for the first time since Q1. • Q4 saw Hard Rock + other elements (metal, alt, etc…) becoming the most popular style.

TREND ANALYSIS: Q1-Q4

This section provides a graphical representation of how key song elements are trending within top 10 charting Rock songs for each quarter during the year.

Average Song Length:

After seeing a dip in average song length from Q1 to Q2, we saw a steady increase from Q2 – Q4, topping out at 4:19. This is substantially longer than the average during Q2 (+0:30).

Overall average intro length remained in the low – mid 0:20 range throughout the year.

Average Outro Length:

As with intro’s, average outro length also remained pretty much constant throughout the year, starting off at 0:21 during Q1 and topping out at 0:27 in Q4.

After an initial 0:08 dip from Q1 – Q2, the average time that it took for the first chorus to hit within a song gradually increased for the duration of the year, topping out at 1:10 (up 0:17 from Q2).

Average 1st Chorus Hit - Percent Into Total Song:

As with the average amount of time that it takes the first chorus to hit, here we also see a gradual increase in the % into the song where the first chorus occurs.

Here, after a stable run during the first two quarters, we see the percentage of songs that have a pre-chorus as part of their song structure decease by 10% in Q3, remaining constant in Q4.

Songs With A Bridge:

After a steady Q1 and Q2, we saw a 9% drop off in the number of songs that contained a bridge during Q3. Interestingly, from Q3 to Q4, we saw a dramatic increase in the amount of songs containing a bridge, increasing by 20% to 80% in Q4.

The number of songs that contain a solo remained fairly constant throughout the year, fluctuating in the low to mid 60% range.

TREND RECAP: Q1-Q4

• Average song length has been gradually increasing since Q2, from 3:49 to 4:19 in Q4. • Average intro lengths have remained pretty much constant throughout the year, fluctuating between 0:21 and 0:25. • Average outro lengths have increased very slightly in length since Q2, from 0:23 to 0:27 in Q4. • The average amount of time that it takes for the first chorus to hit within a song has been gradually increasing throughout the year after an initial dip from Q1 – Q2. It’s increased by 0:17 since Q2. • After a slight dip from Q1 to Q2, the average percentage of a song where the first chorus hits has been increasing gradually from Q2 to Q4, peaking at 28% of the way into the song. • The amount of songs that contain a pre-chorus decreased by 10% during the last two quarters of the year, to stabilizing at 40% of total. • After a steady first and second quarter, the amount of songs that contain a bridge dropped off from 69% to 60%, before sharply increasing in Q4, topping out at 80% of total. • Overall, the number of songs that contain a solo within their structure remained fairly constant throughout the year, fluctuating between 60% and 65% of total.