CCM AC chart was an
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
chart that was originally started by ''
CCM Magazine
''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications.
History
''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...
'' in 1978. According to author Jeffrey Lee Brothers in his book ''Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 – 2001,'' "When ''CCM'' published music charts, it received data from a specific number of radio stations regarding the number of times a song was played. This airplay data was then assigned points and weights based on the cumulative number of plays per song. The result was a weekly chart that ranked the most played, and presumably, most popular songs. The AC charts have long covered the most radio stations in the
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church mus ...
. The charts themselves have gone through several changes over the years. When ''CCM'' first published its radio hits charts, AC was not a recognized format. What is today considered adult contemporary was then covered under the title of contemporary hits. On September 30, 1981 ''CCM'' published its first AC chart, but only for a year. CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) and AC merged again on October 6, 1982 until ''CCM'' split them again on May 6, 1985 to reflect the current formats."
History
From July 1978 to September 1986, charts were derived essentially the same way, however, they were published monthly. In 1983, ''MusicLine'' was launched publishing their charts monthly. On September 30, 1986 ''MusicLine'' charts became bi-weekly and was renamed ''The MusicLine Update''. It published Christian Album charts as well as four radio charts: CHR (Christian Hit Radio)/Pop, AC (Adult Contemporary), Inspirational/Praise and Rock. While the magazine focused on the contemporary Christian music industry-related content that was previously included in CCM Magazine, CCM Magazine retained the consumer-related content. In 1988, ''The MusicLine Update'' was renamed ''The CCM Update.'' On June 15, 1992, ''The CCM Update'' began publishing their charts weekly. In 1999,
Salem Media Group
Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Ir ...
acquires ''CCM Magazine'' and then on April 15, 2002, Salem closed ''The CCM Update''. At that point, ''CCM'' turned over its data and charts to ''
Radio & Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
,'' which continued to publish weekly charts until July 2006.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine has since taken over the Christian charts with their
Christian Airplay
Christian Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since June 21, 2003.
This chart lists the 50 most-listened-to records played on multiple Christian radio stations across the country as monitored by Ni ...
,
Hot Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
and Christian AC Airplay.
Chart achievements
Most weeks at number one
See also
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Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
*
Christian contemporary hit radio
Christian contemporary hit radio (sometimes abbreviated as Christian CHR) is a radio format that is common in the United States and Australia focusing on playing current and recent music as determined by the contemporary Christian music Top 40
I ...
*
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
*
Christian AC Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...
*
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church mus ...
References
Contemporary Christian music
Christian music media
American record charts
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