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Hit Songs Deconstructed. [New York, New York]: HSD Media Group, 2011-. http://www.hitsongsdeconstructed.com/ (Accessed 17 June 2016). [Requires: A Web browser and an Internet connection. Hit Songs Deconstructed academic pricing is calculated by FTE (full-time equivalent) as follows: FTE = Up to 10,000: $2,500/year; FTE = 10,001 - 15,000: $3,000/year; FTE = 15,001 - 20,000: $3,500/year; FTE = 20,000+: $4,000/year. Academic subscriptions include unlimited use by faculty and students and the rights to use Hit t Song Deconstructed reports in the classroom. Individual subscriptions are $249.99 (annual billing cycle) with a free month trial.]
Introduction
Hit Songs Deconstructed (HSD) is a database featuring in-depth reports on hit songwriting trends and techniques used to craft today's hits. Founded in 2011 by David Penn (Editor-in-Chief) and Yael Penn (CEO) this database provides musicians, songwriters, producers, educators and music industry professionals with the tools they need to stay in tune with the most modern hit song musical vocabulary and production techniques. Unlike other music industry databases which focus on song sales or airplay, HSD focuses on the songs themselves by tracking their compositional characteristics.
A Hit Songs Deconstructed annual subscription includes twelve monthly Hit Song Deconstructed reports, four quarterly Top Ten Trend reports, four quarterly Top Ten Hits reports and four quarterly Top Ten Genre reports. In addition, a subscription provides access to the weekly HSD Music charts.
Layout and Navigation
The Hit Songs Deconstructed Web site has a simple, clean, and well organized layout that makes it easy to find reports. Reports feature detailed analysis supported by snippets of notated music, as well as colorful charts and graphs illustrating trends, song structure, instrumentation and more. Links to each section of the report make it easy navigate. Official song videos and playlists are also available. There is a keyword search for reports at the top; this search function seems fairly basic, it does not highlight words in results or offer Boolean searching. The HSD Web site divides its information into two main sections: HSD Music Charts, and HSD Reports.
HSD Music Charts
The HSD Music Charts spotlight the characteristics driving the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 on a weekly basis. Each of the thirteen charts, ranging from First Chorus Occurrence to Sub-Genres & Influencers to Song Length, show the...