Zapoleon Sees ‘Rebirth’ On The Way
• For more than 30 years, legendary programmer and consultant Guy Zapoleon has been faithfully chronicling what he observed were 10-year music cycles of pop radio. As we cross into the second half of 2024 and close in on the second half of this decade, Guy reports he sees the signs of a “Rebirth” on the horizon. History tells us to expect it.
“For five out of six last decades, the ‘Rebirth’ and new Music Cycle have come in the middle of the decade,” he says. “When you examine each Rebirth period you can see this by looking at the many of the hits by these artists at that point in time — you saw Elvis in 1956; The Beatles and Rolling Stones in 1964; Eagles, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, & Stevie Wonder in 1975; Michael Jackson, Madonna & The Police in 1983-84; Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé & Fall Out Boy in 2005-06; Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran & Twenty One Pilots in 2015-16.”
And so, as we approach the middle of this decade, Guy notes “we’re starting to see an upcycle for Pop music and an up-trend for CHR radio ratings, with a majority of CHRs in the Top 100 markets up in the June/Spring books and with a handful of CHRs at No. 1.” With that said, we invite you to study Guy’s full report, posted on his website.
