NewsNTech
Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" has reached No. 1 on Billboard's R&B Digital Song Sales chart, arriving at the top spot nearly 13 years after the track first appeared on that ranking.
The milestone comes decades after the song's original release, placing it among the rare catalog titles that have found sustained commercial traction inside digital music storefronts long after their initial run.
A Catalog Title's Long Arc Through Digital Retail The Billboard R&B Digital Song Sales chart tracks consumer purchases of individual tracks through digital retail channels — a format that did not exist when "Billie Jean" was originally recorded.
That a track could debut on such a chart and require nearly 13 years to reach its summit reflects how digital distribution has restructured the economics of recorded music.
Keep reading