Hot 100

Album cuts

As many Hot 100 chart policies have been modified over the years, one rule remained constant for over four decades: songs were not eligible to enter the Hot 100 unless they were available to purchase as a single. This was discontinued on December 5, 1998, when the Hot 100 changed from being a "singles" chart to a "songs" chart. During the 1990s, a growing trend in the music industry was to promote songs to radio without ever releasing them as singles. Major record labels claimed that singles were cannibalizing album sales, so they were gradually phased out. During this period, accusations began to fly of chart manipulation as labels would hold off on releasing a single until airplay was at its absolute peak, thus prompting a top ten or, in some cases, a number-one debut. In many cases, a label would delete a single from its catalog after only one week, allowing the song to enter the Hot 100, make a high debut, and then slowly decline in position as the one-time retail single sold out.