The First Billboard: All That Was ‘New, Bright & Interesting on the Boards’
Categoria: Musica
Looking back at Nov. 1, 1894, when Billboard published its first issue, one that's vastly different from today's magazine and expanded platforms.
Por Billboard | 01/11/2026
On Nov. 1, 1894, Billboard published its first issue, one that’s vastly different from today’s magazine, as well as Billboard ’s expanded platforms. The premiere issue wasn’t even focused on the music industry; Billboard ’s eventual trademark concentration on music, and, of course, charts, would develop over decades. The First Issue Before it became a weekly publication, and a 24/7 presence online, Billboard launched as Billboard Advertising . Its original mission? One that helps explain its name: “A monthly résumé of all that is new, bright and interesting on the boards.” (Circus promoter Jared Bell is widely credited as a pioneer of 19th century marketing through billboards, beginning in the 1830s.) Upon its premiere, the eight-page magazine (priced at 10 cents an issue, or, 99 cents per year), was “devoted to the interests of advertisers, poster printers, bill posters, advertising agents & secretaries of fairs.” The magazine’s first cover subject was R.C. Campbell, then-president of the Associated Bill Posters’ Association. “No more fitting tribute can be paid to Mr. Campbell than to state that he is a man of infinite resource, progressive ideas and tireless industry,” Billboard noted in the inaugural issue. “In selecting his photograph for the first number of this magazine, the Editor was actuated by the fact that he is the acknowledged leader, the first and foremost and most eminent man in the field which we aim to cover.” Related Latin Power Players: Billboard’s 2026 List Revealed Gracie Abrams Goes From Juliet to Romeo During 'SNL' Halloween Performances Lizzo Recreates Dolly Parton's Iconic 'Jolene' Look for Halloween The Charts As 132 years have passed (and Campbell has ceded the cover to, most recently, Pitbull and Fuerza Regida), Billboard ’s mission to report on and analyze the entertainment business remains on point, although with, for the past eight-plus decades, a more specific focus on the music segment of the industry. The magazine’s first national music chart, the 10-position National List of Best Selling Retail Records, appeared in the July 27, 1940, issue. Previously, Billboard had highlighted the national Sheet Music Best Sellers, Records Most Popular on Music Machines (compiled from national reports from phonograph operators), and Songs With the Most Radio Plugs on a handful of New York radio stations. The National List of Best Selling Retail Records, however, was the first to poll retailers nationwide on record sales. Tommy Dorsey crowned the first retail list with “I’ll Never Smile Again.” The eventual standard, featuring vocals by Frank Sinatra, would total 12 weeks at the summit. The scorecard paved the way for the industry-standard Billboard 200 albums chart (which became a weekly chart on March 24, 1956) and Billboard ’s present-day menu of Luminate data-based format-centric song and album rankings