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# Mathematicians Discover Secret Formula For Writing A Hit Song
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/mathematically-speaking-is-this-song-a-hit/
- Published: 2011-12-21T11:51:00.000Z
- Updated: 2011-12-21T11:51:00.000Z
- Description: Though math is usually used to tell you if a song was a hit based on sales, scientists from the University of Bristol believe they have "The Hit Equation." A. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/12/mathematically-speaking-is-this-song-a-hit.html]
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Uncategorized, hit equation, score a hit, uplaya, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:55

[![Scoreahit-logo](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e20162fe236c83970d-200wi "Scoreahit-logo")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e20162fe236c83970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

Though math is usually used to tell you if a song was a hit based on sales, scientists from the **University of Bristol** believe they have "**The Hit Equation**." A group focused on artificial intelligence developed machine learning algorithms that mined the characteristics of top hits to develop a formula for key musical features that determine whether a song will be a hit.

The lads [at the Intelligent Systems Lab](http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2011/8116.html?ref=hypebot.com), armed with the power of math, identified 23 features that were considered important from tempo and loudness to harmonic simplicity vs. non-harmonicity.

[![Hit-words](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2015438a224cb970c-400wi "Hit-words")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e2015438a224cb970c-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

**Features Included in the Hit Equation**

The results are 60% accurate in predicting a top five hit or below 30 non-hit. They noted that their [Hit Equation](http://scoreahit.com/TheHitEquation?ref=hypebot.com) must be adjusted somewhat as tastes shift but it's apparently a fairly gradual process. This particular group of scientists aren't discussing commercial applications however their public site, [Score a Hit!](http://scoreahit.com/?ref=hypebot.com), suggests entertainment may be a key outcome.

Mark Brown [discusses](http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/hit-potential-equation/?ref=hypebot.com) Score a Hit! and related services and points to Hit Song Science and their site [uPlaya](http://uplaya.com/?ref=hypebot.com). They offer not only hit analysis but related marketing services designed to leverage that analysis.

I don't know how Hit Song Science does its magic, but they claim to analyze "[fundamental characteristics of all music](http://uplaya.com/about%5Fhss/hsstech?ref=hypebot.com)" including brightness, tempo and changes over time, to identify hit potential in relationship to changing trends. They also identify markets where each song would be most likely to succeed.

Though I can't recommend the service, the idea of analyzing songs to identify markets and then [providing marketing services](http://uplaya.com/about%5Fhss/pricing?ref=hypebot.com) is an interesting application.

> **MORE: [Why Justin Bieber Is Such A Big Hit](https://www.hypebot.com/why-just-bieber-is-such-a-big-hit/)**, a guest post by FutureHitDNA author [Jay Frank](https://www.hypebot.com/interview%5Fjay%5Ffrank/).

*Hypebot contributor *Clyde Smith* maintains his freelance writing hub at [Flux Research](http://www.fluxresearch.com/?ref=hypebot.com) and blogs at [All World Dance](http://www.allworlddance.com/?ref=hypebot.com) and [This Business of Blogging](http://www.thisbusinessofblogging.com/?ref=hypebot.com). To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact:*

clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com

.