The Two Guys Behind Songs You Think You Chose

You think you have taste. But pull the credits on a decade of pop number ones and the same small circle of names keeps turning up behind the glass.

Pop’s hidden hitmakers

Hot 100 top-10 songs with a production credit, 2014–2024 (illustrative)

Max Martin

Benny Blanco

Ryan Tedder

Jack Antonoff

Louis Bell

More fun research

Hip-Hop

Whose tag is on the hit?

Number ones with the producer’s spoken tag (illustrative)

Metro Boomin

DJ Mustard

Mike WiLL

Zaytoven

Murda Beatz

Economics

When the quota lifted

Wells Fargo new accounts, change yr/yr

Sep '16NovFeb '17

-43%

Maps

How the map was acquired

Share of today’s US area (approx.)

39%

15%

46%

Purchased

Forced

Other

History

Where the world’s fireworks are made

Share of global production (illustrative)

90%

China

India

USA

Brazil

Part of 100X Research · 100xresearch.org numbers are illustrative (for now)