Cashbox (magazine)

{{short description|Music industry trade magazine}} {{Redirect|Cash Box|other uses|Cashbox (disambiguation){{!}}Cashbox}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox magazine | title = Cashbox | logo = | logo_size = | image_file = Cashbox_magazine-Sept-1971.png | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = Cover of the September 1971 issue featuring Led Zeppelin | editor = | editor_title = | previous_editor = | staff_writer = | photographer = | category = Music industry, trade magazine | frequency = Weekly | circulation = | publisher = | founder = | founded = | firstdate = {{Start date and age|1942|7}} (original version)<br />{{start date|2006}} (revival) | finaldate = {{End date and age|1996|11|16}} (original version) | company = | country = United States | based = New York City | language = | issn = 0008-7289 | oclc = }}

'''''Cashbox''''', also known as '''''Cash Box''''', is an American music-industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as '''''Cashbox Magazine''''', an online magazine with weekly charts and occasional special print issues.<ref name="cashboxmagazine">{{cite web |title=Cashbox Magazine |url=http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320065345/http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/ |archive-date=March 20, 2014 |access-date=22 March 2014 |publisher=cashboxmagazine.com}}</ref> In addition to the music industry, the magazine covered the amusement arcade industry, including jukebox machines and arcade games.

==History== ===Print edition charts (1942–1996)=== ''Cashbox'' was one of several magazines that published record charts in the United States. Its most prominent competitors were ''Billboard'' and ''Record World'' (known as ''Music Vendor'' prior to April 18, 1964). Unlike ''Billboard'', ''Cashbox'' combined all currently available recordings of a song into one chart position with artist and label information shown for each version, alphabetized by label. Originally, no indication of which version was the biggest seller was given, but from October 25, 1952, a star was placed next to the names of the most important artists. ''Cashbox'' also printed shorter jukebox charts that included specific artist data beginning in spring 1950. Separate charts were presented for jukebox popularity, record sales, and radio airplay. This process was similar to ''Billboard''{{'}}s methodology prior to August 1958, when ''Billboard'' debuted its "Hot 100," which attempted to combine all measures of popularity into one all-encompassing chart. In addition, ''Cashbox'' published chart data for specific genres, such as country music and rhythm and blues (R&B) music. In 1960, ''Cashbox'' discontinued its R&B chart after the March 5 issue; it was reinstated in the December 17 issue due to popular demand. The chart was originally dropped because it became dominated by pop records.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=December 17, 1960|title=R&B Chart Returns|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1960/CB-1960-12-17.pdf|journal=Cash Box|page=38}}</ref>

''Cashbox'' was a competitor to ''Billboard'' through the 1950s and 1960s, but two factors spelled its decline in the 1970s. Archivist and record historian Joel Whitburn published his first research book based on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which made those data the "Bible" for official historic chart positions.<ref name="TNOCSWhyCashbox">{{cite web |date=December 9, 2025 |url=https://tnocs.com/why-cash-box-lost-the-charts-the-wild-story-behind-billboards-forgotten-competitor/ |title=Why Cash Box Lost the Charts: The Wild Story Behind Billboard's Forgotten Competitor |website=tnocs.com |access-date=December 23, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251223110902/https://tnocs.com/why-cash-box-lost-the-charts-the-wild-story-behind-billboards-forgotten-competitor/ |archive-date=December 23, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Messmer">{{cite web |last=Messmer |first=Stan |url=https://top40weekly.com/the-difference-between-cashbox-billboard-1-singles/ |title=Unique #1 Singles Between Cashbox & Billboard |website=top40weekly.com |access-date=December 23, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250926050126/https://top40weekly.com/the-difference-between-cashbox-billboard-1-singles/ |archive-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> In addition, the syndicated radio series ''American Top 40'' with Casey Kasem used ''Billboard'' chart statistics, cementing ''Billboard'' as the dominant chart data for current and historic reference.<ref name="TNOCSWhyCashbox"/><ref name="Messmer"/> Magazine publisher George Albert compiled ''Cashbox'' chart data for a reference book more than a decade later, and Dick Clark used ''Cashbox'' information for a time on his ''National Music Survey'', beginning in 1981, but by that time, the trend was set.<ref name="TNOCSWhyCashbox"/><ref name="Messmer"/>

Perhaps the final straw for ''Cashbox'' came on December 12, 1992, when the Top 100 chart reported the number-one song as "The Letter" by Wayne Newton. The song failed to reach any'' Billboard'' chart, and local radio charts or sales reports did not place it in the top 10. This called the magazine's integrity into question. ''Cashbox'' lost considerable credibility within the industry after this, with accusations of chart fixing.<ref name="TNOCSWhyCashbox"/> No official findings of the Newton incident were ever revealed. ''Cashbox'' subsequently printed its final consecutive chart of this era in November 1996.<ref name="TNOCSWhyCashbox"/>

In 2003, the former ''Cashbox Magazine'' became involved in a murder trial after police in Nashville, Tennessee, made an arrest in a 1989 cold case. Kevin Hughes was a small-town boy from southeastern Illinois, who spent his childhood focused on music and creating his own country music charts. As a young man of 22, Hughes thought he had landed his dream job in Nashville as the chart director for ''Cashbox''{{'}}s country music chart for up-and-coming artists. He compiled data from jukebox plays, record sales, and radio play to determine the ''Cashbox'' chart positions of various country music records. He reportedly was looking to introduce more scientific and transparent methods of determining chart positions, when a year into his job, he was gunned down in the street late one night on Nashville's famous Music Row. After years of investigation, police arrested his former ''Cashbox'' coworker, Richard D'Antonio, for the murder. Prosecutors maintained the killing was in connection with a payola scheme where record promoter Chuck Dixon paid ''Cashbox'' employees for favorable chart positions and other publicity. A Dixon client was once named ''Cashbox''{{'}}s "Male Vocalist of the Year" without having sold a single record. Hughes was reportedly killed for not going along with the chart-fixing scheme. D'Antonio, a ''Cashbox'' employee associated with Dixon, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and died in prison in 2014. Dixon had already died a few years prior to D'Antonio's arrest.<ref>{{cite web |last=Patterson |first=Jim |date=September 23, 2003 |title=Ex-Record Promoter's Murder Trial Starts |url=https://apnews.com/article/d685518bf35a1793e25a53fa589d18de |access-date=2 September 2022 |work=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=Nov 10, 2003 |title=The Dark Side of Nashville's Music Business |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132437&page=1 |access-date=2 September 2022 |work=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nicholson |first=Jessica |date=September 18, 2014 |title=Man Convicted in 1989 Music Row Murder Dies |url=https://musicrow.com/2014/09/man-convicted-in-1989-music-row-murder-dies/ |access-date=2 September 2022 |work=MusicRow}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=September 26, 2003 |title=Guilty Verdict Returned in Music Row Murder |url=https://www.cmt.com/news/1gsm2v/guilty-verdict-returned-in-music-row-murder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902141807/https://www.cmt.com/news/1gsm2v/guilty-verdict-returned-in-music-row-murder |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 2, 2022 |access-date=2 September 2022 |work=CMT}}</ref>

===Revived magazine (2006–present)=== ''Cash Box'' was reinvented as the monthly online ''Cashbox Magazine'' in 2006, with the consent and cooperation of the family of Albert, the late president and publisher of the original edition. ''Cashbox'' has bimonthly print editions available by mail subscription.{{anchor|Digital Radio Tracker}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} Cashbox Magazine |url=https://www.cashbox-magazine.com/about |access-date=2026-03-06 |website=Cashbox |language=en}}</ref>

{{As of|2015|April}}, ''Cashbox Magazine'' has added the following music charts: Roots Music, Bluegrass Singles, Bluegrass Gospel Singles, Beach Music Top 40, Roadhouse Blues and Boogie Top 40, Country Christian Top 100 Singles, and Southern Gospel Singles. The online magazine also relaunched the Looking Ahead Charts on March 1, 2015, covering all genres of music. The ''Cashbox'' Top 100 has been expanded to the Top 200. All chart data for the main ''Cashbox'' charts are provided by Digital Radio Tracker.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Cashbox Magazine {{!}} Cashbox Canada |url=https://cashboxcanada.ca/features-cover-story/history-cashbox-magazine/3781 |access-date=2026-03-06 |website=cashboxcanada.ca}}</ref>

Sandy Graham is the owner, editor-in-chief, and CEO of ''Cashbox Canada'', an independent music trade publication in Toronto, Canada. Shane and Robert Bartosh control the Roots data. Bruce Elrod is the owner and remains the registered agent for ''Cashbox'', which is now operated from Ridgeway, South Carolina.<ref>{{cite web |title=Business Profile for Cashbox Magazine, Inc |url=http://www.bbb.org/columbia/business-reviews/news-publications-trade-association-etc/cashbox-magazine-in-ridgeway-sc-34099243 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627091157/https://www.bbb.org/columbia/business-reviews/news-publications-trade-association-etc/cashbox-magazine-in-ridgeway-sc-34099243 |archive-date=Jun 27, 2018 |website=Better Business Bureau}}</ref>

The current owners of ''Cashbox'' met with Wilds & Associates co-founder and CEO Randall Wilds in 2018 to discuss business relations. Wilds acquired an interest in ''Cashbox Magazine'', leading to the formation of a partnership. As a result, Wilds & Associates became the publisher for ''Cashbox.'' While the digital/online edition remains intact, ''Cashbox'' returned to a printed edition as a bimonthly publication beginning with their November/December 2018 issue, featuring country music artist Blake Shelton on the cover. In addition to being the publisher for ''Cashbox,'' Wilds & Associates also serves as the distributor of the publication. Since returning to a print edition, a new website was unveiled in late 2021. The new site<ref name="cashboxmagazine" /> offers readers a preview of each issue, music news, and subscription information.

===Archives=== In 2014, Whitburn's Record Research Inc. published a history of the ''Cash Box'' singles chart data covering October 1952 through the 1996 demise of the original magazine.<ref>{{cite book |title=Cash Box Pop Hits 1952–1996 |first=Joel |last=Whitburn |author-link=Joel Whitburn |publisher=Record Research Inc. |year=2014 |isbn=978-0898202090 }}</ref> Randy Price maintains the original ''Cash Box'' data for the online archives.<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Price |editor-first=Randy |title=Archives |url=https://www.cashboxarchives.com/home.htm |access-date=9 March 2024 |work=Cashbox Magazine}}</ref>

The Swem Library at the College of William and Mary<ref name="digitalarchive">{{cite web |title=Cash Box |url=https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/16817 |access-date=22 March 2014 |publisher=The W&M Digital Archive}}</ref> maintains the archive of the original print editions of ''Cash Box'' magazine. The print editions were digitized in collaboration with the Internet Archive, via a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CASH BOX Music Magazine to Come Online {{!}} Internet Archive Blogs |date=11 March 2016 |url=https://blog.archive.org/2016/03/11/cash-box-music-magazine-comes-online-this-year/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Charts described== thumb|upright|''Cash Box'' also provided some awards, including to their top-selling charted artists.

===Looking Ahead chart=== The Looking Ahead chart was the ''Cash Box'' equivalent to the Bubbling Under charts of ''Billboard''. It commenced on October 3, 1959, with 20 positions. By April 29, 1961, the magazine had 50 positions and maintained that format during the 1960s. It was in the 20–30 position format during the 1970s until February 27, 1982, when it was discontinued. It recommenced on August 4, 1990, with 15 positions until its final cessation on March 27, 1993.<ref>Joel Whitburn's Record Research - [https://www.recordresearch.com/books/cash-box-looking-ahead-1959-1993/ Cash Box Looking Ahead 1959-1993]</ref><ref>The Hits Just Keep On Comin', February 9, 2021 - [https://thjkoc.net/category/bubbling-under-adventures/ Superstars and Not]</ref>

===Top 100 Country Singles chart=== This was a chart that was based on what ''Cash Box'' called a "quantitative analysis" of playlist reports. The magazine's March 14, 1981, issue revealed the use of 102 country radio stations nationwide. The magazine would receive reports from the stations. It was not based only on radio station reports. Sales data were used, as well. These could come from retailers, rack jobbers, and one-stops.<ref>''Cash Box'', March 3, 1981 - [https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1981/CB-1981-03-14.pdf CASH BOX 2, 1981 COUNTRY RADIO DIRECTORY CRD-17 Cash Box Chart Methodology]</ref>

==Bibliography==

*{{cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Frank |year=1983 |title=The Cash Box Singles Chart, 1950-1981 |location=Metuchen, New Jersey |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |isbn=0810815958}} *{{cite book |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Frank |last2=Albert |first2=George |year=1988 |title=The Cash Box Album Charts, 1955-1974 |location=Metuchen, New Jersey |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0810820056}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{wiktionary|cashbox}} * {{Official website|https://www.cashboxmagazine.org/}} * [https://www.cashboxarchives.com/home.htm cashboxarchives.com] – Online chart archives * [https://archive.org/details/cashbox ''Cashbox''] – Internet Archive * [https://businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/Profile/95b69874-da4b-4d8c-9d4d-2aa296843556 Cash Box Magazine, Inc.] – business registry page * [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/16817 Cash Box] – digital archive from College of William & Mary * [https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box-Magazine.htm Cash Box Magazine] – digital archive from WorldRadioHistory * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071231123721/http://musicseek.info/ MusicSeek.info] – comparison of ''Cashbox'', ''Billboard'', and other charts

Category:American record charts Category:Entertainment trade magazines Category:Defunct magazines published in the United States Category:Magazines established in 1942 Category:Magazines disestablished in 1996 Category:Online music magazines published in the United States Category:Online magazines with defunct print editions Category:Weekly magazines published in the United States