Knowingo
The cover of Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

Derek Thompson

Why some songs, films and ideas become hits while most vanish: how familiarity, surprise, repetition and hidden broadcasts shape popularity, from Brahms's lullaby to Star Wars and Fifty Shades.

Get the app Read on the web

17 parts, about 33 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • See why a familiar melody with a fresh twist can beat pure novelty, from a lullaby to Star Wars
  • Learn how repetition, exposure and fashion cycles shape taste, even for baby names and laugh tracks
  • Find out why almost nothing goes viral and how hidden broadcasters, not chains of sharing, drive many apparent viral hits

Who it is for

  • Readers curious why some songs, films and books become hits
  • Creators and marketers deciding how new or familiar to make things
  • Readers wondering how Facebook and Spotify shape what we read and hear

What the summary covers

  1. A lullaby that traveled the world2 min
  2. Monet, Caillebotte and the gift of exposure2 min
  3. Raymond Loewy, father of modern design2 min
  4. Repetition, the God particle of music2 min
  5. Goose bumps and the joy of figuring out1 min
  6. Star Wars, the sum of a thousand stories2 min
  7. Vampires and the dark side of stories2 min
  8. First names and the birth of fashion2 min
  9. Teenagers, cool and the chaos of culture1 min
  10. A fluke that became rock's anthem2 min
  11. Why almost nothing goes viral4 min
  12. Inside jokes, clusters and soft cults2 min
  13. The business of being mostly wrong2 min
  14. What readers say, and what they do2 min
  15. Lessons from a revolution in attention2 min
  16. The empire: Disney's total merchandising1 min
  17. The city state: Ryan Leslie2 min

Recommended by

  • Adam GrantOrganizational psychologist and Wharton professor
    Enthralling—full of ‘aha’ moments about why some ideas soar and others never get off the ground. This book picks up where The Tipping Point left off.
  • Fareed ZakariaJournalist and host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS
  • Daniel H. PinkAuthor of Drive
  • Jordan EllenbergMathematician and author of How Not to Be Wrong
    Derek Thompson’s Hit Makers is a sharply observed history of the megahit, from the 13th-centuy tunic craze to the iPhone, tracing the strange ever-changing mixture of genius, dumb luck, business savvy, and network math that turns an obscurity into a worldwide smash.
  • Maria KonnikovaWriter and author of The Biggest Bluff
    What makes one song hit, and another, flop, one book a success and the other, fodder for the discount bins? That’s the mystery Derek Thompson probes with his characteristic verve, wit, and insight in Hit Makers. It’s an engrossing read that doesn’t settle for easy answers, and one that seems destined to become one of the hits that Thompson so deftly analyzes.
  • Adam AlterNYU Stern marketing professor and author of Irresistible
  • Tyler CowenEconomist at George Mason University and author of The Great Stagnation
    I always read everything by Derek Thompson I see, and this book was no exception. Why things become popular is one of the most important questions in an ever-more networked world, and Derek Thompson’s Hit Makers is the best and most serious attempt to take a look at it.
  • Steve CaseCofounder of America Online and chairman and CEO of Revolution
    Hit Makers blends historical lessons with technological & social insights to explain what makes culture tick, and hits happen.
  • Simon KinbergFilm producer and screenwriter; producer of The Martian
    This book is brilliant, a fascinating exploration of the relationship between artistry and industry, the ways that everything from immigration to distribution helps create the popular imagination. You may never look at your favorite film or song the same way again. It should be required reading for anyone working in the popular arts.

About the author

  • Derek ThompsonThe Atlantic contributing writer and podcaster; coauthor of Abundance
    • Derek Thompson was born in McLean, Virginia, in 1986.
    • He graduated from Northwestern University in 2008 with a triple major in journalism, political science and legal studies.
    • He began writing for The Atlantic in 2009.
    • When Hit Makers came out he was a senior editor at The Atlantic and a weekly news analyst for NPR's Here and Now.
    • In 2015 he wrote the Atlantic cover story "A World Without Work" on the future of jobs and technology.
    • He has appeared on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and Time's 140 Best Twitter Feeds.
    • Hit Makers, published in 2017, was his first book, and it won the American Marketing Association's Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award.
    • After 17 years as a staff writer at The Atlantic he left in the summer of 2025 to write on Substack, staying on as a contributing writer.

More books like this