How are hit songs defined in the music business?
A commercial hit song is one that typically garners within the top 10 position on Billboard Charts in the U.S.. To ensure there's no question a commercially viable hit song is one that reached number (1) one on the Billboard Pop, R&B/Hip Hop, Country, etc. Charts.
A hit song if radio and music sells are not inflated or artificially overstated are songs that the people (listening/buying fans) have determined to be a great song. People (listening/buying fans) determine this by their willingness to stay tuned into a radio station where the song is being played even during commercial brake, by calling into the station to request a song and/or when they pay to buy the music via CD, digital download, ringtone or otherwise.
An independent music company should define their hit songs by if the music met and/or exceeded its' expectations of sells and exposure to its' core audience or not. Additionally, while a hit song typically pays the bills of a music company its a string of continuous successes that keeps the company in business for years to come by being able to have a stable catalog of great songs to reuse over and over again (music publishing and licensing opportunities).
Some have and will define a hit song as being one that has supreme cross over appeal. For instance, Dear Momma by Tupac was a hit song in part because it crossed genre musical barriers. People who normally didn't listen to Rap/Hip Hop Music found themselves listening to Dear Momma by Tupac. That particular song appealed to a wide audience making it cross over or a "hit song."
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