Nothing "goes viral." Each blockbuster has a secret history of power, influence, dark broadcasters, and passionate cults that turn some new products into cultural phenomena. Atlantic Senior Editor Derek Thompson uses the tools of economics and psychology to reveal the secrets of what makes a hit a hit. Drawing on ancient history and modern headlines ; from vampire lore and the Mickey Mouse watch to Facebook and Games of Thrones ; Thompson offers practical lessons for how anybody can make a hit and become a smarter consumer of culture. In doing so, he shows how the universe of attention is connected. An investigation into the science of pop music uncovers the secrets of JFK and Obama's speechwriters. A history of Fifty Shades of Grey reveals why "going viral" is a myth. This book not only investigates the cultural phenomena that make up headlines, it reveals the desires that make us all human. Hits enchant us, but they also hold up a mirror to our nature. We are living through an industrial revolution in attention. We used to simply play the hits. Now the hits play us back. Film, music, and media companies are using new tools to learn what makes their consumers tick. Hit Makers pulls back the curtain on this new world order to make all of us smarter about what people want and how things catch fire. From the dawn of Impressionist art to the future of Snapchat, from small-scale Etsy entrepreneurs to the origin of Star Wars, Derek Thompson leaves no pet rock unturned to tell the fascinating story of how culture happens ; and where genius lives.

Introduction : The song that conquered the world -- Part I. Popularity and the mind : The power of exposure: featuring Claude Monet, Adele, and Donald Trump -- The Maya rule: featuring ESPN, Spotify, and the first NASA space station -- The music of sound: featuring John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and ABBA -- Interlude : The chills -- The myth-making mind I: the force of story: featuring Star Wars, Isaac Asimov, and Hollywood psychohistory -- The myth-making mind II: The dark side of hits: featuring Hungarian vampires, Disney princesses, and cable news -- The birth of fashion: featuring Taylor Swift, the printing press, and the laugh track -- Interlude: A brief history of teens -- Part II. Popularity and the market : Rock and roll and randomness: featuring the Mona Lisa, "Rock around the clock," and chaos theory -- The viral myth: featuring Fifty Shades of Grey, John Snow, and Pokémon GO -- The audience of my audience: featuring Etsy, Bumble, and Moonies -- Interlude : Le panache -- What the people want I: the economics of prophecy: featuring Game of Thrones, Seinfeld, and Shazam -- What the people want II: a history of pixels and ink: featuring the tabloid, the television, and the news feed -- Interlude : 828 Broadway -- The futures of hits: empire and city-state: featuring Mickey Mouse, BuzzFeed, and Kid A.