ɪt bɪɡˈæn ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd, æz ɐ dʒˈɔɪnt vˈɛntʃɚ fɹʌm sˈoʊni, bˌiːˌɛmdʒˈiː lˈeɪɾɚ mˈɜːdʒd ˌɪntʊ sˈoʊni ænd jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsəl, ɹᵻplˈeɪsɪŋ ðə pɹˈaɪɚ hˈɪt məʃˈiːn sˈɪɹiz, wˌɪtʃ ɹˈæn fɹʌm nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti θɹˈiː tə tˈuː θˈaʊzənd.
It began in 2000, as a joint venture from Sony, BMG (later merged into Sony) and Universal, replacing the prior Hit Machine series, which ran from 1993 to 2000.