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.
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.