In June 1984, a memo went out to the Billboard staff announcing the Littleford family's intention to sell the company that was by then called Billboard Publications Inc. ?- or BPI. It was a bombshell for the Billboard's staffers, who had grown accustomed to working for a family institution. But their fears were calmed when a group of their own managers, led by Billboard Group Publisher Jerry Hobbs, emerged to buy the company with the backing of investment firm Boston Ventures. The selling price was just under $40 million.

The deal closed on Jan. 17, 1985. Hobbs took the title of president and CEO of BPI. Bill Littleford became chairman emeritus, maintaining the last link with the family that had run the business for over 90 years.

With the business-savvy Hobbs at the helm, Billboard entered an era of wheeling and dealing. In March 1987, Affiliated Publications, the parent of the Boston Globe newspaper, agreed to pay $100 million for BPI. By late 1991, that deal was restructured, with Hobbs and his management team buying back two-thirds of the company from Affiliated. Then on Jan. 13, 1994, the entire company ?- now expanded with many new magazine acquisitions -? was sold to Dutch media giant VNU for some $220 million.

Throughout this period, Billboard continued to reign as the world's dominant music business publication. The magazine never rested on its laurels, however, updating its look, its coverage and its charts to stay in tune with the times.

A major step took place in 1988, with the acquisition of Broadcast Data Systems, a new company with technology that could track airplay of music on the radio. To this point, airplay charts had been based on reports filed by the radio stations themselves. BDS brought verifiable science to the process.

An even bigger revolution took place on May 25, 1991, when Billboard published its first SoundScan chart. SoundScan was an independent company that collected data on record sales direct from store scanners. As with BDS, the SoundScan data replaced the ranked lists that previously had been called in by individual record retailers. (SoundScan was later acquired by VNU and is now part of VNU's Nielsen Entertainment division.)

The 1990s were also the era of Timothy White, the former Rolling Stone writer and editor who joined Billboard as editor-in-chief in 1990. The flamboyant White put a new emphasis on artist coverage in Billboard, often positioning stories about unknown and indie acts on the magazine's cover. He also oversaw Billboard's landmark 280-page 100th Anniversary Issue in November 1994 and introduced the annual Century Award to honor artists for distinguished creative achievement. Tragically, White passed away suddenly on June 27, 2002, at the age of 50.

Also in the '90s, Billboard introduced Billboard Online, its first home on the Internet. The site, rolled out quietly in late 1995, soon became a popular destination for music fans who were drawn by the oft-quoted Billboard name and charts. Over the years, Billboard Online evolved into billboard.com and a sister site, billboard.biz, for business news.

Today's Billboard is helmed by president and publisher John Killcullen, with co-executive editors Tamara Conniff and Ken Schlager heading up the editorial team. Under their leadership, the magazine underwent a major redesign and repositioning in May 2005. Although music is still the heart of the matter, the magazine and its Web sites have expanded their scope to cover all manner of digital and mobile entertainment.

Billboard is now read in more than 100 countries around the world. Billboard.com attracts more than 2.5 million unique visitors each month. The Billboard Music Awards is one of television's most popular annual entertainment events. Billboard's stories and charts are licensed for use in every possible media, including mobile phones.

At age 112, Billboard is going strong.