Metro Boomin in the lab. (Photo source: Instagram)

Variety magazine has put together a new annual list that highlights the producers, songwriters, and executives behind the year’s biggest hits. “The music industry is built on artists, but where is an artist without a song and a team that ensures it gets heard?,” they write.

The list includes producers and songwriters like Metro Boomin (“Bad and Boujee”), Mike Will Made It (“HUMBLE.,” “DAMN.”), The Stereotypes (“That’s What I Like”), Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd (“Despacito,” “I’m The One“), Andres Torres and Mauricio Rengifo (“Despacito“), Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid (“Shape of You”), and Louis Bell (“Congratulations”).

The list also includes executives from labels, publishers, digital service providers, and other companies.

Here’s how Variety came up with the ranking:

“The music industry is built on artists, but where is an artist without a song and a team that ensures it gets heard? For Variety’s inaugural Hitmakers list, we used BuzzAngle data for the 30 most-consumed songs of 2017 (through Nov. 2), based on audio sales and streams, video plays, radio spins and Shazam tags. The editors then conferred with top executives and creatives from across the music business to find the players whose input was most vital to those songs. They included songwriters, producers, publishers, A&R and promotion executives, along with managers and key influencers — the people behind the scenes who make and break the hits.”

Check out the list here.

Related: London On Da Track: Transitioning From Producer to Artist