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Radio rundown for those who don’t understand the terms in updates
Radio has several different formats and songs are sent to each format according to their sound and target audience
Pop, rhythmic, rock, country. Each radio station falls into a different format
Radio has several different formats and songs are sent to each format according to their sound and target audience
Pop, rhythmic, rock, country. Each radio station falls into a different format
Harry’s songs tend to be sent to Pop (also know as Top 40), which has the biggest audience, Adult Contemporary, and Hot Adult Contemporary
The last two genres are very slow in terms of updates, particularly AC, where, for instance, the #1 song right now is Memories by Maroon 5
The last two genres are very slow in terms of updates, particularly AC, where, for instance, the #1 song right now is Memories by Maroon 5
Radio measures a song’s activity in each genre for the last seven days
Today’s update was Monday 22nd through Sunday 28th. Tomorrow’s will be Tuesday 23rd through Monday 29th, and so forth
The numbers published on Sundays are the ones taken for the official radio charts
Today’s update was Monday 22nd through Sunday 28th. Tomorrow’s will be Tuesday 23rd through Monday 29th, and so forth
The numbers published on Sundays are the ones taken for the official radio charts
So, a song can be #1 on Pop radio from Monday to Saturday and still not count as an official #1 if it doesn’t maintain that status on the Sunday
The numbers:
Radio charts have two main numbers, spins and audience
Spins is the amount of times a song was played across the board
The numbers:
Radio charts have two main numbers, spins and audience
Spins is the amount of times a song was played across the board
Audience is how many people it’s estimated have heard that song. The calculation is done by estimating the audience of each radio station at each time bracket
KIISS LA will have a different audience than WZNF in Biloxi. Morning and night have radically different audiences
KIISS LA will have a different audience than WZNF in Biloxi. Morning and night have radically different audiences
You multiply the spins in each time bracket and each radio station and you get the audience. The number you see in audience is always in millions. 53.098 means 53,098,000
Another important measure is the bullet, which is the difference in spins for a song between this week and last week
For Watermelon Sugar, the current bullet is 1,073, which means from Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th it received 1,073 more spins than from Monday 15th to Sunday 21st
For Watermelon Sugar, the current bullet is 1,073, which means from Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th it received 1,073 more spins than from Monday 15th to Sunday 21st
Our radio updates are typically daily. Today’s update was the difference between the 7 days counting from the 21st and the 27th, and the 7 days from the 22nd to the 28th. This isn’t an official radio update as the charts are measured weekly, but it helps seeing the daily growth
We understand that this can be a little convoluted but read it over and you’ll get it!
Radio charts are measured by Mediabase, and they’re sorted by spins. But another important point is that radio counts for the Billboard charts
Radio charts are measured by Mediabase, and they’re sorted by spins. But another important point is that radio counts for the Billboard charts
Billboard Hot 100 only cares about the audience of a song, and they count a song’s entire audience, across all genres. When you see the phrase “OVERALL radio” that’s what it means
After a song has continuously negative updates for a number of weeks and leaves the top 10
After a song has continuously negative updates for a number of weeks and leaves the top 10
that song is removed from the chart to make room for new songs. It doesn’t mean that the song is suddenly not played anymore. It’s likely still receiving the same amount of spins and audience and it still counts for the Hot 100, but it’s now moved to “recurrent” status
This will eventually happen to Adore You. It isn’t a bad thing! A song can be recurrent and still played a ton for months, sometimes even years
It’s still a long way to go as Adore You is currently #5 and +4,000 spins away from #10, losing less than 500 spins a week
It’s still a long way to go as Adore You is currently #5 and +4,000 spins away from #10, losing less than 500 spins a week
Lastly, what makes a song rise, drop, or stay steady on the radio? There are three factors:
1. How is the song doing in other metrics? Is it high on iTunes? Spotify? Apple Music? This tells radio bosses that there’s interest in it and playing it is a good idea
1. How is the song doing in other metrics? Is it high on iTunes? Spotify? Apple Music? This tells radio bosses that there’s interest in it and playing it is a good idea
2. Callouts. Every week radios do a poll with their audiences where they ask them an assortment of questions about their most played songs. From ranking how much they like it, to how familiar or tired they are of it, etc. These callouts are vital
Adore You is currently #5 on callouts despite being seven months old and having been played a lot. This is an incredible feat, as people grow tired of overplayed songs quite quickly. It’s why the song is dropping so slowly despite having peaked so long ago
Watermelon Sugar is still not in the callouts score because songs need a 60% familiarity to be counted (60% of responders have to know the song)
3. Label push. A label has to have a good relationship with radio and want to campaign for a song for it to get played
3. Label push. A label has to have a good relationship with radio and want to campaign for a song for it to get played
This was long, but we hope it helped as a general primer on radio. If you have any questions, we’ll be happy to answer them!
