Are Long Music Sweeps Still Relevant?
Long music sweeps sound like a great idea, and there’s evidence that the tactic works to manipulate ratings, at least based on detailed studies of meter carriers. The theory is to clear the off-ramps...
Build Perfect Music Clocks
"Okay, let's build perfect music clocks" is enough to drive any programming pro mad. It's one of the most frustrating and difficult programming tasks imaginable. Most end up compromising the sound of the station,...
Power Up Your Music Seminar on Demand
Contemporary problems require contemporary solutions, and radio programmers face many new problems. This all-new seminar shows broadcasters why your audience is declining even as you put more and more emphasis on research, data, and...
The Hidden Cause Of Music Repetition: Horizontal Rotations
Radio programmers and music directors spend far more time listening to their radio station than any listener. They're highly sensitive to song repetition. But before rushing to add songs to the library to relax...
How The Pop Music Cycle Affects Ratings
CHR programmers know that the strength of current music is critical to success, but the pop music cycle affects the ratings of every station. Contemporary stations thrive at the expense of other formats when...
Music Repetition Is A Programmer’s Friend
Program Directors are like medical doctors. A doctor's primary goal is to “not harm.” Removing negatives and potential barriers to listening is an irresistible emotion. But when it comes to programming music, solving listener...
Programming Secrets To Adjust In a Weak Music Cycle
Music ebbs and flows. Sometimes, the hits are strong for your format. Sometimes, they're not. What can a programmer do when there's a lack of mainstream, mass-appeal hits? The music cycle affects ratings, and...
How Music Segmentation Drives Radio Ratings
In analyzing hundreds of perceptual studies for clients, it’s clear that two primary characteristics correlate most to ratings success and stations that over-achieve. They deliver audience satisfaction that elicits passion for the music mix...
How Shorter Attention Should Affect Song Selection
Programmers generally accept a music programming strategy that starts with a code more suitable for physicians: Do no harm. That's still good advice for Doctors, but it no longer works for radio stations. Shorter...
Repetition, Library Depth and Rating Results
The ratings are in. There is a TSL (time spent listening) problem. The cume went up, but average quarter hours are down. Management wants an explanation. The first thought is to examine library depth....