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From: merchant@dartvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: How radio stations work: playlists, rotation, life, the universe, etc.
Message-ID: <1779@dartvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 4-Jun-84 15:12:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: dartvax.1779
Posted: Mon Jun  4 15:12:37 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jun-84 19:23:26 EDT
References: <174@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Organization: Dartmouth College
Lines: 49

{ Wompa Wompa Wompa }

A few inaccuracies:

If you have an engineer, he tends to keep the transmitter log.  Also, in the
FCC's continuing quest to de-control the radio industry, meter readings no
longer have to be kept.  However, you need some way to prove that you were
not outside your legal bounds.  Some stations do this with an alarm, though
the easiest and cheapest way is to take meter readings.  Some stations have
an automatic system for taking readings.

Albums?  Albums?  What's an album?  Top 40 stations tend to avoid albums.
They like singles, and a rotation for a single is a little less fast.  An
album will probably have two or three cuts that are being pushed, so it
isn't so much like you're hearing Rush's "Distant Early Warning" every three
hours, but you are probably hearing one of the two or three selected cuts
every three hours.  That's how it tends to work at Album Oriented Stations.

Top 40 is very similar.  You mentioned a heavy rotation of an hour and a
half for an album.  That tends to be avoided except with things that are
both new and hot.  A typical (non hit-radio) Top 40 station's piechart
might go something like this:
 
:00 -- Recent (and probably hot) tune
    -- Jocks choice
    -- Medium rotation tune
    -- Ad Break
    -- Music that has "come-and-gone" but isn't a golden oldie yet
    -- Golden Oldie
    -- Hot tune
    -- Jocks Choice
    -- Ad Break
    -- Medium Rotation Tune
    -- Music that has "come-and-gone" but isn't a golden oldie yet
    -- Medium Rotation Tune
 
and we're back to zero.  Entirely similar.  A hot tune, though, probably
has about four hours rotation (unless, as I said, it's new and hot where
it may be less).  Notice, though, the strategic placing of the jocks 
choice music so as not to interfere too much.  Jocks can't be trusted to
select music.  If I go in and play a "Peter Merchant Hit Parade" of all
my favourite tunes, we're leaving out alot of potential tunes that YOU
might like, but I won't play because "Well, gee, I don't like them."

Pretty good job on the article.               
--
"We'd be listening to the radio               Peter Merchant
 so loud and so strong..." -- J. Steinman