Hi folks, this week's playlist winner is Richie Tronson, host of This
Microphone Smells (Monday s 8-9 PM), who played a track from Nadjiwan's new
album (#77 on the playlist) and wins a CD from the promo box.
Keep exploring the playlist for a chance to win next week. Thanks!
--
Since, we've just published our annual Top 100 albums of the past year and our
volunteer Top 10s, now is a great time to talk about charts, how they work and
how you can use them to make your own show better.
Charts are produced all over the music industry and for different reasons.
There are national charts, like the Billboard charts in the States, which track
radio play across commercial radio stations, with the most played song becoming
#1 on the chart. Individual stations produced the own charts, showcasing the
most played or most requested songs on those stations. Charts can be a valuable
resource for you as a programmer. Let's start with our own charts so you can
see how things work here, then work our way up the ladder to national charts.
So, each week, CFBX produces at Top 30 chart, which you can see here:
[ https://thex.ca/top-30-charts/ ;| https://thex.ca/top-30-charts/ ] ;
Our charts are based off of actual airplay, from our playlist of new albums,
and as chosen by the volunteers that program at our station, so the #1 album is
the album on the playlist that was played the most, then downwards in play from
#1. You can use this chart to clue you in to what is the most popular albums of
the week, and then use that info in your show. For example, you could play the
#17 album on the chart, then announce that it is currently sitting at #17 on
the chart, and direct your audience to check out the charts on our website. You
can use the chart to find music that you aren't familiar with that others are
playing, and use that to check out the artist. You can go in the opposite
direction too, and deliberately pick music currently not on the Top 30, to make
your show more unique than other shows on the air. Use the specialty charts
below the Top 30 in the same way. Play a jazz artist from the jazz Top 10 and
highlight the music there, or play a jazz artists not on the top 10 to push
your programming in a different direction.
Next we have the stations Top 100 for 2022:
[ https://thex.ca/2023/01/15/top-100-albums-of-2022-and-specialty-charts/ ;|
https://thex.ca/2023/01/15/top-100-albums-of-2022-and-specialty-charts/ ] ;
These are made up of all the past Top 30 charts of 2022, compiled into a list
of the most played albums of the year. This will tell you what's been the most
popular albums of the past year. As with the weekly Top 30, you can use this to
find material you aren't familiar with, but played by others, and play that
music, then direct your audience back to our website to check out the full
chart. Or you could avoid the material on the Top 100 to keep your show unique
and moving in new directions. The point is, this is valuable information that
you can use to inform yourself and your audience, and use it to add more
content to your show.
Then we have the volunteer Top 10s:
[ https://thex.ca/2023/01/15/volunteer-top-10-lists-for-2022/ ;|
https://thex.ca/2023/01/15/volunteer-top-10-lists-for-2022/ ] ;
Here, our own volunteers are picking their favourite albums of the past year.
These charts are based off of the programmer's own tastes, not on airplay. This
gives you insight into what each programmer likes, and may clue you in to some
artists you had never heard of before. Use them to find other artists to play
on your show. And, often these charts include material that the station itself
doesn't have. Most good music programmers aren't passive listeners or users of
music, we actively seek out new material and use our ratio shows to showcase
this material. Remember that this is the essence of good programming: an active
involvement in your own content and a drive to expose yourself and your
audience to something you want them to hear. You can also track down the
programmers working here and ask them if there's anything they like that they
could suggest that you include in your show. Good programmers are happy to
share what they know and help you find new music.
Every campus station produces their own charts too. Here's CFRU's in Guelph:
[ https://www.cfru.ca/chart-archive/january-17-2023/ ;|
https://www.cfru.ca/chart-archive/january-17-2023/ ] ;
You'll see there's a lot of material on there that isn't on our charts. And
there's a lot on our charts that aren't on theirs. Because each station is
different and has a different style of programming, and a different local music
scene, there will be a large variety in their charts. You can use other
station's charts to expose you to what's going on in their music scene,
especially local musicians that can only be heard in their city. This is a
great way to expose you to new music. Check other station's charts out for new
material, and listen to their broadcasts to see how they do things.
How about the national Canadian charts, the Earshot 50:
[ https://www.earshot-online.com/charts/index.cfm ;|
https://www.earshot-online.com/charts/index.cfm ] ;
This compiles charts from all over Canada, and makes a chart out of the most
played/charted albums across Canada in campus/community radio. Again, use it to
find new material for your show, find new artists you aren't familiar with,
seek them out online or in our music library and play them, then refer your
audience back to where you found them. Or, avoid what's on the Top 50 and dig
deeper to find lesser known artists. Because the Earshot Top 50 is an aggregate
chart, it ensures that these albums are the most loved across Canada, so
playing them ensures playing the best known albums. If your focus needs to move
into the less obvious choices, then choose to actively avoid what's on the
chart. Also, the US has the same style of chart, called the NACC: [
https://naccchart.com/charts/ ;| https://naccchart.com/charts/ ] ;
Lastly, we've got the National commercial radio charts, on Billboard:
[ https://www.billboard.com/ ;| https://www.billboard.com/ ] ;
Here you're going to find all the music you should be avoiding. Remember that
campus/community radio acts as an alternative to commercial radio, so we should
never be playing the same music that commercial radio plays, whether it be the
songs on their charts, or the artists showcased there. We must have a unique
sound and need to avoid what is there. In this case, use their charts to see
what's going on in commercial radio, then actively seek to avoid the material
there. It may surprise you to see what artists are being played there, so it's
always a good idea to educate yourself, even if you don't pay attention to
commercial radio at all.
--
Steve Marlow, Programming Coordinator
CFBX 92.5 FM www.thex.ca
Campus/Community Radio for TRU and Kamloops
