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When Tempo Shifts Gears

(Or “When Songs Aren’t Always In A [Single] Mood”) By Sean Ross How do you code tempo and mood on a song that changes tempo eight times? Phenomenal in every other way as well, “Driver’s License” by Olivia Rodrigo is slow, but with a pulse, when it begins. Its longest section is the 45-second bridge, […]

How The Soft AC Wars Shaped The Format

By Sean Ross The early ‘90s were a time of massive change on the radio format landscape: the “New Rock revolution”; the growth of Hip-Hop; the rise of “New Country,” the success of Oldies on FM, and the near implosion of Top 40. But as the decade began, the most frenetic activity was in Adult […]

What I Learned From Scheduling Christmas Music

By Sean Ross Every programmer should have the experience of scheduling an all-Christmas format at least once. You will never make as many listeners as happy as you will at the holidays. You will never see as much of your market gathered in one place either. Whether you miss having programmed radio in the ‘70s […]

We’re Going To Slow It Down Just A Little Here

By Sean Ross How would you handle a transition between “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses and “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” by Elton John? What about “Renegade” by Styx into “It Might Be You” by Stephen Bishop? Would you follow “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston with […]

What Is the Sweet Spot for CHR Power Rotation?

Over the years, it has been hard for radio programmers to know when they’re playing their power rotation songs too much. And for some, the prevailing “radio law” is that there’s no such thing. CHR programmers in America had long become used to a listener misperception that they played “the same songs on the hour […]

Rebuild Morning Drive, Don’t Move It To Middays

What do radio listeners want during the workday now? Do they want continuity? Do they want the morning show they’re not hearing anymore in the car on the way to work? I’ve been wondering for a few months now how the audience of the AC radio station I schedule is hearing the things I do. […]

Music Scheduling & Song Libraries: How To Apply ‘Less = More’

by Thomas Giger of www.radioiloveit.com Playing fewer songs means playing more hits, but can you use your focused library of best-testing songs even more effectively? Listeners’ increasingly busy lives and multiplying choices have led to multi-tasking and shorter attention spans. Every time you’re playing something that’s less than a favorite, you do so at the […]

Music Scheduling & Commercial Breaks: From Bow Tie To Hourglass

by Thomas Giger of www.radioiloveit.com Music stations can enhance their strategy for stop sets with thoughtful scheduling. Ideas for PPM markets as well as diary markets. No matter how your station’s ratings are measured, you can let your music scheduling support your programming strategy regarding commercial break placement to boost your Time Spent Listening and […]

How To Make Your Station (Jingle Bell) Rock This Xmas

by Thomas Giger of www.radioiloveit.com There are many Christmas songs, sometimes in many different versions. Which holiday titles will fit your strategy? In an earlier article, we’ve shared holiday scheduling tips and Christmas format clocks, but how do you play the right songs for your brand and demographic? We’ll feature a complete Top 40 chart […]