Need Help with Songs For Hot AC Foramt

[Trm0869]

I can easily search MediaBase for what fits into the Hot AC format that is new. I am trying to figure out what songs fit into the Hot AC from the 80's through today. I don't know if this would be a hybrid format between Bright AC and Hot AC. I purchased the Hot AC Aggregate format from what is now TM Studios.I have an an Excel spreadsheet of all the songs. Just need to get this right. Any help or suggestions would be great!!

Thomas

 

[ricoontheradio]

I can easily search MediaBase for what fits into the Hot AC format that is new. I am trying to figure out what songs fit into the Hot AC from the 80's through today. I don't know if this would be a hybrid format between Bright AC and Hot AC. I purchased the Hot AC Aggregate format from what is now TM Studios.I have an an Excel spreadsheet of all the songs. Just need to get this right. Any help or suggestions would be great!!

Thomas

When you're viewing the Hot AC chart in Mediabase you are looking at Current/Recurrent. Change that drop down menu and select "Gold" -- you can see all Gold records being played by monitored Hot AC stations around the country.

 

[Trm0869]

Thanks Mr Garcia. I need to clarify that I do not have full access to MediaBase . I get their chart from the web and from TM Studios. I have all the music already put in the computer. What I am trying to find out is of the songs I have, which belong on a Hot A/C format. I have searched online and found only Artist/ Songs from 1998 to present. But what about those songs from the 80's and 90's. I have tried to listen to online stations, which becomes even more confusing due to the fact that what some call Hot A/C is more like a Solid Rap or even Metal internet venue. I know that can't be 100% accurate. We have a station here that comes close. However they play alot of 70's,very little 80's& 90's and a lot of say year 2000 and up.Online I never seem to find what I am looking for. Anyhow this is my problem. Sorry for any confusion.Thanks Again.If you have other suggestions I would love to hear them.

Thomas

 

[icycool7227]

I haveTrm, I have a full playlist from WKTI of every song they have played from the 80s to today. Send me the list of songs via private message and I can tell you which should belong on a hot AC station as I have listened to tons and tons of hot ACs.

 

[Roger That]

I haveTrm, I have a full playlist from WKTI of every song they have played from the 80s to today. Send me the list of songs via private message and I can tell you which should belong on a hot AC station as I have listened to tons and tons of hot ACs.

Being a listener of Hot AC stations doesn't make you qualified to determine which songs belong in the format.

 

[butlerguy03]

Being a listener of Hot AC stations doesn't make you qualified to determine which songs belong in the format.

This statement is what is wrong with radio. So...what qualified you to determine what gets on the air? A old white guy giving you a job?

As a GM/PD of a ModernAC, I take the chance to listen to my listeners any time I get...why wouldn't you want to listen to the ideas of someone dedicated to your genre of music?

 

[Roger That]

Being a listener of Hot AC stations doesn't make you qualified to determine which songs belong in the format.

This statement is what is wrong with radio. So...what qualified you to determine what gets on the air? A old white guy giving you a job?

As a GM/PD of a ModernAC, I take the chance to listen to my listeners any time I get...why wouldn't you want to listen to the ideas of someone dedicated to your genre of music?

Did you read what he wrote? He makes the statement that because he listens to radio, he "can tell you which should belong on a Hot AC station." Simply on the merits of being a listener?

Listeners spend their lives having opinions about what they like. Good PDs spend their careers trying to determine the commonality of those opinions. Good PDs don't program radio stations that fit their tastes, they focus on the tastes of their listeners as a whole (or as close to one as they can get). Simply "asking around" doesn't accomplish that. And what icycool7227 is offering is simply his opinion based on being a listener.

The original poster is obviously new to radio, and is looking for advice. I don't make the assumption that he/she knows better when it comes to the opinion of someone who's never actually been in radio, much less successful in it.

Each is entitled to their own opinion. Mine happens to be that just being a listener of radio doesn't qualify you to determine the format for thousands of people.

An old white guy taught me that.

 

[Prais]

An old white guy (Joel Whitburn) has the best source for your hot ac format. You'll buy a book and have the COMPLETE list. Then choose from that list.

I've done this 4 or 5 times in 37 years. It's a hoot choosing from the whole list. It is REALLY more "art" than"science." Check out the local folks and the other stations and adjust, adjust, adjust.

Another old white guy wrote this.

 

[butlerguy03]

I agree, there is no one person who knows what belongs on a format, especially someone who just listens to stations and doesn't have any data or real experience. However, I do like to "poll the streets" occasionally to make sure I am going the way they are. I found out that adding Beyonce was a big no-no in my area...but adding the Foo Fighters was beneficial. With that simple data I broadened my scope of what was HotAC and what polling data I asked then I skewed the station toward Modern AC and have taken quite a position in the local market.

I cannot believe a book can show you what is in a format. No way. Especially with a format so broad that you can skew urban, urban ac, rock, rock ac, soft, pop, alternative, and on and on and on...I haven't seen the book, but I imagine its nothing I couldn't come up with by looking at Mediabase or Charts from the past 20 years.

Actually, Hot AC probably doesn't exist anymore. It's broken into ModernAC and Adult Pop. How can any station claim to be HotAC by adding songs that have Lil' Wayne...that is Adult Pop, not AC anything (in my opinion).

 

[Oldbones]

An old white guy (Joel Whitburn) has the best source for your hot ac format. You'll buy a book and have the COMPLETE list. Then choose from that list.

Not so fast. All Whitburn will tell you is what songs were hits back in the day. Just because a song was #1 20 years ago doesn't mean anyone wants to hear it today. Examples abound.
One of his books may give you ideas of songs to test, but don't let old chart positions dictate what you play today.

yet another old white guy

 

[butlerguy03]

Not so fast. All Whitburn will tell you is what songs were hits back in the day. Just because a song was #1 20 years ago doesn't mean anyone wants to hear it today. Examples abound.
One of his books may give you ideas of songs to test, but don't let old chart positions dictate what you play today.

yet another old white guy

Exactly. Easy examples are all over the place. If you play this certain 1997-98 top song that hit the charts hard at pop and adult pop and adult soft rock, even propelling this artist to unbelievable recognition, you would play it right...its only 11 years old? Wrong. Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On, hardly a station in the country would play this in some sort of regular gold rotation, even softy ACs. Please don't use chart position as a reason to play a song...some of the best golds are songs that fit better today than they did as a current.

 

[Prais]

"All Whitburn will tell you is what songs were hits back in the day."

True. But now you have the whole "universe" of songs to choose from.
Butlerguys observations are correct.

 

[Bill Harmonic]

Go to www.yes.com, sign up (it's free) and then you can check out what most stations are playing.

 

[icycool7227]

Then make radio more easily to get into, more job opportunities, higher pay, and no damn driver's license required and more schooling for it available everywhere else. Then I might be qualified to have an opinion according to you.

You know what one of my ideas of heaven is? Everyone gets the job he or she wants that they never did in real life.

I spend a lot of time listening to the radio - so much I probably need to get a life and do other things at times. This makes me qualified as possible without actually being in radio. I wanted to have an opportunity to pick songs here! Geez, louise.

Being a listener of Hot AC stations doesn't make you qualified to determine which songs belong in the format.

This statement is what is wrong with radio. So...what qualified you to determine what gets on the air? A old white guy giving you a job?

As a GM/PD of a ModernAC, I take the chance to listen to my listeners any time I get...why wouldn't you want to listen to the ideas of someone dedicated to your genre of music?

Did you read what he wrote? He makes the statement that because he listens to radio, he "can tell you which should belong on a Hot AC station." Simply on the merits of being a listener?

Listeners spend their lives having opinions about what they like. Good PDs spend their careers trying to determine the commonality of those opinions. Good PDs don't program radio stations that fit their tastes, they focus on the tastes of their listeners as a whole (or as close to one as they can get). Simply "asking around" doesn't accomplish that. And what icycool7227 is offering is simply his opinion based on being a listener.

The original poster is obviously new to radio, and is looking for advice. I don't make the assumption that he/she knows better when it comes to the opinion of someone who's never actually been in radio, much less successful in it.

Each is entitled to their own opinion. Mine happens to be that just being a listener of radio doesn't qualify you to determine the format for thousands of people.

An old white guy taught me that.

 

[Prais]

"This makes me qualified as possible without actually being in radio."

Icy, with respect....
You are SO wrong.

What an embarrassing statement you make, here.

You are saying, "CHANGE RADIO so ME - ICY qualifys."

LIFE doesn't revolve around YOU.

I want to be a surgeon. I can do it becausse I WATCH surgeries.
I want to be a LAWYER. I can d it because watch Perry Mason.

I want to be a jet pilot. I can do it because I play my FLIGHT SIMULATOR video game.

Go to a station and "hang around" for a while.

Go to school, get a real radio job to get experience as a dj, or an automation operator. Do radio SALES.

Then you won't be asking questions like "what does a program director do ....because he doesn't answer me?"

I wish you the best.

 

[Prais]

Icy said, "You know what one of my ideas of heaven is? Everyone gets the job he or she wants that they never did in real life."

WORKING?.....In Heaven?

I hope not. I want to work my A@@ off here sp I can REST, there.

 

[Bill Harmonic]

Icy...

It's not about you but what you can offer to someone else. Add value and opportunity to some poor PD's life and you might be surprised. You can get whatever you want in this world, it's just that no one can tell you how long that is going to take, if you ever make it. All these brick walls you're running into are only there to see how bad you want it. A successful PD feeds five hundred gators each day with a pound of burger and keeps all his fingers. Most PD's would tell you to get a grip on your goals and look for realistic expectations. See what you journey entails and then if it's OK with your direction, go for it. I wish you the best of luck but most PD's do it for the passion of the business first and all the free t-shirts, CD's and food coupons later.