New York Metro Radio Ratings: June 2023

[tall_guy1]

I'm not positive, but I don't think that I can ever recall a station with a ratings problem improving by expanding the playlist.

The Buzz’s Rocky Year: Inside the Kansas City Radio Station That Helps Alternative Bands Get Big KRBZ expanded their playlist quite a bit in 2013 and helped them. In an article from 2018, they still had 60 currents (whereas most alts only had 10, according to this article.) The problem was by the late 10s, a lot of alt was not resonating with a lot of people. Not only that, but for a lot of that time, they "ignored" artists like Fall Out Boy and Linkin Park and focused on more indie bands. Their ratings held steady until around 2017.https://web.archive.org/web/20130618005115/http://krbz.tunegenie.com/ Here you can scroll through their playlists...lots of unfamiliar music to people then. Back then it seemed more AAA like, though.

 

[TheBigA]

Their ratings held steady until around 2017.

Whatever they're doing now must be pretty bad. They dropped completely out of the Top 10. Music intensive mornings might be the problem. Or the complete lack of a morning show.

 

[tall_guy1]

Whatever they're doing now must be pretty bad. They dropped completely out of the Top 10. Music intensive mornings might be the problem. Or the complete lack of a morning show.

The mid 10s seemed like a particularly strong period for "coffee shop alt" which is what they leaned into (stuff like The National and Tegan and Sara), which probably allowed them to buck general radio trends. It stopped working for them in the late 10s though, when that music started fading in place of more polarizing music and alt suffered. They are way more conservative on their playlist than they once were, but unsure their predicament now.

 

[MVB13]

The Buzz’s Rocky Year: Inside the Kansas City Radio Station That Helps Alternative Bands Get Big KRBZ expanded their playlist quite a bit in 2013 and helped them. In an article from 2018, they still had 60 currents (whereas most alts only had 10, according to this article.) The problem was by the late 10s, a lot of alt was not resonating with a lot of people. Not only that, but for a lot of that time, they "ignored" artists like Fall Out Boy and Linkin Park and focused on more indie bands. Their ratings held steady until around 2017.https://web.archive.org/web/20130618005115/http://krbz.tunegenie.com/ Here you can scroll through their playlists...lots of unfamiliar music to people then. Back then it seemed more AAA like, though.

How could you ignore Fall Out Boy or Linkin Park they are amazing!

 

[tall_guy1]

How could you ignore Fall Out Boy or Linkin Park they are amazing!

I am guessing based on what I know that alt is fragmented and a lot of the "coffee shop alt" fans (Postal Service, Tegan and Sara) weren't fans. Not sure what they do now, but KNRK in Portland used to do the same.

 

[MVB13]

I am guessing based on what I know that alt is fragmented and a lot of the "coffee shop alt" fans (Postal Service, Tegan and Sara) weren't fans. Not sure what they do now, but KNRK in Portland used to do the same.

Also both good bands there too.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Your allegations are horribly offensive to me. I think an apology is due.

I didn't intend to offend you, David, and I don't want there to be hard feelings over this. I apologize.

 

[dcowboy7]

How could you ignore Fall Out Boy or Linkin Park they are amazing!

Easily....ignore.

 

[davideduardo]

I didn't intend to offend you, David, and I don't want there to be hard feelings over this. I apologize.

Accepted and slate is wiped clean.

(I'm amused that I came up with such an obsolete term as "slate" which refers to an item used even before kids had blackboards in school!)

 

[dcowboy7]

I know it should go back to country. 😜
I mean 2 country artists morgan wallen & luke combs just had the #1 & #2 songs on the billboard hot 100 till they got bumped this wk by olivia rodrigo....mmmm olivia.

Country stars now have the #1 aldean #2 wallen #3 combs songs on the billboard hot 100 this week Awesome !!
I also love wallens new single "everything i love".

 

[TheBigA]

Country stars now have the #1 aldean #2 wallen #3 combs songs on the billboard hot 100 this week Awesome !!
I also love wallens new single "everything i love".

'
Keep in mind that the Hot 100 is primarily driven by streaming and not airplay. Looking at the chart used by America Top 40, you see a different ranking:

TOP 40 - May 30, 2026 | American Top 40

American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest, Top 40, Hot AC, Seacrest, iHeartRadio

www.americantop40.com

AT40 and other similar shows use Billboard's Radio Songs chart, which is based on radio airplay.

 

[dcowboy7]

I know but when they refer to hits chartwise they still use their hot 100 numbers.

 

[TheBigA]

I know but when they refer to hits chartwise they still use their hot 100 numbers.

Depends on who "they" are. Selena Gomez is pushing her #1 on Pop Airplay charts:

Rema & Selena Gomez's "Calm Down" Again Returns To #1 On Pop Radio Chart, Earning 4th Week On Top

In early May, Rema & Selena Gomez's "Calm Down" reached #1 on the Mediabase pop radio chart. The song spent two weeks in the #1 position, before ceding

headlineplanet.com

How Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ With Selena Gomez Slow-Burned Its Way to the Top of Pop Airplay

Here's how Rema and Selena Gomez's "Calm Down" climbed to the top of Billboard's pop radio chart and hit No. 5 on the Hot 100.

www.billboard.com

The Hot 100 is all-genre, which is why it's not used for radio formats.

 

[dcowboy7]

Of course they will cause it helps them but generally in the media & things like wiki its the hot 100.

 

[TheBigA]

Of course they will cause it helps them but generally in the media & things like wiki its the hot 100.

On the other hand it causes confusion for fans who want to rally around their favorite star. Jason Aldean fans might wonder why their artist's song is #1 on the Hot 100, but not at the same spot in any of the airplay charts. Especially for such a polarizing song.

 

[davideduardo]

Of course they will cause it helps them but generally in the media & things like wiki its the hot 100.

Remember, stations in specific formats do music research to find out what their listeners want to hear and how often.

So, even in a specific format, different styles of stations will have different playlist and rotations. A rhythmic CHR will play different songs than a “Straight” CHR… and a rhythmic in a mostly Hispanic market will be different than one in a highly black one.

The national charts are averages, and don‘t reflect any one specific station and it’s research and experience in its market.

 

[dcowboy7]

On the other hand it causes confusion for fans who want to rally around their favorite star. Jason Aldean fans might wonder why their artist's song is #1 on the Hot 100, but not at the same spot in any of the airplay charts. Especially for such a polarizing song.

Well they should know that hot 100 songs hit peak faster - so fast that a song can even hit #1 in it 1st wk.
Airplay obv takes longer - aldean can get there eventually its currently #19 & going up & the biggest spin gainer in top 30.

 

[dcowboy7]

Well they should know that hot 100 songs hit peak faster - so fast that a song can even hit #1 in it 1st wk.
Airplay obv takes longer - aldean can get there eventually its currently #19 & going up & the biggest spin gainer in top 30.

Hit the top 10 this wk & still biggest spin gainer so #1 is very doable.

 

[TheBigA]

Hit the top 10 this wk & still biggest spin gainer so #1 is very doable.

Still very unlikely until October.

 

[CTListener]

Still very unlikely until October.

The whole No. 1 thing is largely choreographed by the labels anyway. If Capitol Nashville can give Jason a "push week" at country radio in October once "Small Town" hits No. 2 or 3, it can get a No. 1 for the week providing that whatever is blocking it (likely Luke Combs or Kane Brown) is losing enough spins or going recurrent. That it is still racing up the airplay chart after the wokes and non-wokes have ceased fighting over it and have turned their attention to mystery man Oliver Anthony's viral "Rich Men North of Richmond" (which is unfit for radio in its sound -- acoustic bluesy folk/country -- and frequently profane lyrics) tells me that it certainly has the legs to hit the top. Aldean is all over the stations here in Vermont, and you couldn't find many more liberal slices of America than where I am, outside of maybe Cambridge, Madison or Berkeley.