Some questions about CHR

[Martin Mac]

Had a couple of questions about Top 40/CHR programming, particularly programming a rhythmic-leaning one if that makes any difference.

1. What are the categories that you put music in? How many songs should you have in each category?

2. How many songs should you have in total. Would 200 be too much for a CHR?

3. What exactly does cume and callout mean?

4. What are P1's and P2's?

5. If you have a Rhythmic lean, how much are you allowed to lean in that direction until your not considered a Top 40/CHR?

I cant think of any more questions at the moment, but Im sure some will come to mind.

 

[Megacycler]

Many of your questions depend on the size market you're in, the ethnic makeup of the market, the existing competition both direct and indirect, the target demos you're after, and many other factors I can't think of at the moment. Here are two good resources/articles.

http://www.pollackmedia.com/node/492


www.rrconline.org/help_desk/glossary.php+radio+listeners+cume+definition&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

When just starting out, many new CHRs utilize very tight playlists to build up cume, so probably 200 songs is way too many. I believe Houston's latest CHR venture started with a current list of 20 something and a recurrent list of 30 something and a just few very select golds.