As many of you know I take a great deal of pride in what has been built with the KB Radio stations and truthfully almost all aspects. For a refresher let me tell you from an operations standpoint what set us apart 10 years ago and why we have been copied so much over the last decade.
When we launched most online stations playing Indie music, were strictly that, Indie only 24/7. I created initially the blog and then the station that mixed the Indie in with mainstream classics. Loosely using a system like Top 40 radio has used for years, my thought was that instead of mixing new hits from mainstream in with the classics, I would use new Indie tracks from upcoming artists that were not getting the notice they deserved in terrestrial or satellite radio. As mentioned most other online stations played nothing but Indie, and cost had a lot to do with that with royalties being the biggest expense.
So leaning on my years previously in the radio industry, I created a clock or rotation pattern on my idea of Indie and classic mainstream together. Like every song that’s ever been recorded, some are better than others. I am talking quality, musically, lyrically etc. With a set rotation pattern this told me how many songs per hour, and based on different categories how many of each genre if you will played per day and per week. My focus was to attract listeners who loved the classics, but to intersperse Indie songs Like we did in top 40 radio. The ratio’s are very different for any former radio people reading this.
We were limited in how many songs we could play if we wanted to promote the artists and individual songs. Many other stations simply played a track once, and maybe played a couple of songs from the same artist over the week. My focus was to work on repetition, so that if you were a regular listener, you would hear the same indie tracks off and on throughout the week, and weeks. This was anything other than a one off play wise, when we added a song, the intent was to put it in for 60 days, allow listeners to recognize the song and the artist, and hopefully create new fans for those artists.
Now we go back to the fact that some songs are better than others, and when you are running a strict formatted station not every song submitted is going to get played. So my target initially was to have a number of categories for Indie music. The best stuff( and I say that in no way trying to take away from the other songs or artists) would get played on average 4 times a week or more, depending on multiple factors. The next level would be guaranteed 1 spin a week and again possible more again depending on factors. The third group you would hear exclusively in Indie music focused shows. This would guarantee a play at least once a week. The idea with this it would appeal to listeners who were there because it was an indie only program. With each of those groups there had to be a set limit on the number of songs in the category to meet my required play numbers.
Every week as new music comes in, and I say that loosely as we get so much it is difficult to keep up with it, we go through submissions, decide which songs will go into the playlist or rotation on KB and older songs get moved out or into a permanent position. It should be known that of all the songs we get only about 10% actually go to the air on KB. If you are an artist submitting, and we don’t use your music, please don’t be insulted. there are many reasons that your song many not fit the station. But we do encourage artists to send more and keep us up to date.
I should add at this point that many artists these days release music more frequently than every 60 days. What i do is explain my process and if they are ok working with me in those parameters than all is good. I guess I can’t really say what happens if they don’t agree because every artist I ever talked to liked my approach and we worked together as they released more music. That system has worked and been in place for the better part of ten years but we have run into a recent dilemma. We are getting too much good music. In fact with the amount of good music we receive we are unable to maintain those programming guidelines I have used all this time.
This may sound strange to some people but I have adjusted the station and its rotation pattern to accommodate more Indie Music. Why am I taking the time to tell you all of this. It will have an effect on the sound of the station. The sound and style that has been in play for again 10 years. I don’t think it will be too dramatic, but it truthfully is a concern. Taking the time and effort over the years to build and maintain what I have, is a concern when you start messing with the process. The other alternative would have been to make the determining factors for air play even stricter, which would not change the station sound, but may start to affect artists that have been great supporters of the station over the years. It would mean less than 10% would get played.
You will read at other stations and hear from them comments like they don’t care about analytic’s, or ratings they just play great music. I say worry about your own station and helping to promote Indie music and Artists. Plus believe me when I say, that 10% is the best of the best.
I have also wanted to rewrite the process so newer readers, listeners and artists can understand how I manage things and hopefully have a better understanding of what we are doing with your music. Thanks for taking the time to read all of this, and please keep sending us that great music. Questions or comments are always welcome.
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