More on Crossroads Radio Singles
Crossroads sent out a press release yesterday announcing their new release-as-needed digital singles policy. It contained a new angle I hadn’t considered when writing my post yesterday:
Although Crossroads has been servicing the radio markets for several months with their monthly digital releases, this is the first time they have released singles on a single song, as needed basis. This gives the company the ability to release a single within hours of making the decision, instead of having to sometimes wait for days and weeks, as in years past. It will also allow the company to have more opportunity to get additional singles off each record by eliminating time delays.
Unless Singing News moves to a digital-driven chart, not constrained by waiting for magazine deadlines, allowing for faster chart action—or, for that matter, moves to a bi-monthly or a weekly chart—there probably won’t be much opportunity to speed up single distribution. But being ready to release a single on the spur of a moment could conceivably allow Crossroads to get in one more single per project, even under existing conditions.
Comment by Andrew S. (May 7, 2009, 1:38 pm)
Singing News needs to do a chart like SoGospelNews, a fan-based chart where the fans vote each week. If they still want to have a monthly chart, they could collect fans’ votes at the end of the month. My main hope is that Daywind and other companies start to do this in the future.
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Comment by Susan Unthank (May 7, 2009, 2:00 pm)
Actually SoGospelNews’ chart is radio and fan based. Voting alone dose not determine chart position.
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Comment by Andrew S. (May 7, 2009, 3:25 pm)
#2-Are the radio reports from SouthernSpin radio or from radio stations across the US (like SN)?
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Comment by Seaton (May 8, 2009, 6:13 am)
We already have a fan voted awards, we don’t need a fan voted charting system. Southern Gospel needs an accurate charting system based on actual airplay, that’s all.
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Comment by Gradie (May 8, 2009, 8:37 am)
There’s already a very close-to-perfect realtime charting system in southern gospel music that is accurate and DJs can download music as well. It’s been out for several years. It’s way too fair and unbiased though to sale magazine ads or cater to a select group of radio “promoters”.
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Comment by Andrew S. (May 8, 2009, 1:45 pm)
At least Singing News could do something similar to SoGospelNews chart with the idea that the fans have some direct aid in making a song high on the chart. Because radio reports are often falsified, it is difficult to request a song everyday or sometimes more and it either barely chart or fail to reach the top. It may not completely change the situation of certain promoters “owning” the chart spots; but it would include the fans’ ideas for what they truly enjoy hearing.
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Comment by Chris Unthank (May 8, 2009, 4:05 pm)
SouthernSpinRadio.com is a charting station to the SoGospelNews Chart (as well as Gospel Music News, Christian Voice Magazine, and SGN Scoops Digital).
Last I heard, SGN had over 20 charting stations. I don’t know how accurate that number is now.
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Comment by David Bruce Murray (May 9, 2009, 10:48 pm)
I agree with Seaton. It really isn’t that difficult to do.
Any program director who’s got a shred of management skills could develop a system for recording actual spins.
For example, some stations say they can’t afford the software required to track plays, but tracking can be done with iTunes software, which is free. That’s just one method.
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Comment by Susan Unthank (May 11, 2009, 1:22 am)
I agree that Southern Gospel needs an accurate charting system based on actual airplay, but until all radio stations report that way you don’t have it. We decided to go with the combination of fan and radio report to give another perspective that wasn’t offered at the time.
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Comment by Susan Unthank (May 11, 2009, 1:24 am)
Gradie, What charting system are you referring to that is “very close-to-perfect realtime charting”?
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Comment by Gradie (May 11, 2009, 11:57 pm)
RadioActiveAirplay if the station streams the song from the sight. If the song is downloaded by a station, the number of spins in not traced. The system is much more reflective of a song’s actual use (streamed/downloaded) by a station as opposed to simply have a station programmer fill out a list to be published weeks/months after the song has already lived out it’s life on radio.
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Comment by Susan Unthank (June 23, 2009, 1:17 pm)
Gradie,
Sorry to disagree with you but RadioActiveAirplay does nothing but show how many downloads a song has received. It does not reflect actual airplay and is therefore not accurate at all to determine a song’s popularity or play on radio. It isn’t even accurate as to the number of songs being played on radio.
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