Radio Promotion & Airplay Flashcards
7 cards from real Music Promotion practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Radio Promotion & Airplay flashcards as text
What is the primary responsibility of a music director at a radio station?
Answer: Selecting songs and managing the station's playlist rotation
A music director oversees all music-related decisions at a station, including which new songs get added, what stays in rotation, and how frequently songs are played.
What does the term 'terrestrial radio' mean in the context of music promotion?
Answer: Traditional AM/FM broadcast radio stations transmitting over land
Terrestrial radio refers to conventional AM/FM stations that broadcast signals via land-based transmitters, distinguishing them from satellite or internet radio.
Which industry publication is considered the standard authority for radio promotion charts in the US?
Answer: Billboard
Billboard publishes the authoritative format-specific airplay charts that radio promoters, labels, and stations use as the industry standard for measuring song performance.
In radio promotion, what does 'market penetration' refer to?
Answer: The percentage of radio stations in a market actively playing a song
Market penetration measures how many stations within a specific geographic market are playing a song, indicating how broadly it is reaching listeners in that area.
What is 'dayparting' in radio programming and promotion?
Answer: Scheduling specific music or content for different times of day based on listener demographics
Dayparting is the practice of scheduling different content for different times of day — morning drive, midday, evening — to match the demographic profile of listeners tuning in at each time.
When a song is described as being in 'heavy rotation' at a radio station, what does this mean?
Answer: The song is played very frequently — typically 25 or more times per week
Heavy rotation means a station plays the song many times throughout each broadcast day, often 25–40+ times per week, signaling strong promotion support and listener demand.
What is a 'one-sheet' in the context of radio promotion?
Answer: A one-page promotional document pitching an artist and their new release to radio
A one-sheet is a concise, single-page promotional tool sent to program directors and music directors that summarizes key artist info, the release, and reasons to add the song to rotation.