Music Promotion Radio Promotion & Airplay 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary role of a radio 'plugger' in music promotion?
- Records demos for artists in professional studios
- Pitches songs to radio stations and DJs to secure airplay (Correct answer)
- Manages artist touring and live performance schedules
- Handles social media accounts on behalf of record labels
Correct answer: Pitches songs to radio stations and DJs to secure airplay
A radio plugger is a promoter who acts as the liaison between record labels and radio stations, advocating for songs to secure airplay.
Question 2: Which Billboard chart specifically tracks the most-played songs on US radio stations?
- Billboard Radio Songs (Airplay) Chart (Correct answer)
- Rolling Stone Top 100
- Billboard Hot 100
- Spotify Viral 50
Correct answer: Billboard Radio Songs (Airplay) Chart
Billboard's Radio Songs chart tracks spins across format radio stations, making it the primary measure of US radio airplay performance.
Question 3: In radio promotion, what is an 'add date'?
- The date an artist officially signs with a label
- The deadline for submitting music to streaming platforms
- The date a song is officially added to a radio station's rotation (Correct answer)
- The scheduled release date for a music video
Correct answer: The date a song is officially added to a radio station's rotation
An 'add date' is the day a program director formally adds a new song to the station's playlist rotation, typically on set weekly days like Tuesday or Friday.
Question 4: Which radio format is most closely associated with promoting mainstream Top 40 pop music?
- Adult Contemporary (AC)
- Triple A (AAA)
- Classical
- Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR)
Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), commonly called Top 40, focuses on current popular hits and is the primary format for mainstream pop music promotion.
Question 5: What does the term 'spins' refer to in radio promotion?
- The number of times a song is played on radio stations (Correct answer)
- The royalty payments distributed to recording artists
- The number of radio stations operating in a given market
- The rotational speed used when playing vinyl records
Correct answer: The number of times a song is played on radio stations
Spins refers to the total number of times a song is played or 'spun' on radio stations, which promoters track as the core airplay metric.
Question 6: What technology does BDS (Broadcast Data Systems) use to track radio airplay?
- Manual DJ reporting submitted weekly to Billboard
- Listener call-in surveys aggregated by market
- GPS signal triangulation from broadcast towers
- Audio fingerprinting to automatically detect and count song plays (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Audio fingerprinting to automatically detect and count song plays
BDS uses audio fingerprinting technology to automatically recognize and count every time a song is played on monitored radio stations, providing accurate and objective airplay data.
Question 7: What does a 'bullet' symbol next to a song on a radio chart indicate?
- The song was just released and has no prior chart history
- The song has been dropped from active rotation this week
- The song was recorded at a live radio station session
- The song is gaining upward momentum in position or spin count (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The song is gaining upward momentum in position or spin count
A bullet on radio charts signals that a song is trending upward, showing positive movement in chart position or weekly spin count compared to the prior week.
Music Promotion Radio Promotion & Airplay 1
What is the primary role of a radio 'plugger' in music promotion?