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First, I would like to thank Jason Barrett and Jeff Lynn for welcoming me to hopefully bring you thought-provoking, interesting topics for the world of Hot AC radio. 

Am I the most qualified to speak on these topics?  Well, you can decide on that from article to article, but like most who have spent time programming in this format, I also have opinions and thoughts.  

To launch this new venture, I decided to try to answer the question: When does “new” music stop being new? I’ve thought about that many times while creating and programming brands for SiriusXM.  

It has been a moving target for some time as technology and consumer savvy continually move the goalposts. If you program a Hot AC or any music station that plays currents, you need to get this right!

I will throw this out there now: in today’s world of music consumption, calling anything “new” longer than a week is a mistake! Except at an adult-targeted Mainstream AC that may go earlier than normal on a song like Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars / Die With a Smile because it texturally makes sense for their audience.

Even in that situation, two to three weeks would be more than enough. I have heard programmers say, “Well, it’s new still to our audience,” or “No one else in the market is on it yet…so it’s new!” or “We still label it new because it’s unfamiliar to the audience in my research.”

That may have been the case before DSPs, TikTok, Sirius XM, Soundcloud, and YouTube. The music is out, and your audience is getting exposed to it, and if you keep telling them, “This is New Music on XYZ-FM,” you will come off as not authentic to your audience.

In today’s competitive landscape, can you afford to make that mistake? Using the word “new” to position those recently added songs to your rotations is easy. The word paints a spotlight for sure, but in today’s radio climate, it no longer works for long or possibly at all.

Thinking of creative ways to present these songs is part of your job as a programmer and something your audience expects. A listener’s BS meter goes off loud when they hear something that does not come off as authentic.  

Now, I do believe you can position these songs as “It’s new on (insert your calls here) this week; go ahead and feel free to use that when the new Ed Sheeran / “Azizam” comes this Friday. 

Then, after that, you need to figure out a way to position these songs to draw attention to them since you likely want your audience to believe you are the leader in your market when it comes to exposing fresh music.

Fresh, trending music you need in your ears, music we think you need to know. This is Hitbound, which has been used at SiriusXM Hits 1. Whatever you can say to creatively point out that this is “new” without using that word for more than a week, maybe less!  

As the programmer, you must assume that when a popular artist releases a new album, both super fans and possibly casual fans will likely consume much of it before you decide to play it on your station or, even worse, play the label game of waiting for impact dates to play particular focus tracks.

As a programmer, you should play what you think is right for your audience. That means consuming the music when it comes out, not waiting for a label to tell you what to focus on!  

That often aligns with the record label’s priorities, but not always. In today’s landscape, where there are so many outlets to get and hear “new” music, and that means it does not stay “new” for long.

To get the new additions to your station familiar enough with your audience to gauge research, you need to play these songs longer than a week and in a meaningful rotation.  

The key is to figure out the best way to sell this music without using the word “new.” That, my radio programming friends, is your opportunity to get creative and make sure your audience believes you are their outlet for discovering new music!

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