So I thought I would start a little "what is wrong with this playlist" series, as a way to educate and reinforce what you, being the brilliant and savvy DJs you are, already know about playlists. This is probably a classic case of "preachin' to the choir", since, if you have been reading this blog, you already know how to use Spinitron as well as I do...but perhaps if you run into a fellow DJ, you can tell them about all of the great information here and encourage them to visit and get the latest scoop. Deal?
PLAYLIST REPORTS PART ONE
Introduction:
Your playlist is one of the most important--and yes, time-consuming--parts of your job as a KRZA DJ. So, why all of the fuss about playlists? Well, there are four reasons:
1. KRZA is legally required to report everything that goes out over the air, including music.
2. Reporting the music that gets aired enables the artists to get paid for airplay.
3. Playlists are now published online, and this enables your fans to see what songs you played for them, any day, any time of day. Nice, huh?
4. Most important to me, selfish being that I am, is that I use your playlists to report new release airtime to CMJ--the College Music Journal. Artists and music distributors read the reports generated by CMJ and based on these reports, send us (mostly) appropriate new music to play. Free. We like free. So when you play new releases on your show, it keeps KRZA's sound sound fresh and unique, and encourages artists to keep creating new music for us to enjoy. It's a win-win situation all the way around. We all like that!
The Spinitron Report:
By now you are quite familiar with the input screen of Spinitron. You know how to data-enter the artist, album, label, time, and most of you know what the Tracking Number is and where it goes, and what the "New" toggle is for.
So, what happens after you've submitted your playlist after your show? Well, here's where I step in. I log into Spinitron as an Administrator and generate a report that looks like this (I blacked out the DJ and show names):
I take this report and count up the number of times a song from a new release CD is played. For instance, I see from the above screen shot that three songs from Loreena McKennitt's "Troubadours on the Rhine", tracking number 13315, was aired on this particular date. So I take this number--3, for three songs--enter it next to the Music Database entry for "Troubadours on the Rhine", compile it, and send that data to CMJ:
The playlist report from Spinitron (the first screenshot above) represents seven day's worth of playlists. This particular one was 22 pages long. That's a lot of music to keep track of, which is why I'm always hounding you to do good data entry. If you feed me too much, too little, or incorrect information, it really slows me down on the reporting, and then I don't get to do my other job duties, like maintaining the library so that you can find the CDs you want...or writing articles for this blog.
Good Data Entry:
So, let's take a look at three examples of correct data entry:
Example 1:
Here's another example of good data entry :
Example 2:
Wups, the goofy Music Director forgot to write the Tracking Number on the label on front of the CD. Yeah, I'm afraid this happens a lot; sorry. The above example illustrates a great way to let me know. Below is another way that works just fine:
Example 3:
Notice that "New" is still toggled in both cases. This is crucial. Here's why:
Not-So-Good Data Entry:
Example 4:
Next time, we'll have another installment on the playlist stuff. For now, on to the New Releases:
NEW RELEASES
Bluegrass: Ricky Skaggs! 'Nuff said.
Rock: Judas Priest, their 30th Anniversary, two-CD collection! Oh, my, oh, my...wait, did I say 30 years? Ouch, that hurts...
Jazz: Diana Krall has a new album coming out on Verve, and we have a single preview, "Just Like A Butterfly"! Play it lots so we get the whole thing! (Sigh...I have such a crush on Diana Krall. Not only is she blond and gorgeous with legs a mile long, but she has more talent in her little finger than ten Brittany Spears'. Too bad Elvis got to her first...but oh, what a marriage!)
World: Fatoumata Diawara is an actress-turned-singer from Mali. Good career move, there.
Latin: If you like the new generation of electronic Latin music, have a listen to Bang Data. Be careful for profanity in the lyrics, though; the little bit of English I listened to was okay, but I'm not bilingual.
Blues: Greg gave Magic Slim and the Teardrops a big thumbs-up, and I have to agree. Enjoy!
Some Of Each: Tizer is a jazz-rock-world fusion band, and they're really good and really popular in Europe. I put them in Jazz, but it was a tough call. Yes, they're going to stick out of a jazz program a bit. But then, they're going to stick out in World and Rock, too. So, if you'd like a little pizzazz in your jazz show, give them a listen.
Until next time...
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