It is hard to believe that in three more short reporting weeks we will be hanging out in NYC for the CMJ Music Conference. I know not all of you will be there but it seems over the last few years there has been an uptick in the number of stations going. Or perhaps just more people from a few stations. Whatever the case it seems to be on the upswing. And yet while we are three short weeks away and the number of people going to CMJ keeps going up, the number of stations reporting to CMJ is just startlingly low. We have not had a over 300 stations reporting since week 17. This whole year we have only had NINE weeks out of 38 that have had over 300 stations. Last year at this time was not much better with 12 weeks out of 300.
I believe I have gone over this once before but it is a point worth revisiting every now and again.
This year we have had 432 stations report.
Last year there were 466 reporters
468 in 2011
510 in 2010
530 in 2009
575 in 2008
608 in 2007
647 in 2006
As you can see every year there are less reporters and I always ask why, why do more stations quit CMJ every year. That is not to say there are not new stations but for every WQFS that quits a station like Pizza FM takes its place. For every WEGL, WERS, WHRB, WPGU, WERK there are "the thing" "radio Phoenix" "ohio FM"
I do not mean disrespect to any of these stations, I only wish that instead of replacing WERS with M3 Radio there was a way to keep WERS reporting to CMJ because CMJ is better when the best stations across the country report. CMJ is not at its best when Joe internet can go and buy a subscription and report and dilute the charts. I wish we could get them back but I understand completely why they no longer do, programs are getting cut budgets are getting smaller. On every level. Upon saying all of this I can understand why a new station that is taking the time and spending the money to report would be upset that reporting does not automagically equal hard copies of records. The truth is, and we have touched on this before, that some stations that have more wattage, a bigger listening audience, more community outreach and thereby a spin there is worth more to the band/ promoter/ label than a small unknown station broadcasting to 3 stoned dudes and a cow. Anyways this is a huge discussion we can have and I would love to have so let me know your thoughts. I have asked some stations recently that no longer report that I still service why they no longer report and because they are larger stations they still get records and do not see the point in reporting. Not my words theirs.
Anyways such a large tangent to start off with this week but it bothers me that we are still under 300 stations to start the year.
Now on to this weeks chart. I will say that while we did not get to 300 we were close 296. But the point is we should be way above not hovering below as we currently are. But 296 is a jump up from last week by a good 20 stations so there is hope we can get there next week. The hard part of having these waves of new stations is keeping on top of them. Stations tend to come back to PILEs and PILES of records and no matter what we try and do to help them the end up adding Vampire Weekend, Daft Punk and a bunch of summer left overs because they are there. This is hard when you have 4 different companies pushing 4 records for #1 on the top 200. It makes for a pretty tight race.
This weeks race was pretty tight, at least I think it was. #1 Ty Segall pretty much had it the whole way I thought but is not gaining the ground we saw over the past few weeks so the thought is they have peaked and might start to fall a bit. He has been hovering close to the 60% mark of stations while the other contenders are closer to 50%. Lets take a look at the others.
Neko Case at #2
Franz Ferdinand at #3
Arctic Monkeys at #4
Deer Tick made a nice rebound to jump into the top 5 I just think these other records are stronger so we will focus on them.
I could of seen the order play out any other way and not been shocked. Every one has strengths. Franz is dominating with #1s having an overwhelming advantage in that department. Neko has the AAA and higher cores going for her while Arctic Monkeys saw a big jump in the # of stations playing them.
I actually thought, before I looked at the numbers, that Arctic would be ahead of Franz but the #1s and the volume of stations really helped them out. This next week should be very interesting. I don't think any of the big debuts or records that had big moves will contend next week so it should be a similar showdown between the four.
The new records to keep an eye on would be Goldfrap, MGMT, Man Man, Elvis Costello and Obits none of these I see pushing for #1 though. However this time of year can lend itself to longer runs at the top spot. I say that because with so many new good records coming in you get fewer #1's for each one because more stations like a lot of different records and they tend to have longer climbs than the summer time where there are 2 good records and both race up the chart very quickly.
The next big contenders I think went for adds this week in DR DOG and Chvrches. Dr. Dog took the number one spot pretty handedly but at the same time Chvrches had the higher debut on the top 200. I could see these two fighting it out the week after CMJ, look for both to be somewhere in the top 20 easily next week perhaps even top 15.
Something I always find interesting/ frustrating this time of year is with new stations and new good records you get to see records gain a lot of stations and go down on the same week. It can be VERY frustrating to gain 20 stations in a week and go down 2 spots but it happens a lot. Look at Deer Tick last week they gained stations on top of what they had the week previous but they went down a spot. They were able to rebound nicely this week and grab that top 5. So we need to keep an eye out for those records in week 4 or 3 that already have gone down as they have the best chance of a rebound. Once you get to week 5 on the chart it is typically time to let them go, not always though.
Well I think I covered a lot this week, as we get closer to CMJ I will list all the parties I know about and also tell you who I am looking forward to seeing, please share with me who you are excited to see!
Please be sure to follow me on the twitters at www.twitter.com/theanimalarrg
and you can follow me on instagram at douginthehouse
Lets talk soon!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
CMJ RECAP ISSUE 1314 WEEK 37
Hello friends. If have not yet seen the Nominations for the CMJ AWARDS were announced yesterday check them out. I will not do a full rundown of the nominations. I think they are fun and a great time and I won Promoter of the year many times in a row and thoroughly enjoyed it. I do wish they would change the nomination and voting process. One idea I had was that Stations could only nominate and vote for Promoters and Promoters could only nominate and vote for Stations. My theory being that it would stop things like a station that does not even report to CMJ on a regular basis from being nominated. Or perhaps if each station/ promotion company got one vote. I am sure there would be problems no matter what they did but that might make it better. Or maybe I am wrong and UTA radio is a fantastic internet station run by students that everyone has heard of except for me ...oh and those other 4 promoters I asked but maybe everyone else loves them.
Another week under 300 reporters. I miss you guys. I hope you all come back soon. Things look to be on track for our first 300 reporting week of the Fall for the last week of September. These charts are so much more fun the more people we have participating.
Lets start with ADDS this week. MGMT took #1 with under 90 ADDs. While I, and the people I talked to, thought MGMT would take #1 most ADDED pretty easily I am surprised it did not break 100. The adds were all really clustered together looked like there were no records that everyone liked but many records that a bunch of people liked, if that makes sense. The last MGMT record went to #2 and I think that was viewed as a disappointment in much the same way Tegan and Sara going to #2 was a disappointment. You still feel good about #2 but when your expectations are #1 it can be a big bummer. So regardless of what this record sounds like and if it is better or worse than the last one it is being judged by how the last one made them feel. I think you will see the same thing with the next Tegan and Sara record as it was a change in sound and changes in sound scare people away. They also get new fans too but it takes time to build that back up to a #1 contender.
The charts were once again topped by Ty Segall. When I first saw the numbers I thought he had another amazing week but in looking closely it looks like they had the same week as last week. With just around 65% of reporting stations. They just did a really good job of getting those new stations that were coming back on. Neko Case had a great week charging past Franz Ferdinand to grab #2 on the charts. Her percentage of stations went from 40% to 51% so a nice improvement. Still a ways to go for #1 but looking pretty good.
With 2 indies on Franz Ferdinand it would be hard to count them out of the race for #1 next week. Ty Segall could gain more stations but it is more likely that he will start to lose the grip on the high percentage he has. I am also looking at a charging Arctic Monkeys who come in at #11 after their great add week. It is a little like the situation with Washed Out and No Age that we saw a few weeks ago. Do you continue to go for Ty at #1 or do you put everything into getting Arctic Monkeys up there. Now I think the window at this point is pretty open for a LOT of different scenarios and I could see a lot of things happening. I think next week will be VERY close though. What do you think will happen out there? Let me know @theanimalarrg
Also what are you surprised about out there? I can tell you that I am most surprised that a digital only single debuted at #50!!! I know it is Arcade Fire but wow. That is something else. Beating another digital only EP in the PIXIES. Well all that I know is that helps me not send a bunch of hard copies out knowing that you know how to download singles and EP. Thanks for that. HA.
This week we had 33 debuts! That is pretty high I think. The number one debut of the week came from Goldfrapp. I will start doing more chart info like that as more people come back as it gives the chart a bit more legitimacy. But please let me know if you have any burning questions that I can help answer about college radio. I am here to help .
Also thank you for nominating me for Outstanding Leadership In College Radio I do appreciate it and If there is anything I can do to get better at helping you guys out just let me know.
Another week under 300 reporters. I miss you guys. I hope you all come back soon. Things look to be on track for our first 300 reporting week of the Fall for the last week of September. These charts are so much more fun the more people we have participating.
Lets start with ADDS this week. MGMT took #1 with under 90 ADDs. While I, and the people I talked to, thought MGMT would take #1 most ADDED pretty easily I am surprised it did not break 100. The adds were all really clustered together looked like there were no records that everyone liked but many records that a bunch of people liked, if that makes sense. The last MGMT record went to #2 and I think that was viewed as a disappointment in much the same way Tegan and Sara going to #2 was a disappointment. You still feel good about #2 but when your expectations are #1 it can be a big bummer. So regardless of what this record sounds like and if it is better or worse than the last one it is being judged by how the last one made them feel. I think you will see the same thing with the next Tegan and Sara record as it was a change in sound and changes in sound scare people away. They also get new fans too but it takes time to build that back up to a #1 contender.
The charts were once again topped by Ty Segall. When I first saw the numbers I thought he had another amazing week but in looking closely it looks like they had the same week as last week. With just around 65% of reporting stations. They just did a really good job of getting those new stations that were coming back on. Neko Case had a great week charging past Franz Ferdinand to grab #2 on the charts. Her percentage of stations went from 40% to 51% so a nice improvement. Still a ways to go for #1 but looking pretty good.
With 2 indies on Franz Ferdinand it would be hard to count them out of the race for #1 next week. Ty Segall could gain more stations but it is more likely that he will start to lose the grip on the high percentage he has. I am also looking at a charging Arctic Monkeys who come in at #11 after their great add week. It is a little like the situation with Washed Out and No Age that we saw a few weeks ago. Do you continue to go for Ty at #1 or do you put everything into getting Arctic Monkeys up there. Now I think the window at this point is pretty open for a LOT of different scenarios and I could see a lot of things happening. I think next week will be VERY close though. What do you think will happen out there? Let me know @theanimalarrg
Also what are you surprised about out there? I can tell you that I am most surprised that a digital only single debuted at #50!!! I know it is Arcade Fire but wow. That is something else. Beating another digital only EP in the PIXIES. Well all that I know is that helps me not send a bunch of hard copies out knowing that you know how to download singles and EP. Thanks for that. HA.
This week we had 33 debuts! That is pretty high I think. The number one debut of the week came from Goldfrapp. I will start doing more chart info like that as more people come back as it gives the chart a bit more legitimacy. But please let me know if you have any burning questions that I can help answer about college radio. I am here to help .
Also thank you for nominating me for Outstanding Leadership In College Radio I do appreciate it and If there is anything I can do to get better at helping you guys out just let me know.
Monday, September 16, 2013
CMJ AWARD NOMINATIONS
This Sunday marked the last day you can nominate someone for the CMJ awards. I saw a lot of "vote for me" posts from Promoters and Stations and I wanted to take you through the process of who I picked and Why. ( For stations I only talk to a portion of the stations so there are plenty of other worthy nominations I am sure )
Station Of The Year
KVMR, KALX, KDHX, KLSU of course there are plenty of deserving stations but those were in the running for my nomination
I went with KDHX, click to check them out
Music Director Of The Year
I went with KDHX, click to check them out
Music Director Of The Year
You really can't go wrong with any of the MD's of the above mentioned
Alice from KVMR, Arielle from KALX, Nick from KDHX and Angela from KLSU were all in the running
I went with the Local station here in San Francisco and Arielle from KALX
I went with the Local station here in San Francisco and Arielle from KALX
Biggest Champion Of The Local Scene
Last year I nominated WBWC because I feel they get really involved with the community. I know WUTK does a lot as well but this year I went with WICB
Will Never Sell Out
There are a lot of stations that have rigid rules and will never break them and I could of gone with someone from WRAS, WUOG, WUSC but this year I went with Abbie Gobell from KUOM as she clearly has a goal for her station and what she wants it to sound like and has the added obstacle of KCMP being in the same market.
Biggest Community Resource
To me this falls right in line with the champion of the local scene or maybe I just read them wrong and should of done something else for champion of the local Scene... Now that I think about it that is looking more like someone that plays a lot of local music. Well moving on. I went with WDBM on this one
Biggest Improvement
This one is always a lot of fun. I am pretty sure KSLU won it like 3 out of the 4 first years. I really like the direction WUTK is going in and what the new Music directors have been doing so I went with them
Best Use Of Limited Resources
There are so many people out there that do not get paid or just do the job for the joy of doing the job. I went in the direction of not in a major city, thus no large tours and I just wanted to give a shout to a station that does a great job year after year so I went with KGLT
Rookie Of The Year
You could say this ties in with Biggest Improvement as a new MD tends to bring about a large improvement. I also wish they did this for the Promoters as there are so many good new promoters out there that deserve a shout. I honestly have not talked to a lot of new MD's this year so I went with the newest one I just talked to in Olive from KPSU.
Best Student-Run, Internet-Only Station
Best Taste In Music
A ton of people out there have GREAT tastes in music. Everyone I named above does of course. And many more that I did not name. I went with Jake from WITR
Most Creative Programming
Another tough one and I could of gone with them for Limited resources but he was pushing for this so I said sure what the hell! WDWN
Industry Awards
These were a lot of fun. I decided not to nominate Pirate! for everything and go with those I thought were really deserving of the award.
Promoter Of The Year
There are a lot of Promoters doing really good jobs out there. Let me tell you some of my favorites. Of course Canada here at Pirate! Has been doing a great job. Hannah and her team over at Jagjaguwar are all stellar. But it came down to a coin flip for me between Christine at Distiller and my eventual nominee Tenni at AAM. I hope all of them get nominated for Promoter of the year as they all would deserve it. But seeing the things they are doing this year at AAM is pretty impressive so I went with her.
Promotion Company Of The Year
Outstanding Leadership In College Radio
ME. I AM YOUR LEADER. But seriously I just look at this as who is the old person still doing things. ME I am still doing things.
Best Online Resources
I know I said I did not nominate Pirate! for everything and I did not but how great is our download system. Its easy right?
Best Taste In Music
Ok another non Pirate! I thought of throwing a curveball like Oscar in here since he has to be the most honest about his musical preferences or someone at Terrorbird as they have a great roster of music fans over there but I decided to go with Graham from AmanAplanAcanal
Please Hire Me When I Graduate
You don't want to work for me, I make you get me sandwiches. Go work for CMJ thats where you want to be. The Hub of the College music industry
Sexiest Phone Voice
Better than biggest flirt I suppose but if you have talked to Canada you know his voice is sexy.
Best Artist Roster
I have to think my roster is the best right! Otherwise what am I doing. After Pirate thought you have to look at the great rosters of Team Clermont and Terrorbird and I single those two out as they really seem to be focusing on music THEY like and I respect that ( and the screen shot I took of who I nominated here got cut off and I cant remember what I put)
Thanks for reading!
Full update later this week.
Thanks for reading!
Full update later this week.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
CMJ ISSUE 1313 RECAP WEEK 36
Thank you to everyone that participated in the vote for the #1 most added record last week. And just like the vote Arctic Monkeys was #1 most added. There were a couple add in votes but shockingly there were no Pixies add in votes. The Pixies came out of nowhere and scored a top five most added. When I think about that I am surprised. For years we have talked about what would happen if the Pixies put out more music. I know you can't predict how good an EP or record will be but I expected more.
This weeks chart race and top ADD race were very slow. What I thought would of happened last week happened this week with Ty Segall taking #1 on the top 200 and Arctic Monkeys taking #1 on the top ADDS. But there were some more people back reporting so thats kind of fun. The next few weeks should be fun but we will get to that in a bit.
What I wanted to concentrate on this week was a question I got from one of the stations that reads this blog...
"PS, I really love your blog. I've been an MD for a few years and I'm always fascinated by the different personalities of record reps...some of the nicest people I've chatted with to some of the biggest jerks I'd hope to never meet in real life. I'd be curious to know how record charting affects a rep's job and what pressure people are under to get the highest number of records charting etc. And what, if any, consequence is their for being complete dicks to music directors. So far this year has been decent...we'll see how it goes as the year progresses. "
It is a great question. We all have different ways of promoting. I hear all the time of intimidation ( if you don't get on this you wont get any more records type of threat) And those that let the record speak for themselves. There are of course many in-between that toe the line.
I don't really understand/ nor have I ever understood those that bully stations. It should and can be a symbiotic relationship. We send you music. You listen and decide on what you like. It was never meant to be we send you music you chart it or we don't send you any more. But that can happen. And hell I have pulled servicing on many stations throughout my years of being a promoter. The reasons can vary but that is a last straw. The question though is how charting can affect a promoters job.
I can tell you at Pirate and those that have moved on from Pirate, I would like to think, promote without bullying. Or being dicks. But to be 100% honest if it gets results it does not matter how it is done to the company. So those of you that buy in to the bullying or threats are only helping those promoters continue in the line of being dicks as the station mentioned.
There have been a lot of new MD's I have talked to over the past week and I say the same thing to each of them. I am not in any of these bands. Be honest with me about how you feel about this record. I might try and convince you otherwise but I will not be offended. My job is to get feedback and to help get each band into the right station. So if you are not the right station it is best I know right away instead of lying to me and saying you can't find it or it is in review.
So I honestly have no idea of what is going for adds next week but for the charts It should be rather exciting
We have Ty Segall at #1 Can they hold it?
That means that records such as Wahed out and Superchunk should be leaving the top 5.
That ALSO means we have a race between No Age, Franz Ferdinand, Deer Tick, Neko Case, Jacuzzi Boys and a few others that all feel they have a shot for #1 or top five.
Franz Ferdinand needed to make a bigger move this week from 5 last week, they only went to 4. They did gain 40 stations but Ty Segall had 142 last week and that would still leave them 20 short.
So to overtake #1 Ty Segall this next week a record will have to, in theory, have more than 162 stations. The closest at this point is Washed out with 145 and they are on the downturn. I think Ty is safe for another week but whomever makes the biggest jump out of those listed above next week will have the best chance at #1 in 2 weeks.
Should start to get fun soon! See you at CMJ? Oh if you have not voted be sure to nominate for the CMJ awards and let me know if you want me to vote for you for something.
Hit me up on twitter at @theanimalarrg.
This weeks chart race and top ADD race were very slow. What I thought would of happened last week happened this week with Ty Segall taking #1 on the top 200 and Arctic Monkeys taking #1 on the top ADDS. But there were some more people back reporting so thats kind of fun. The next few weeks should be fun but we will get to that in a bit.
What I wanted to concentrate on this week was a question I got from one of the stations that reads this blog...
"PS, I really love your blog. I've been an MD for a few years and I'm always fascinated by the different personalities of record reps...some of the nicest people I've chatted with to some of the biggest jerks I'd hope to never meet in real life. I'd be curious to know how record charting affects a rep's job and what pressure people are under to get the highest number of records charting etc. And what, if any, consequence is their for being complete dicks to music directors. So far this year has been decent...we'll see how it goes as the year progresses. "
It is a great question. We all have different ways of promoting. I hear all the time of intimidation ( if you don't get on this you wont get any more records type of threat) And those that let the record speak for themselves. There are of course many in-between that toe the line.
I don't really understand/ nor have I ever understood those that bully stations. It should and can be a symbiotic relationship. We send you music. You listen and decide on what you like. It was never meant to be we send you music you chart it or we don't send you any more. But that can happen. And hell I have pulled servicing on many stations throughout my years of being a promoter. The reasons can vary but that is a last straw. The question though is how charting can affect a promoters job.
I can tell you at Pirate and those that have moved on from Pirate, I would like to think, promote without bullying. Or being dicks. But to be 100% honest if it gets results it does not matter how it is done to the company. So those of you that buy in to the bullying or threats are only helping those promoters continue in the line of being dicks as the station mentioned.
There have been a lot of new MD's I have talked to over the past week and I say the same thing to each of them. I am not in any of these bands. Be honest with me about how you feel about this record. I might try and convince you otherwise but I will not be offended. My job is to get feedback and to help get each band into the right station. So if you are not the right station it is best I know right away instead of lying to me and saying you can't find it or it is in review.
So I honestly have no idea of what is going for adds next week but for the charts It should be rather exciting
We have Ty Segall at #1 Can they hold it?
That means that records such as Wahed out and Superchunk should be leaving the top 5.
That ALSO means we have a race between No Age, Franz Ferdinand, Deer Tick, Neko Case, Jacuzzi Boys and a few others that all feel they have a shot for #1 or top five.
Franz Ferdinand needed to make a bigger move this week from 5 last week, they only went to 4. They did gain 40 stations but Ty Segall had 142 last week and that would still leave them 20 short.
So to overtake #1 Ty Segall this next week a record will have to, in theory, have more than 162 stations. The closest at this point is Washed out with 145 and they are on the downturn. I think Ty is safe for another week but whomever makes the biggest jump out of those listed above next week will have the best chance at #1 in 2 weeks.
Should start to get fun soon! See you at CMJ? Oh if you have not voted be sure to nominate for the CMJ awards and let me know if you want me to vote for you for something.
Hit me up on twitter at @theanimalarrg.
Thursday, September 05, 2013
September 16th ADD preview.
I thought it would be fun this week to see what you guys thought the results would be this week.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
CMJ RECAP ISSUE 1312 WEEK 35
Things are getting fun out there. I just wish more of you were back to enjoy it. I thought we would see a big uptick in reporting from the summer weeks but I guess that is still a week or so away. This week we hover around those same low, I would rather be outside than inside reporting, chart numbers.
I am sure you have all seen the many articles talking about exciting fall records, if not here are a few:
Pitchfork
Spin
Metacritic
What are you excited about? This week we saw a few of those Most Anticipated go for Adds in : Nine Inch Nails, King Khan and the Shrines, Volcano Choir, and Neko Case.
Of course going in I thought it would be a tough race between all four big names but in the end it was a runaway victory for Neko Case. At no point did I check and have her behind and in the end she won by over 25 ADDS. In talking to some other promoters Nine Inch Nails proved to be the most hard to predict. While some thought the record would do better, others were shocked at how well it did. I find it very interesting as it still did get top five most ADDEd but I saw it as a top 3 or potential #1 add and others thought it would only be a top 10 most added at best. Could be that some people really like NIN while others hate them. Could be some overvalued how good the record could do while some undervalued. What do you think?
The chart this week was FULL of surprises! I recall last week week saying something like no way Washed Out will be #1 again and it would come down to Ty Segall and No Age. Well I am not above admitting when I am way off. And that I was. Washed Out dominated yet again. Ty did move up to #2 and Superchunk and No Age round out the top 4 but another big shock was the move made by Franz Ferdinand to #5. But that can happen in the transition from Summer to Fall. People are eager to move in the new records and move out the old ones. But there are a few things I would like to talk about.
Lets start with Washed out. Well done. I can see why they decided to continue pushing Washed Out. The numbers for No Age suggest that they really had no chance to take #1. The smart thing to do if you realize that you have no chance is go with what you do have a chance with. So while you would never give up on No Age, you have the #1 record why not work to keep it. Its a good situation to be in. Sometimes it can be fun to block one of your competitors as well.
Secondly, you will recall last week Franz Ferdinand came in at #1 most added with 108 adds. Exactly half the stations reporting ADDS added the record and also debuted at 99. They obviously went for it. They saw the opening and decided their best shot is to get the record up there as fast as possible to have a shot at #1. This time of year it is a great strategy. In about 3 weeks the top 10 will be full of records that, had they gone for adds in the summer, could be #1 records. So this weeks #1 most added record Neko Case can she do a Franz? Well she debuted at 83 in her add week and had 54% of the stations add her. So the numbers line up. We will have to see.
This next week should be pretty interesting as it has gotten a bit crowded up at the top. We have Washed out, who we cant count out after what we saw this week. Ty Segall, the record I proclaimed would be #1 this past week. No Age, Franz and all the above mentioned ADDS that will surely jump most of last weeks ADDS. That should be interesting to watch actually. We can look at what Last weeks adds Jacuzzi Boys ( 10), Deer Tick (11), Crocodiles (17), Dodos (21) did in their first week of pushing and compare how next weeks ADDS do. I bet that the big ones debut higher than the lowest at 21. I would even go as far as to say higher than 17.
So I have no real idea what will happen on the charts but if Washed Out is able to hold on to #1 that would be very impressive. If it is not Washed out I have to think it is Ty Segall although Franz Ferdinand could make a legit push. And what of this weeks big add Neko Case.
If you have yet to check out who is playing CMJ
and if you have not yet nominated anyone for the CMJ AWARDS please do! You have until September 15th.
Hit me up on twitter at @theanimalarrg and thank you for reading.
I am sure you have all seen the many articles talking about exciting fall records, if not here are a few:
Pitchfork
Spin
Metacritic
What are you excited about? This week we saw a few of those Most Anticipated go for Adds in : Nine Inch Nails, King Khan and the Shrines, Volcano Choir, and Neko Case.
Of course going in I thought it would be a tough race between all four big names but in the end it was a runaway victory for Neko Case. At no point did I check and have her behind and in the end she won by over 25 ADDS. In talking to some other promoters Nine Inch Nails proved to be the most hard to predict. While some thought the record would do better, others were shocked at how well it did. I find it very interesting as it still did get top five most ADDEd but I saw it as a top 3 or potential #1 add and others thought it would only be a top 10 most added at best. Could be that some people really like NIN while others hate them. Could be some overvalued how good the record could do while some undervalued. What do you think?
The chart this week was FULL of surprises! I recall last week week saying something like no way Washed Out will be #1 again and it would come down to Ty Segall and No Age. Well I am not above admitting when I am way off. And that I was. Washed Out dominated yet again. Ty did move up to #2 and Superchunk and No Age round out the top 4 but another big shock was the move made by Franz Ferdinand to #5. But that can happen in the transition from Summer to Fall. People are eager to move in the new records and move out the old ones. But there are a few things I would like to talk about.
Lets start with Washed out. Well done. I can see why they decided to continue pushing Washed Out. The numbers for No Age suggest that they really had no chance to take #1. The smart thing to do if you realize that you have no chance is go with what you do have a chance with. So while you would never give up on No Age, you have the #1 record why not work to keep it. Its a good situation to be in. Sometimes it can be fun to block one of your competitors as well.
Secondly, you will recall last week Franz Ferdinand came in at #1 most added with 108 adds. Exactly half the stations reporting ADDS added the record and also debuted at 99. They obviously went for it. They saw the opening and decided their best shot is to get the record up there as fast as possible to have a shot at #1. This time of year it is a great strategy. In about 3 weeks the top 10 will be full of records that, had they gone for adds in the summer, could be #1 records. So this weeks #1 most added record Neko Case can she do a Franz? Well she debuted at 83 in her add week and had 54% of the stations add her. So the numbers line up. We will have to see.
This next week should be pretty interesting as it has gotten a bit crowded up at the top. We have Washed out, who we cant count out after what we saw this week. Ty Segall, the record I proclaimed would be #1 this past week. No Age, Franz and all the above mentioned ADDS that will surely jump most of last weeks ADDS. That should be interesting to watch actually. We can look at what Last weeks adds Jacuzzi Boys ( 10), Deer Tick (11), Crocodiles (17), Dodos (21) did in their first week of pushing and compare how next weeks ADDS do. I bet that the big ones debut higher than the lowest at 21. I would even go as far as to say higher than 17.
So I have no real idea what will happen on the charts but if Washed Out is able to hold on to #1 that would be very impressive. If it is not Washed out I have to think it is Ty Segall although Franz Ferdinand could make a legit push. And what of this weeks big add Neko Case.
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Hit me up on twitter at @theanimalarrg and thank you for reading.
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