COLLEGE RADIO WEEK 41

Well they said it couldn't happen. They said it was all but impossible. But this week it happened. Angel Olsen lost stations. I know I know .. "Doug are you sure the math is right? " Yes folks this week Angel Olsen lost stations for the first time in a month.  Oh sure she is still #1 but might as well pretend everyone else now has a chance.

In reality we should see a new number one record, perhaps as soon as next week.

Lets take a look at the top 20 this week

TW	LW	2W	PK	WKS	Artist	Recording	Label
1	1	1	1	7	ANGEL OLSEN	MY WOMAN	Jagjaguwar
2	2	2	2	5	WILCO	Schmilco	Anti
3	6	138	3	3	LVL UP	Return To Love	SUB POP
4	3	3	3	6	LOCAL NATIVES	Sunlit Youth	Loma Vista
5	4	8	4	4	NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS	Skeleton Tree	Kobalt
6	91	-	6	2	BON IVER	22, A Million	Jagjaguwar
7	106	-	7	2	PIXIES	Head Carrier	Pias
8	17	134	8	3	WARPAINT	Heads Up	Rough Trade
9	5	11	5	5	PREOCCUPATIONS	Preoccupations	Jagjaguwar
10	8	15	8	4	FLOCK OF DIMES	If You See Me, Say Yes	Partisan
11	33	-	11	2	DEVENDRA BANHART	Ape In Pink Marble	Nonesuch
12	9	9	9	5	HEAD AND THE HEART	Signs Of Light	Warner Bros.
13	11	5	5	6	ALLAH-LAS	Calico Review	Mexican Summer
14	16	22	14	4	KISHI BASHI	Sonderlust	Joyful Noise
15	7	4	2	7	OF MONTREAL	Innocence Reaches	Polyvinyl
16	23	27	16	4	DRUGDEALER	The End Of Comedy	Weird World
17	12	7	7	6	DE LA SOUL	And The Anonymous Nobody	A.O.I.
18	110	-	18	2	DANNY BROWN	Atrocity Exhibition	Warp
19	32	-	19	2	BEACH SLANG	A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings	Polyvinyl
20	14	14	14	5	TEENAGE FANCLUB	Here	Merge

and lets compare that to the Spinitron charts 

1	199	Bon Iver	22, A Million	Rock
2	143	Angel Olsen	My Woman	Rock
3	113	Danny Brown	Atrocity Exhibition	Hip Hop
4	91	Wilco	Schmilco	Rock
5	87	Solange	A Seat At The Table	R&B
6	85	LVL UP	Return to Love	Rock
7	81	Drive-By Truckers	American Band	Rock
8	80	Warpaint	Heads Up	Rock
9	79	Frank Ocean	Blonde	Hip Hop/R&B
10	75	Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	Skeleton Tree	Rock

The main reason I wanted to go down to 20 was to show Danny Brown, #3 on the Spinitron and yet only #18 on the top 200, I would expect a big move from him in the coming weeks but he seems too far behind to make a real push to #1.

Obviously the record to watch is Bon Iver. Almost 200 spins and a clear leader at radio. All the way up to #6 on CMJ. You will notice that The Pixies also had a similar jump but they don't crack the top 10 at Spinitron making me think they have less of a shot at the top spot.

This week should be fun though as we have a handful of records that I think have a real shot at #1 lets take a look

TW	LW	2W	PK	WKS	Artist	Recording	Label
1	1	1	1	7	ANGEL OLSEN	MY WOMAN	Jagjaguwar
2	2	2	2	5	WILCO	Schmilco	Anti
3	6	138	3	3	LVL UP	Return To Love	SUB POP
4	3	3	3	6	LOCAL NATIVES	Sunlit Youth	Loma Vista
5	4	8	4	4	NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS	Skeleton Tree	Kobalt
6	91	-	6	2	BON IVER	22, A Million	Jagjaguwar
7	106	-	7	2	PIXIES	Head Carrier	Pias

You could include anyone in this top 7.   

So lets Rank the records in order of least likely to take #1 to most likely 

#7 Local Natives--They went for it this week and got jumped. The 2nd oldest record in the top 7 as well it looks like their time is up. 

#6--Pixies--This was a toss up between Nick Cave and the Pixies I think the Pixies have less of a shot because of the lack of spins seen on Spinitron and jumping from #7 to #1 while not impossible is difficult when the records ahead of you are such powerhouses 

#5 Nick Cave and the Bad seeds --I would of put this lower but this record has a chance because of who is working it. This is Vitriols only record in the top 7 and will surely be a priority still. 

Now it gets difficult 

#4 Bon Iver-- I still think they are a week away. Angel Olsen continues to hold strong and mostly digital records take a longer time to keep going but I really think any one of these top 4 could be #1 and really the whole point of going over the top 7 is saying that any one of these could be #1 and I would not be shocked. 

#3 Angel Olsen-- We saw some loss of stations this week and the focus has to be on Bon Iver so I could see a one week opening for someone else to get in there I also wouldn't be shocked if she stayed there for another week. 

#2 Wilco--The gap between Angel Olsen and Wilco is down to single digits and you know we will be trying but... .

#1 Lvl UP-- The gap is also single digits fromWilco to Lvl Up and Lvl up is the younger record so I give a slight edge.   

A major factor this week are the companies that are working each record. I talked to a station yesterday that told me they loved both of my ADDS but would only add one because " they needed to help other companies." This also happens when it comes to charting. If you have too many records at the top they all suffer because of it. But if you have a singular focus at the top then you have a better shot. 

Again I think all of these records have a  good shot at the top spot. It will be fun to watch. 

And now on to CMJ.. we received some actual correspondence ... so here you go.

This week a bunch of radio stations received this email from CMJ:

As a long-time reporting station, CMJ would like to thank you for your continued patronage with a six month (24 issue) complimentary reporting subscription. This time has already been added to your account. If you have a current or recently renewed account, this time will be added to the end of your subscription. When you are ready to renew, please do so through this secure link. We have committed to upgrade our services and will be sharing details soon. In the meantime we know there are some periodic challenges and we thank you for bearing with us.  We would also like to share with you that the 48th and final reporting week of 2016 will be November 29. Year-end charts will be published the week of December 6, and CMJ reporting for 2017 will resume on the week of January 3. Should you have any issues regarding your account, please contact us at radio@cmj.com. Thank you again for making college radio the vibrant community it is today.  Our very best, CMJ

…

Industry received a similar email as well. It is the first substantive email from CMJ in some time. Interesting that just a few weeks ago stations were coming to me complaining that CMJ was auto-renewing while others were complaining that they could not renew.  The front page of CMJ still has not been updated since June. It will be interesting to take a look at how many stations come back to CMJ with the free 6 month boost. This week was up to 229 reporters, by far the biggest since the spring.  

Also worth noting that the End date is 2 weeks earlier than it has ever been, as long as I have been working in college radio and the start date seems like a week earlier. 

Thank you for reading. Lets talk on Twitter.