This blog has been written to better explain the online polls and the Top 100 weekly countdown on Righteous Rock Radio.
The 100 countdown:
The purpose of the countdown is to allow our listeners, and followers to know what we are playing in the heaviest of rotation. We have over 2000 songs in rotation at any given time (from a library of 20k+), these 100 songs are the ones that we play the most. The number one song of the week will most likely play about 20 to 25 times in a week. The number 100 song of the week will play anywhere from 8 to 10 times in a week. So not a very big difference, but enough to know that you will hear some songs more often than others. A "non" charted song in rotation, should play about 1 to 2 times per week. (not including special programming).
We also use the chart to let bands know (especially "indie" bands) that we are indeed playing their music. Our focus is not to be the most popular, or the biggest station on the internet, but rather to support artists that are making music for the love of making music, and to give them an avenue to have their music heard...........by somebody.........somewhere.
The chart has nothing to do with "sales", national popularity, trends, or any other cool factor. We typically do not play what Billboard, Klove, Air1, or most other "christian" charts say are popular. If it fits our format, or is just an amazingly great song, we may play it........but most of the corporate manufactured music of today will not be found on 3R. This is not because it's good, bad, or indifferent, it is because they have their outlets...........we want/hope to be different, and be an outlet for the rest of the music. They do what they do, we do what we do................
HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE TOP 100 SONGS OF EACH WEEK:
The quick answer is...........it's very random. However we do put some thought into it, so let me attempt to explain.
1. The online polls - if people vote for a song, that means that someone likes it. Whether it's your drummer, your Mom, or your friends.......somebody likes "your" song and they vote. This means that we should play it..............hopefully your friends are listening......as well as the friends of the other 99 bands/artists.............the music gets heard and discovered by others. It's not meant to be a competition, but rather a network, or to be cheesy: a family. This is why some weeks you can vote once, or a thousand times...........we mix it up and try to have fun with it.
2. Twitter - we tweet what we play every 10 minutes. This is a random thing. We cannot determine what is playing when the station tweets while it is in automation mode. However when a song tweets that it is being played, and someone favorites that tweet,or re-tweets it, then not only do our followers know the song is being played...........but so do all the followers of the people that have "favorited" or "retweeted"........this captures more of an audience. It is the BEST way to grab "new" listeners......so we take this into consideration when ranking the songs. The more a song is tweeted the more people that know about the song..........therefore we feel we should be playing it a bit more often in case someone hears it and likes it and wants to hear it again.
3. Current charts and releases. We do take into consideration what national "rock" charts are playing. We also take into consideration what is current and new. We pay licensing fees for the sole purpose of being able to play "commercial" music that will attract listeners that like what is "popular". Typically within 1 to 2 songs after a "hit" has played, an indie song or a long forgotten classic will play. This again brings more exposure to the "indie" artist. Again, we don't try to be popular, but rather relevant.
4. Requests - with 3R basically a one person team............it is very difficult to play requests at the time they are requested, so we use the requests we get, to know what songs to play more often, this is taken into consideration when "ranking" the songs on the top 100 countdown list.
5. Connections or disconnections. Our servers will tell us what songs are being connected to the most. They will also tell us how long a person stays around once they connect. And unfortunately for some, they tell what songs people "disconnect" away from as well. This is a major factor when determining how to rank songs from week to week. After all if folks arent listening, what is the point.?........... We average 40 minutes per listening session.........this is UNHEARD of in the internet radio world............we hope this means folks like the variety that we play, and stick around to hear more. However if folks are "disconnecting" from certain songs or even programmed shows, we tend to play them less. Once you lose a listener in the internet world........you may not get them back for days, weeks, or ever. Now we understand that no one can listen 24/7 but when we see "trends" for certain songs being turned away from.........we consider it when ranking our songs.
6. Sales - our charts have absolutely NOTHING to do with sales. We don't follow sales, we dont ask for sales, and we probably don't help anyone get any sales. We arent Billboard, nor are we trying to be.
7. FUN - mostly the charts are for fun. It gives us something to allow our listeners to interact with. It gives us a 2 hour show, where certain bands/artists during the weeks their songs are on the chart to know a time frame that their song will be played. (internet radio laws prevent us from publicly announcing when a song will play.............but if you know your song is on the chart then you know it's gonna play between 11 and 1 on Monday, or between noon and 2 on Sunday). It's fun to watch our listeners and the bands fans get excited over their songs/music being played and heard. It's why we do what we do, so the music gets heard. It's fun............and hopefully while were having fun, somebody hears something that creates a thought that they may have never considered before. If we can seed, we have done our job...........
We report what we play to BMI, SESAC, ASCAP, etc. It is highly doubtful that our 20 spins are going to get anyone recognition in the commercial world...........but we have seen instances where other stations pick up certain songs or bands that we play, so maybe one day a group of us stations can come together and be an actual influence in the christian music world..........doubtful.......as most "ministries" do their own thing, their own way...........but hey............
Speaking of ministry, we do not consider ourselves a ministry. Ministry is to serve, and we aint serving nobody, merely playing music and pushing buttons. However we hope that God uses the music and the message as he sees fit. His will be done, never ours. We are not a 501c3 cuz the IRS has no business in our business. We don't operate at a profit, we are self funded with the occasional donation, or t-shirt purchase. God has provided for 2+ years, as long as it continues, we continue. For this we are humbled and greatful.
I write this in response to some recent comments, emails, and questions about the online polls. It's not a competition, it's for fun. It's not "official", it's for interaction, and promotion of your music. Please don't allow it to be a competition in your camp. Encourage each other's music, let a fellow artist from another part of the world know that you appreciate what they do. Vote for somebody esle's band some time. Make music for the love of God and music. If it starts to be a competition, or to cause division we will cease. There is so much division in today's world.............the last thing, the very last thing anyone should ever worry about or even give a thought about is where their song ranks on an internet radio station that 99.9% of the worlds population has never heard of. We will not be a source of division, it's the very thing we fight against. We try to play other stations shows, and support other stations............we are here because I love music, I love God, and buttons are my instrument........I have no other musical talent..........so I give my talents to you, the folks that have real talent and make music. Enjoy the music, vote for your favorite song, and let God be the reason.
