Categories | trade magazine |
---|---|
Frequency | Weekly |
Founded | 1993 |
Final issue | July 14, 2006 |
Company | Billboard |
Country | USA |
Language | English |
Website | www.billboardradiomonitor.com |
ISSN | 1556-7338 |
Billboard Radio Monitor was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes. The magazine was a spinoff of Billboard magazine and was mostly available through subscription to people who work in the radio industry as well as music chart enthusiasts. It was developed in Columbia, Maryland, initially by Alan Smith and Jonas Cash, principals of the music company called AIR. AIR created music listening competitions for radio programmers in five different musical genres and were looking for a "qualifier" for the contests. The contests involved testing new songs' potential by having radio programmers listen to and respond to each song's hit potential using a national chart as the qualifier. After using Radio and Records chart for the first 10 years of the competition, AIR developed the BAM, and went into partnership with Billboard Magazine to produce and market the magazine. As members of the Board of Directors, the AIR principals continued to improve its features over the next eight years under the new name of Billboard Radio Monitor.
It started out in 1993 as one 8-page publication covering Top 40, Rhythm 40, Crossover, Urban, AC, Hot AC, Rock, Alternative and Country formats. Eventually, four different publications under the Airplay Monitor title appeared and became the #1 source of hit music information. They were combined in 2001 and later changed their name to Billboard Radio Monitor in 2003. On July 14, 2006, publication ceased and was relaunched under the Radio & Records banner on August 11, 2006. The move was a result of a merger between the current R&R and Radio Monitor after VNU Media acquired R&R on July 6, 2006. The relaunched R&R would later cease publication on June 5, 2009.
Prior to 1993, the radio stations playlists and radio music charts were featured in Billboard. But with the addition of monitored airplay from Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems in 1990 and the fragmentation of music formats, the need for a magazine that would focus on one format would come to the forefront. That move resulted in the spinoff of Airplay Monitor, a publication that would the monitor songs or tracks being played on radio station by the number of spins, which in turn are added and tabulated to the corresponding chart the station reports to. The charts and the number of spins featured on the chart are also used to factor in the main Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the Hot 100 Airplay, Pop 100, Pop 100 Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Country Singles & Tracks music charts.
At the start of Airplay Monitor's first issue on January 9, 1993, the publication was available in four editions, which would last until 2001, when they were consolidated into one publication as Airplay Monitor:
On January 6, 2003, just ten years after its debut, Billboard renamed the publication Billboard Radio Monitor. The change was to reflect to growing landscape of the radio industry as it began to incorporate more articles involving programmers, markets, formats and artists into the magazine. They also expanded the number of format airplay panels as well and in 2004 became the first music trade to include satellite and audio networks in its reporting panels.
The monitored radio panels are:
On July 6, 2006, VNU, the parent company of Billboard Radio Monitor, announced the acquisition of Radio & Records (R&R), which became a part of the Billboard Information Group a month later on August 1. R&R had been considered a rival to Billboard and BRM for more than 33 years (since 1973, the year R&R started) and like BRM also used radio airplay to determine chart activity.
In a statement on both R&R and Billboard Radio Monitor's websites:
“This acquisition is in line with VNU's strategy to further strengthen its services to the radio and record industries,” said Michael Marchesano, president and CEO of VNU Business Media and Nielsen Entertainment. “With the added resources of VNU, especially our music services, including the Billboard Information Group, Nielsen BDS, and Nielsen SoundScan, R&R will continue to grow as a vibrant brand.”
With the purchase of R&R it was announced on July 12, 2006, that their operations were integrated into R&R after the transition was completed, since both BRM and R&R's charts and radio reporting panels were identical to each other, thus resulting in Billboard Radio Monitor ceasing publication with its July 14 issue. However they continued issuing weekly charts and report on radio industry news online during the turnover, as R&R started integrating their articles and columns into the Billboard Information Group.
Once the merger was completed both trades was relaunched on August 11 under the "R&R" name, which combined the features and format articles from the current R&R but continues to use the same BDS charts and format reporting panels that was featured in Radio Monitor, starting with the week ending August 6. The change also ended R&R's partnership with Mediabase after the August 4, 2006 issue.
From January 9, 1993, up until its last first-run show on January 28, 1995, American Top 40 used the Top 40 Mainstream chart as its main source. From 1995 to 1997 and from 2005 to present, Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 used said chart as its main source.
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of Black genres such as R&B, pop-rap, quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, hip hop, Latin music such as Latin pop, Chicano R&B and Chicano rap, and Caribbean music such as reggae and soca. Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and soul.
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals. Mediabase charts and airplay data are used on many popular radio countdown shows and televised music awards programs. Music charts are published in both domestic and international trade publications and newspapers worldwide. Mediabase is a division of iHeartMedia.
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles sales and digital downloads.
The Radio Songs chart is released weekly by Billboard magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States across all musical genres. It is one of the three components, along with sales and streaming activity, that determine the chart positions of songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
Radio & Records (R&R) was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister trade to Billboard, until its final issue in 2009.
WDVD is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned and operated by Cumulus Media, WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center district near downtown, while its transmitter is located in Royal Oak Township at 8 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue.
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses hard rock or country in its airplay, but it may occasionally use a reggae, Latin, reggaeton, or an urban contemporary gospel hit. Essentially, the format is a cross between mainstream radio and urban contemporary radio formats.
KYMT is a commercial radio station in Las Vegas, Nevada. KYMT is owned by iHeartMedia, and airs a mainstream rock radio format. KYMT's studios and offices are on Meade Avenue in Las Vegas, a mile west of the Strip, while its transmitter is on Potosi Mountain southwest of the Las Vegas Valley. From its high perch, the station's 24,000 watt signal can be heard over much of Southern Nevada and into California.
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by Billboard magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to Billboard by stations that are members of the Adult Contemporary radio panel. The chart debuted in Billboard magazine on July 17, 1961. Over the years, the chart has gone under a series of name changes, being called Easy Listening(1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles(1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles(1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary(1984–1996) and Adult Contemporary(1979–1984, 1996–present) The current number-one song on the chart is "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus.
KXHT is a mainstream urban radio station licensed to Marion, Arkansas and serves the Memphis, Tennessee, area. The Flinn Broadcasting outlet operates at 107.1 MHz with an ERP of 2.75 kW. The station's studios are located in Southeast Memphis, and the transmitter site is in West Memphis, Arkansas along the west shore of the Mississippi River.
WZMX, better known as "Hot 93.7" is an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter is located on West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut, and the station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington.
Broadcast Data Systems is a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts published by co-owned magazine Billboard, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100, when combined with sales and streaming data from Soundscan.
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes. The magazine was a sister publication to Billboard magazine and was mostly available through subscription to people who work in the radio industry and music chart enthusiasts, as well as various record stores and newsstands. On June 5, 2009, parent company AC Nielsen ceased operations on R&R just short of three years after acquiring the former independent trade periodical. When it ceased publication in 2009, R&R was the successor-in-interest of publications that traced their operations back to 1973.
The Rhythmic chart is an airplay chart published weekly by Billboard magazine.
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music.
Pop Airplay is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the United States. The rankings are based on radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, a subsidiary of the U.S.' leading marketing research company. Consumer researchers, Nielsen Audio, refers to the format as contemporary hit radio (CHR). The current number-one song on the chart is "We Can't Be Friends " by Ariana Grande.
The Adult R&B Songs chart is an airplay chart that is published weekly by Billboard magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playlist mostly include contemporary R&B and traditional R&B tracks. Nielsen Audio sometimes refers to the format as Urban adult contemporary radio. Billboard created the chart in September 1993, with the first number one being "Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton.