Month: December 2021

Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped unveiled the top artists, albums, songs, podcasts, and more that defined how more than 381 million people around the world listened and discovered audio during the year.According to the company, “Wrapped helps us reflect on the large role audio played in the lives of  listeners—and how our favorite creators soundtracked the world around us.” For the second year in a row, Puerto Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny takes the title of most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify. And what’s more: He’s received over 9.1 billion streams without releasing a new album this year. He is swiftly followed by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose Red (Taylor’s Version) gave old and new fans alike a reason to relive the artist’s early groundbreaking work. Rounding up 2021’s top three is BTS. The globally beloved k-pop group had a standout year thanks to their single “Butter.” Canadian hip-hop artists Drake—who released Certified Lover Boy in September—and Justin Bieber—whose 2021 album Justice featured collaborations with artists from across the globe—take spots four and five, respectively.

The top song of 2021 globally is Olivia Rodrigo’s runaway “Drivers License,” which garnered over 1.1 billion streams. Lil Nas X’s viral “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” dances its way to second place and heralded the artist’s first studio album. The Kid LAROI enters the ranks for the first time, with his Justin Bieber collaboration “STAY” taking third. The fourth spot sees Olivia Rodrigo once again, this time with “Good 4 U”, which also earned the title of 2021 Spotify Song of the Summer. The fifth most streamed song to rise in the ranks is Dua Lipa’s “Levitating (feat. DaBaby).”When it comes to top albums of 2021 globally, Olivia Rodrigo once again claims the crown—her debut album SOUR clearly held a bit of sweetness. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia ranks second, with Justin Bieber’s Justice, Ed Sheeran’s =, and Doja Cat’s Planet Her coming in third, fourth, and fifth.Coming out of its first full year as a Spotify exclusive, The Joe Rogan Experience remains the number-one podcast on Spotify globally. It is followed by the fearless Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, which also became exclusive to Spotify in 2021. True crime and news continue to be popular genres within the medium, with Crime Junkie, TED Talks Daily, and The Daily rounding out the list. […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonIn 26 days 2022 will arrive.

Now’s the time to set goals and expectations for the new year. It can be difficult to gaze into your crystal ball and project the next 12 months. We know that external events can affect business. As business rebounds, 2022 is looking very promising. The Christmas season has started with a BANG. This usually means happy, optimistic clients who are ready to continue the momentum in January.Even in normal years, as salespeople and sales managers, we may dread the goal-setting process. Whether or not some external force intervenes, in reality, our goal-setting process should not be focused on what management wants us to bill. It should be focused on what you want to earn. At the end of the day, you determine your paycheck. How you spend your billable hours, how you respond to changing market conditions, will ultimately determine your earnings. Spending our billable hours productively is critical to recovering our income levels.There is a simple formula to calculate what you will need to bill to earn what you wish to earn.Amount I want to earn________________________________________Divided by:Commission rate ____________________________________________Equals:How much I must bill _________________________________________Next, divide that total yearly amount into months. What must the billing be for each month, and what will you earn that month?This exercise gives you a starting place to plan your efforts for the coming year. Now that you know what you must bill monthly, you can calculate how many face-to-face calls you will need to make each day to achieve that billing level:Monthly goal:______________________________________________Divided by:Average order: _____________________________________________Equals:Number of orders needed: _____________________________________Divided by:Closing ratio %: ____________________________________________Equals:Number of meetings needed: ___________________________________Divided by:Number of work days in a month: ________________________________Equals:Number of meetings per day: ___________________________________Sales is a numbers game. Once you know your numbers, you have a roadmap to higher income in 2022.Happy Selling!Pat has a New Book […]

Content from BPRChristmas songs are the staple of many formats and stations around the world. There has been a rise in the number of All Christmas Music radio stations helped substantially by digital streaming options that allow stations to have the choice of a little or a lot of Christmas music…

Assuming that you have decided to play some Christmas music then you’re still left with the question of how many songs, how often and which songs to playOldies based stations, AC, Full Service or Soft AC format have an advantage in terms of available song repertoire. For contemporary and niche formats the available pool of Christmas music may be more limited. However, the mood of Christmas is what defines the choice rather than the format.It’s not a surprise to hear Cliff Richard, (Mistletoe and wine) Dean Martin, (Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer) Slade (Merry Christmas Everybody), Paul McCartney (Wonderful Christmas Time) alongside new songs or versions of songs by Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande all played on a CHR station.In recent music surveys the ‘usual suspects’ continue to top the list. After all, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Wham singing ‘Last Christmas’, however it’s the rest of the list that may contain a few surprises. In the US the list of ‘most Played Christmas songs includes many long-dead artists and much played songs. The US top ten includes:10. “Last Christmas,” Wham9. “White Christmas,” Bing Crosby8. “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24),” Trans-Siberian Orchestra7. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Andy Williams6. “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” Burl Ives5. “Feliz Navidad,” Jose Feliciano4. “Jingle Bell Rock,” Bobby Helms3. “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You),” Nat King Cole2. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee1.1.”All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah CareyOf course, many of these songs have been re-made by contemporary artists but many original versions survive – the notable of these is of course ‘White Christmas’ which is still played without irony in many Southern Hemisphere Summer Christmas cities.Christmas Music lists also vary by location. Band Aid’s – ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’, Chris Rea ‘Drivin home for Christmas’ The Eagles ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ have become modern-day classics in many countries.Here are some of the more recent additions to the Christmas listFairytale of New York – The PoguesHow to Make Gravy – Paul KellyAnd of course, a special mention goes to ‘Snoopy’s Christmas’ by the Royal Guardsmen that has been a New Zealand Christmas staple for many yearsThis year, a number of stations have carried out their own Christmas Music surveys to find out which songs their listeners really love When to play?Christmas music season has already kicked off in the US (even before Thanksgiving) with major stations including KOST in Los Angeles, LITE FM in New York, WTMX Tampa, WLIT Chicago, among 80 stations across the country already deep into an ‘all Christmas music’ format.In recent years these stations have also been joined by Magic FM in London and many others around the world in the All Christmas Music group although it seems that the US stations are well ahead of their counterparts in other parts of the world. How many songs?That’s a question with an answer like – “it depends…” on how often you’re going to play them. Some of the options might include
One track per hour.
100% Christmas songs on Christmas eve/day
Christmas song double play per hour
Christmas song countdown leading up to Xmas Day
All Christmas music – all the time
The definition of All Christmas Music sometimes extends to include songs that come from movies with ‘Christmas’ or Holiday Themes.  Movies like “Love Actually’, ‘Home Alone’, ‘Trains Planes and Automobiles’ and even ‘Christmas Vacation’ or ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas’ still feature on favourite or ‘it feels like Christmas’ movie viewing choices.The number of songs you should play will ultimately depend on how often you decide to play Christmas (or holiday) themed songs – this is also obviously related to time spent listening and whether you want your station to be full-on in the Christmas theme stakes.It is interesting to note that Christmas-only stations in the major US markets have their highest audience ratings at this time of year.Even if you decide not to play Christmas music you can still enter into the spirit of the season through a number of tactics like; Christmas themed audio branding, Street promotions, social media posts, messages from your personalities and artists or supporting a charitable cause.By The BPR TeamEnjoy the season – Merry Christmas! […]