Some radio formats are born in research. Others evolve over decades. Yacht Rock? It started as a joke. The music itself came first. During the 1970s and early 1980s, artists like Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Toto, The Doobie Brothers, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins, Hall & Oates, and Michael McDonald were making polished, sophisticated pop-rock that blended rock, jazz, R&B, and soul.

Easily 90% of the morning shows I’ve worked with over the past decade are live from 6am to 9am and voicetracked from 9am to 10am. Which is understandable. With everyone wearing multiple hats it’s hard for stations to justify any live four-hour air shifts, even in our most important daypart.

Content creators have a rare opportunity to create a dialogue and spark discussions. Take it. Radio used to be one-way communication. Not anymore. You can start a conversation and watch it explode across social media. You can pose a question and get 500 responses. You can share an opinion and ignite a debate.

Every week at Radio Station Consultant we watch multiple new songs across radio formats to help us better advise our clients on new music adds. Here are a few of the songs we’re watching this week. Katseye "Hootie Frutti" Hot AC/Top 40, Nipsey Hussle "500 Horses" Rhythmic/Urban, Phoebe Bridgers "Lost Weekend" Alternative, Marilyn Manson "Unalive" Rock, Mack Geiger "Pouring" Country and more!

Every successful brand has "superfans"—listeners who start the day with your morning show, stream you at work, follow you on social media, open your emails, attend your events, enter your contests, and tell their friends, "You've got to listen to this station."  Those listeners aren't just audience members. They're your marketing department. Here's how to create more of them. 

Out of this week's data here are a few of the songs that topped those lists nationally in the US and Canada along with a few random specific markets. The United States, Hot AC/Top 40: Ariana Grande "Hate That I Made You Love Me."

Think about your favorite vacation.  You probably don't remember every meal or every hotel room. You remember the feeling.  The same is true of radio. Listeners rarely remember every song you played. They remember whether your station made them smile, laugh, feel connected, or made a long drive seem shorter. 

Last week at TAB I sat in a session with Xperi’s Juan Galdamez entitled “Dayparts & Dashboards: Navigating Radio’s Big Data Moment”. In the session Juan shared a peak behind the curtain to show us some insights they are getting from the 500,000 vehicles equipped with DTS AutoStage across the state of Texas.

Think: HWSS. Look at each topic through what is Hard, Weird, Scary, or Stupid. Or the opposites: What is Easy, Ridiculously Normal, Joyful, Or Smart? Use the extremes to find creativity. When you’re stuck, push to the extremes. What’s the HARDEST thing about this topic? What’s the WEIRDEST angle? What’s the SCARIEST implication? Extremes create interest.

Every week at Radio Station Consultant we watch multiple new songs across radio formats to help us better advise our clients on new music adds. Here are a few of the songs we’re watching this week. Scroll down to hear the full songs. Stray Kids "This & That" Hot AC & Top 40, Pooh Shiesty "I'm Back" Rhythmic & Urban, Weezer "C.E.O." Rock & Alternative, Koe Wetzel & Ella Langley "Jaded" Country.