Where Are You debuts at #23 on edge 102's Thursday 30

naseoj · Post by **naseoj** » 7/8/2005, 3:22 pm

I'm not so sure about that. What are you basing that on. Previous work in a radio station? Even if that is true (which I don't think it completely is), we should be happy at least that the radio station is giving the song popularity.

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 7/8/2005, 3:23 pm

My girlfriend is in Radio and Television arts at Ryerson. Her professors are people who work in the music/television industry. So I'm pretty sure they know what they're talking about.

Brooklin Matt · Post by **Brooklin Matt** » 7/8/2005, 4:06 pm

I've always wondered that myself Jim. Why a song that everyone knows is going to be huge takes weeks to climb the charts on what is suppose to be a popularity contest. When Vertigo came out it should have been number 1 in a week or two.

However, I think they could possibly employ another strategy in which cumulative votes count in relation to weeks on the chart. So instead of counting it week by week, they might take the votes from the previous month so even new songs have to play catch up......I'm just guessing here, but something like this would make sense.

People from the edge randomly picking songs would be silly.......it wouldn't represent what the people want to hear.......however, if the Edge designates it based on people's votes then that would make sense.

I'd like to hear more on this Jim. I'm interested as to how they do it.

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 7/8/2005, 5:08 pm

I'll ask my girlfriend about more info on this later tonight when she gets home. From my understanding they do consider people's requests and "votes" but they do not determine the ranking. The people who run the Edge know by now what a hit song sounds like and that's why it's so hard for new bands to make it nowadays unless they have something extremely catchy (for example, Modest Mouse's "Float on" and Franz Ferdinands "Take me out" or Nickleback "You remind me").

They also take ito consideration reputation. Consider that OLP is a hometown band and is also one of Canada's biggest so it is expected they would have a fair bit of hype especially after being silent for a few years. No matter what they release it would probably be exciting for the station. I would also think that Cancon has a bit of a role in this because at the moment there are very few big Canadian acts releasing music, so it seems like OLP is huge but it's only because the stations don't have much else to play.

I've always, even before my girlfriend went to Ryerson, been skeptical of countdowns. If you watch the Muchmusic countdowns the number 1 song is often a band or artist who is visiting that week. I remember when Hilary Duff did her live @ much, and it just so happened that the same week her video went to #1. This could be coincidental, but I doubt it.

Ultimately it's the station that decides what plays, and it's in their best interest to play the biggest bands and at the same time make the public feel involved in the process. Tallying requests takes time and effort (I know, not that much time and effort, but you still have to pay someone to do that) and I doubt that it directly corresponds to rankings. Maybe if it's some unknown band and they play the song once and people keep calling and calling to hear it it might affect things, because even the execs at the station aren't perfect, but I just don't think there's a direct correlation.

I'll ask my girlfriend tonight to find out for sure. It's been a while since we;ve had this conversation so I'm just going by what I remember.

Corey · Post by **Corey** » 7/8/2005, 5:24 pm

I noticed that too Jim.

I was watching TRL once... (My remote must've been broken that day).. and Tom Green (at the height of his popularty) was there. And it just so happened that his idiotic "Bum Bum" song hit #1. He then proceeded to do some sort of theatric to retire the song. You can't tell me that wasn't planned. PS. I hate that guy. I know you can vote for TRL songs online but how does one even vote for songs for a radio station's "top 20"?

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 7/8/2005, 5:33 pm

Oh I have even more theories. Take for example American idol. My friend used to call and get a busy signal. So that means at any given time only a certain amount of people can be voting for one person at one time. With something like Idol where they get tens of millions of votes over the course of 24 hours, you have to assume that one call is being recieved after another after another after another. Therefore if each person has the same amount of lines, they should theoretically recieve the same amount of phone calls as the next person. So the people who run the show keep people hooked because they feel involved but it also ensures that the people who the execs want to win will win, and also they can create some controversy throughout the competition by dropping supposed fan favourites and keeping people who suck (like that jon stevens guy...).

Corey · Post by **Corey** » 7/8/2005, 5:35 pm

Makes sense to me. That show is drop dead boring even WITH the controversy.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 7/8/2005, 6:37 pm

thats really interesting Jim, i always wanted to know how they choose "top ___" songs/music videos. it seems fishy if you think about it. and i have no idea how they decide what's top... cuz sometimes some new band will come along (like arcade fire) and suddenly they'll be playing them 24/7. like... how does that work?

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 7/8/2005, 7:12 pm

I think that's a case of being an underground "hip" band. So it's kinda hip that the Edge will play their stuff even thought The Arcade Fire are just an indy band. In that case it might have to do with the critical praise the band has recieved as well. I mean when Chris Martin is singing your songs in concert it must mean you're doing something right.

superrgirll · Post by **superrgirll** » 7/8/2005, 9:12 pm

it's all about payola. :nod:

Teedus · Post by **Teedus** » 7/8/2005, 9:47 pm

Chris Martin sang Arcade Fire songs?

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 7/8/2005, 9:49 pm

at the toronto club show... just a few lines.

namkablam · Post by **namkablam** » 7/8/2005, 10:06 pm

Politik / Rebellion (Lies)

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 7/9/2005, 1:24 pm

I asked the girlfriend and pretty everything I said earlier is what they've been told. It's about money and getting listeners which in turns brings in advertising dollars, etc etc.

namkablam · Post by **namkablam** » 7/9/2005, 2:28 pm

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 7/9/2005, 2:31 pm

so the television/radio chooses what they think will be successful (aka something that sounds like a 'hit song') and play them 24/7, then people love the song? gaaaahh how creepy. it like a weird catch 22 thingy.. a 'hit song' wouldn't be a 'hit song' unless the radio played it all the time, but you can't have a 'hit song' that doesnt sound like a 'hit song' because the radio will only play what sounds like a hit song

OKkkkkkk im confusing myself

namkablam · Post by **namkablam** » 7/9/2005, 2:32 pm

you're not allowed to say 'hit song' anymore!

nelison · Post by **nelison** » 7/9/2005, 2:32 pm

exactly. Unless they get some weird underground thing that starts to build like what we've seen with the Arcade Fire.

reza · Post by **reza** » 7/9/2005, 4:23 pm

I agree with Jim, I've heard the exact same thing from my friend who interned at Much. Also, attempting to tally up the votes from the previous week wouldn't work because you would end up having songs last for years, Smells Like Teen Spirit and such.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » 7/9/2005, 9:10 pm

i see. interesting.
smells like teen spirit lasting for years would be cool