Free in Hot AC Top 40! (now Top 30)

[Mr. Bill]

According to Mediabase this morning, a few recurrents dropped out of the Hot AC chart, pushing "Free" up from No. 33 to No. 29 in terms of airplay!

While it appears to be true that momentum for the single is slowing almost to a halt (437 plays in the previous 7-day period, 474 this time around), moving into the Top 30 could help some stations that have ignored the single to "Listen Up!"

See what I did there? :-)

While I personally would love to see them release Oh My! in a hurry, Free may yet have a little life...

[Miguel]

"437 plays in the previous 7-day period, 474 this time around"

That's about an 8% increase. Sounds good to me.

But I suppose what's important is the number of stations and the size of the overall audience.

[Mr. Bill]

Yes, the size of the overall audience is definitely what matters, and what she needs is airplay in a major market other than Chicago. Some major station has to pick the song up so that others can follow. She has the smallest overall audience (1.07 million) of any song in the Top 30.

[Miguel]

polev breaks it down:

Yay for for #29 on HAC and #48 on AAA! Top 30, incredible!

Below is the weekly summary of spins by station for last week. The first number is N of spins during the last week, the second number is gains/losses in spins compared to the previous week.

HAC monitored stations only (N=39), May 20-26, 2012
Total: 460 spins (+28)

47 - Saginaw, MI - WGER-FM; +6
29 - Portland, OR - KBFF-FM; +1
27 - Palm Springs, CA - KPSI-FM; +6
25 - Bakersfield - KLLY-FM; +7
24 - Columbus, OH - WVMX-FM; +7
22 - Atlantic City, NJ - WSJO-FM; -7
18 - Minneapolis - KSTP-FM; -4
17 - Tampa - WSJT-FM; -4
15 - Colorado Springs - KVUU-FM; +7
14 - Louisville - WXMA-FM; +1
13 - Ft. Myers - WINK-FM; -1
13 - West Palm - WRMF-FM; 0
12 - Chicago - WTMX-FM; -2
12 - Indianapolis - WZPL-FM; 0
12 - Monterey-Salinas - KCDU-FM; 0
11 - Albuquerque - KPEK-FM; +6
11 - St. Louis - KYKY-FM; -3
10 - Orlando - WOMX-FM; -1
9 - Grand Rapids - WLHT-FM; -1
9 - Corpus Christi, TX - KLTG-FM; 0
8 - Denver - KIMN-FM; -1
8 - Spokane - KCDA-FM; -2
8 - Portland, ME - WMGX-FM; -1
8 - Las Vegas - KMXB-FM; 0
8 - El Paso - KSII-FM; +1
8 - Pittsburgh - WLTJ-FM; 0
7 - Ft. Wayne, IN - WMEE-FM; 0
7 - Tyler, TX - KTYL-FM; 0
6 - Lexington, KY - WCDA-FM; +2
6 - Boise, ID - KCIX-FM; -3
6 - Fresno - KWYE-FM; -2
4 - Houston - KHMX-FM; +4; not added
4 - Canton, OH - WHBC-FM; +4
3 - Ft. Wayne, IN - WAJI-FM; +3
3 - Norfolk - WPTE-FM; 0
3 - Dallas - KDMX-FM; 2
2 - Dayton - WMMX-FM; +1; not added
<7 - Salt Lake City - KJMY-FM; not added
<7 - Tucson - KMIY-FM; not added

Wish Saginaw and Dallas could swap positions. Looks like Houston is new to the list, hopefully that builds.

---

^ After seeing Saginaw was spinning "Free" so much, I started streaming the station. One song later "Free" comes on. Right before 9 AM on a weekday.

[Mr. Bill]

The airplay numbers are up on idolchatter, and here is the news:

Free got 594 spins last week, 538 of them on Hot AC radio. She is officially number 29 on the Hot AC charts. Last week she was actually number 31, apparently.

For what it's worth, I've charted the airplay for the single since it debuted in late March:
WEEK ENDING SPINS (increase) Hot AC Chart
April 2 88
April 9 149 (+61)
April 16 209 (+60)
April 23 298 (+89)
April 30 312 (+14) 40
May 7 400 (+88) 38
May 14 431 (+31) 34
May 21 497 (+66) 33
May 28 531 (+34) 31
June 4 596 (+65) 29

So a slow, steady increase over the course of two months. I don't know whether the single will finally pick up momentum now that it's in the Top 30. I would guess it might a little, but not enough to make it a smash hit. After all, the only songs that seem to cross over from the Hot AC charts are the ones in the top 10 or so, and those receive about 2,000 plays a week, a far cry from where Free is. It's probably time for them to release the hounds, AKA Oh My! or Undone, to radio.

[LovinDaHaley]

^ "It's probably time for them to release the hounds, AKA Oh My! or Undone, to radio."

Yes! Interscope!! Release Release Release!!!

[Haleylvr4evr]

Shouldn't all her songs be getting played on the radio? I thought that's what usually happens when a new cd comes out. I dont know anything about this stuff, but always thought thats how it works

[Miguel]

Shouldn't all her songs be getting played on the radio? I thought that's what usually happens when a new cd comes out. I dont know anything about this stuff, but always thought thats how it works

Theoretically, a radio station can play any song. But if they played every song off every album they couldn't hold an audience because the quality would vary widely and no song would have a chance to develop a following. So, for practical reasons, the record labels choose which songs to promote.

As the record nears completion, the A&R department works closely with the artist to determine if the record is acceptable to the record company...A key issue is whether the album has a single: a particular track which can be used to market the record on radio. As Tom Petty sang in "Into the great wide open", the industry cliché, "I don't hear a single!", refers to this process.

In Haley's case, they chose "Free" to be the single. They shot a video, bought ads and had Haley promote it. Even with all that effort, it has been slow to gain radio play. Once Haley has a hit and gains name recognition, it will be easier for her to get radio play for other songs and future albums.

[gillyking]

n Haley's case, they chose "Free" to be the single. They shot a video, bought ads and had Haley promote it. Even with all that effort, it has been slow to gain radio play. Once Haley has a hit and gains name recognition, it will be easier for her to get radio play for other songs and future albums.

Totally agree.. for instance were Adele to have released, say "UNDONE", it would be racking em up in every market worldwide selling gazillions of units! Were all just so anxious for Haley to skyrocket worldwide as she has for us, that it's difficult to see her "not there yet".. have faith fellow Haliens, she is on her way! She is also just too F'n special not to make it!

[Miguel]

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown:

Coming in at No. 39 this week... "All the way from Wheeling Illinois, 21 year old Haley Reinhart with Free"