MID WEEK Top 40 UPDATE BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS .BIZ/NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 5, 2013 | PAGE 1 OF 9 INSIDE EDITED BY RICH APPEL
[email protected] | @richappel Top 40 By The Tree Reverse Psychology 101: Mastering PAGE 3 The Year-End Countdown Consumers And Media: Minute By It sounded so easy when we were sitting at home listening to ists, songs and what happened in 2013—or leaving that to one a station’s New Year’s Eve (or Day) top 100 of the year just of the syndicated countdown program’s year-end editions to Minute passed, and writing down every song. (Admit it, you did that take care of—will suffice for the end the year. But Jeff John- PAGE 4 too.) But even before year-end programs became research son, senior VP at radio consultant Alan Burns and Associ- projects that were written and produced with amazing detail, ates, is a firm believer in local stations going out with a bang. One Direction it was still easy for things “Countdowns that sound Enters Atop to go wrong, especially ‘bigger than life’—with Billboard 200 when 100 or more titles a ton of ‘year in review’ PAGE 5 were involved. Songs audio from news, movies, played out of order or social media and local were listed twice. There events—should be an in- Miley Cyrus were compilations with tegral part of the end-of- Swings Back one song missing or one the-year programming To Hot 100’s big hit just forgotten. for [mainstream and Top Spot With stations just adult] top 40 stations.” PAGE 5 starting to get their year- The idea dates back at end countdowns together least to the mid-1960s, for multiple airings dur- when the Bill Drake- ing the holiday break, and Gene Chenault- Top 40 observers like Alan Burns and Associates’ Jeff Johnson (left) and it seemed a good time WSPK’s Skywalker have smart tips for creating year-end countdowns.