Over the last week, I texted and spoke with quite a few programming friends and asked the question, do specialty music weekends work when it comes to ratings?
Overwhelming response was that they can, depending on the situation! I would like to suggest to Hot AC programmers that they do make a difference. Let’s face it, the music difference from Top 40 to Hot AC and Mainstream AC is not all that different.
Sure, there is a difference as to who plays the currents first, but a quick scan of Mediabase and the top 10 currently. Five of the top 10 at Hot AC are currently in the top 10 at Top 40, and every song in the top 10 at AC was in the top 10 of both Hot and Top 40 over the last month.
Coming up with strategic ways to package your music presentation can really make a difference with your audience.
“You Say It, We Play It,” “The Dope 90s Listener Choice Countdown,” “A to Z Weekends,” and many more ideas you can dream up or even rework from stations in markets outside yours.
My point is that for radio to make a difference and stand out in the age of DSPs, satellite, and every other avenue to consume music, giving your audience more reason to stay tuned in is necessary!
Yes, they require advance planning and quite a bit of effort, and with reduced staff at many stations, it can be viewed as something that would be nice if “I only had the time.”
Now, keep in mind I am not suggesting you execute these weekly or even monthly, although monthly would be a great goal. Twice a quarter may be very achievable.
There are certainly enough holidays in the year to build a weekend music feature around. One thing to remember when doing these is to try to make it where audience participation is the driving force.
Now, that most likely won’t be every time you do a specialty weekend, cause a “90s Sounds Like Summer” weekend for Memorial Day, where a few times an hour you spotlight songs from the decade that make you think “summer” does not really require audience input.
However, the “Dope 90’s Listener Choice Countdown” I listed above certainly does! Your station’s webpage and socials are perfect for gathering votes, your talent can do on-air solicits for song suggestions 10 days out from execution. I certainly believe the more control or appearance of control you can give the listener will pay off in your ratings.
“Specialty Programming” is at the top of my programming pyramid for a reason. It’s the special sauce that makes your station stand out from the competition. Yes, you must have all the other layers of the pyramid—music, talent and imaging—working well for specialty programming to be effective.
It can be easy to say these require too much effort for little, if any, payoff! Does anyone who has really succeeded in any competition ever employ that attitude? Not likely. Doing the little things matters and makes a difference! Remember, the radio business is supposed to be fun. Do your best to remind yourself of that every single day!
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Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.
