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There are 100-150 "reporting stations" in America. They're in bigger markets, usually in the Top 175 in terms of population. Raleigh is Market #42, I think New York or Chicago is #1. Not all country stations within these top markets "report," just the ones that kick butt (like QDR). By reporting, we're basically letting the two country chart services know what songs we play and when. So when you hear that a song is a #1 song, that means it's the most played song amongst those reporting stations. I think it was Thompson Square's “Are You Gonna' Kiss Me or Not” this week.
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Another thing to keep in mind is that when a radio station does play the song you're looking for, they probably won't play it again for awhile, at least six hours if it's a very new song. We start all new songs off slowly. Even though it seems like we suddenly began playing Taylor Swift 14 times a day, there were weeks were we played her new song once or twice a day.
So, to answer Nic's question, fans and fan clubs can best help an artist gather airplay by sustaining support on a local level. That means requesting the songs, showing up for concerts and recruiting more fans. Also, get to know your local DJ, and understand that he/she is ultimately trying to play music that pleases a large slice of the listening audience for a long period of time.
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