Song For Someone - Radio Play

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Hi Cosmo, I should also say that the peak spins I was quoting from kworb are the total of the peaks of each individual format, where the peaks may have occurred at different times. A prime example is that of SFS where the peak for AAA occurred a couple of weeks before it started moving on HAC. This would explain the difference between those figures and yours presumably.


Thanks, that makes sense why islets off from my tracking a little. I track the peak at any given day.

In the end, they aren't too far off.


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Update for 18th September:

SFS adds another 17 spins to rise to 1,122 spins total on HAC, with 6.073m AI, remains at No.24

On AC it again adds another 27 spins taking it to 178 spins total with 0.559m AI and it moves up one spot to a high of No.27. So it continues to gather momentum on AC.

On AAA it drops another 7 spins to 119 spins in total and drops 3 places to No. 38.
 
Update for 19th September:

SFS adds another 19 spins to rise to 1,141 spins total on HAC, with 6.283m AI, remains at No.24

On AC it again adds another 27 spins taking it to 205 spins total with 0.589m AI and it moves up one spot to a high of No.26. If it continues to add spins at that rate it has a good chance of moving up 3 spots over the next day or two.

On AAA it drops another 1 spin to 118 spins in total and drops 1 places to No. 39.
 
Update for 19th September:

SFS adds another 19 spins to rise to 1,141 spins total on HAC, with 6.283m AI, remains at No.24

On AC it again adds another 27 spins taking it to 205 spins total with 0.589m AI and it moves up one spot to a high of No.26. If it continues to add spins at that rate it has a good chance of moving up 3 spots over the next day or two.

On AAA it drops another 1 spin to 118 spins in total and drops 1 places to No. 39.

just heard it on my local station in Tampa for the first time. I think it's a AAA format, not really sure. Ryan Seacrest hosts a show in the afternoon and it was on during that time. cool to hear on the radio
 
There were some small adds for SFS yesterday, and then today's as follows:

Update for 21st September:

SFS adds another 20 spins to rise to 1,170 spins total on HAC, with 6.678m AI, and moves up 2 spots to a new high of No.22

On AC it adds another 25 spins taking it to 241 spins total with 0.630m AI and it moves up 3 places to a new high of No.22. It seems to have pretty low AI relative to spin totals compared to the songs just above and below it? Not sure if AI catches up with spins at some point or if they are total uncorrelated depending on stations/markets, etc? Perhaps Cosmo or someone has some idea of how this works?

On AAA it seems to have been taken out the back and shot as it has fallen off the chart completely! (Well the top 50 anyway)
 
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It seems to have pretty low AI relative to spin totals compared to the songs just above and below it? Not sure if AI catches up with spins at some point or if they are total uncorrelated depending on stations/markets, etc? Perhaps Cosmo or someone has some idea of how this works?


So spins and AI are linked but not directly. It all depends on 2 things:

1)The station- if a small station with low ratings is playing it 500 times a week, it won't have the same number of AI as say if Z100(NYCs biggest station, or 2nd biggest) played the song 100 times (or even 50)

2) when it is played. If Z100 plays it at 5pm during their peak listenership(I'm guessing that's the peak time) it have have 1 million AI for that one listen. However, if they play it at 6am, it might have 100k AI.

So it matters who plays it and when.



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So spins and AI are linked but not directly. It all depends on 2 things:

1)The station- if a small station with low ratings is playing it 500 times a week, it won't have the same number of AI as say if Z100(NYCs biggest station, or 2nd biggest) played the song 100 times (or even 50)

2) when it is played. If Z100 plays it at 5pm during their peak listenership(I'm guessing that's the peak time) it have have 1 million AI for that one listen. However, if they play it at 6am, it might have 100k AI.

So it matters who plays it and when.



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Thanks Cosmo
 
There were some small adds for SFS yesterday, and then today's as follows:

Update for 21st September:

SFS adds another 20 spins to rise to 1,170 spins total on HAC, with 6.678m AI, and moves up 2 spots to a new high of No.22

On AC it adds another 25 spins taking it to 241 spins total with 0.630m AI and it moves up 3 places to a new high of No.22. It seems to have pretty low AI relative to spin totals compared to the songs just above and below it? Not sure if AI catches up with spins at some point or if they are total uncorrelated depending on stations/markets, etc? Perhaps Cosmo or someone has some idea of how this works?

On AAA it seems to have been taken out the back and shot as it has fallen off the chart completely! (Well the top 50 anyway)

Seeing this song continuing to rise on HOT AC has been fun to watch. It's certainly now their biggest success in this very important format since 2005. Will be interesting to see how much further the song can go.
 
For what it's worth, the song was #3 on yesterday's New Orleans-based radio station (which is a pretty big one here in ol' Louisiana).

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For what it's worth, the song was #3 on yesterday's New Orleans-based radio station (which is a pretty big one here in ol' Louisiana).

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Interesting! And today it's up to #21 on the Hot AC chart. A new peak.
 
23rd Sept, no movement in spins today on either HAC or AC. Fell to number 23 on HAC but that was always expected as the 2 below it were big gainers of late.
 
Here are the weekly mediabase charts that are used by BB. Usually updated late Tuesday or early Wed during each week.

HAC: AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 9 . 2 2 . 1 5 -- powered by MEDIABASE

AC: AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 9 . 2 2 . 1 5 -- powered by MEDIABASE

Rock: AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 9 . 2 2 . 1 5 -- powered by MEDIABASE

Miracle might finally fall out of Rock Top 50, after climbing to 40 last week

And for the Oct 3 version of Billboard, here is where SFS will be on those charts:

Adult Pop Songs
TW LW
21 26
Song For Someone
U2
Songs of Innocence
October 3, 2015

Adult Contemporary
TW LW
23 23
Song For Someone
U2
Songs of Innocence
October 3, 2015
 
Here are the weekly mediabase charts that are used by BB. Usually updated late Tuesday or early Wed during each week.

HAC: AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 9 . 2 2 . 1 5 -- powered by MEDIABASE

AC: AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 9 . 2 2 . 1 5 -- powered by MEDIABASE

Rock: AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 9 . 2 2 . 1 5 -- powered by MEDIABASE

Miracle might finally fall out of Rock Top 50, after climbing to 40 last week

And for the Oct 3 version of Billboard, here is where SFS will be on those charts:

Adult Pop Songs
TW LW
21 26
Song For Someone
U2
Songs of Innocence
October 3, 2015

Adult Contemporary
TW LW
23 23
Song For Someone
U2
Songs of Innocence
October 3, 2015
 
Sorry for the double post, but also on Billboard Oct 3 edition:

Hot Rock Songs
TW LW
43 44
Song For Someone
U2
Songs of Innocence
October 3, 2015
 
Thanks BeLIEve. How do you think SFS is doing presently, with respect to recent U2 singles, and do you think it has more legs in it yet?
 
Thanks BeLIEve. How do you think SFS is doing presently, with respect to recent U2 singles, and do you think it has more legs in it yet?

Probably SFS has done the best from SOI in terms of total AI's and total plays across all formats. The only reason I found SFS on the BB charts online, outside of maybe the usual Top 10/20 that they show to non-subscribers, is that you can search each artist's history on BB charts.

Follow this link U2 - Chart history | Billboard

and you'll see SFS on Adult Pop (HAC) at #21 this week, up from 26 last week. Then you can scroll down and see all U2 songs that ever peaked on that format, going back multiple pages/years depending on song and format.

Then at the top left of of the page, under the genre (Adult Pop in this case), hit that link to find other U2 song history by genre. This history goes back chronologically, although I think you can sort it other ways. Some genres go back all the way to the '80's. Others are only 4-8 years old, like digital. Found it sort of interesting myself.

As for your question, SFS has run up and down the charts once already, so this latest push, imho, is from NY and the surrounding areas, as U2 did perform some 10 concerts in MSG at the end of the NA leg. And NY radio can set regional, even national, trends in radio play.

My best guess is that this week (Oct 3 by BB system) is likely the 2nd peak for SFS, but the song has had an odd run, so who knows.
 
Probably SFS has done the best from SOI in terms of total AI's and total plays across all formats. The only reason I found SFS on the BB charts online, outside of maybe the usual Top 10/20 that they show to non-subscribers, is that you can search each artist's history on BB charts.

Follow this link U2 - Chart history | Billboard

and you'll see SFS on Adult Pop (HAC) at #21 this week, up from 26 last week. Then you can scroll down and see all U2 songs that ever peaked on that format, going back multiple pages/years depending on song and format.

Then at the top left of of the page, under the genre (Adult Pop in this case), hit that link to find other U2 song history by genre. This history goes back chronologically, although I think you can sort it other ways. Some genres go back all the way to the '80's. Others are only 4-8 years old, like digital. Found it sort of interesting myself.

As for your question, SFS has run up and down the charts once already, so this latest push, imho, is from NY and the surrounding areas, as U2 did perform some 10 concerts in MSG at the end of the NA leg. And NY radio can set regional, even national, trends in radio play.

My best guess is that this week (Oct 3 by BB system) is likely the 2nd peak for SFS, but the song has had an odd run, so who knows.

Cool, thanks for links and info BeLIEve.

Yes, SFS seems to go through little runs and then cool off for a few days, and then have a few days of decent adds again. Even on HAC itself, never mind the other formats.

Thanks for your insights again.
 
There was a couple of days with small adds and then yesterday it added 28 spins I think on HAC.

Update for 27th September:

SFS adds another 33 spins to rise to 1,275 spins total on HAC, with 7.106m AI, remains at No.23

On AC it adds another 8 spins taking it to 263 spins total with 0.726m AI and it moves up one spot to a high of No.21.
 
Update for 28th Sept:

SFS adds another 23 spins to rise to 1,298 spins total on HAC, with 7.151m AI, and goes back up to No.22

On AC it adds another 8 spins taking it to 271 spins total with 0.766m AI and stays at No.21.
 
Update for 29th Sept:

SFS adds another 23 spins to rise to 1,321 spins total on HAC, with 7.170m AI, and drops back to No.23

On AC it adds another 5 spins taking it to 276 spins total with 0.811m AI and stays at No.21.
 
It's the little engine that could. Keep waiting for it to start falling but it hasn't happened.


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So at this very moment it sits at 1,635 total spins from 2 formats. That is higher than the single day peaks of The Miracle, EBW and invisible(1,631 peak) and it is now the song with the most spins at any given time off of SOI.

AI it still has a ways to go to catch Invisible but at this point, I think it will.

If it could somehow manage to cross over into the top 40 format, then we might have a hit on our hands.


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Update for 30th Sept:

SFS adds another 31 spins to rise to 1,352 spins total on HAC, with 7.177m AI, and stays at No.23

On AC it adds another 5 spins taking it to 281 spins total with 0.832m AI and stays at No.21.

Cosmo, if you add in its peak from when it was in the top 50 on AAA it takes it up to 2,004 spins! And only from 3 formats. Isn't there information out there somewhere which would tell you if was starting to bubble under on the Pop playlists?
 
Update for 1st October:

SFS adds another 20 spins to rise to 1,372 spins total on HAC, with 7.181m AI, and stays at No.23

On AC it adds another 2 spins taking it to 283 spins total with 0.844m AI and stays at No.21.
 
Update for 2nd October:

SFS adds another 24 spins to rise to 1,396 spins total on HAC, with 7.229m AI, and stays at No.23

On AC it stays at 283 spins total with 0.844m AI and stays at No.21.
 
There was a couple of days with small adds on HAC over the weekend, and little movement on AC.

Update for 5th October:

SFS adds another 16 spins to rise to 1,436 spins total on HAC, with 7.236m AI, and stays at No.23

On AC it drops 1 spin to 281 spins total with 0.862m AI and stays at No.21.
 
There was a couple of days with small adds on HAC recently, and little movement on AC.

Update for 8th October:

SFS adds another 17 spins to rise to 1,468 spins total on HAC, with 7.240m AI, and drops to No.24

On AC it adds another 20 spins to 292 spins total with 0.857m AI and stays at No.21.
 
Thanks for all the updates Macawaca. Seems like it won't break top 20 which is kinda sad.

It's a pity Every Breaking Wave didn't do better as I believe that is a much better song. They really have to work on their promotional strategy, particularly the video release.

I think the original video (Woody Harrelson) for Song For Someone helped the song in the USA market.

The Every Breaking Wave video is ok and matches U2's historical roots but a more cliched couple in love/breaking up type of video would have matched the song better and perhaps sell the song better as well.

Can't change history though.
 
Hi derekkan

I think its fall of a couple of places on HAC in the last week or so was more a function of 2 or 3 big risers overtaking it, and they seem to be out of the way now. There are a couple of big fallers up ahead of it, which if we continue some modest gains we could overtake. Maybe Cosmo or BeLIEve could comment on this - at times when a song starts to have really big falls, like 200 or 300 spins a day, it can just suddenly disappear from the top 50 on that chart altogether? Just wondered if I remembered that wrong, or does that happen?
 
Interesting Update for today 9th October:

SFS drops 4 spins to fall to 1,464 spins total on HAC, with 7.220m AI, and stays at No.24

However it seems to have regained its mojo On AC over the last couple of days as it adds another 31 spins to rise to a high of 323 spins total with 0.923m AI and also moves up one spot to a high of No.20. It looks like it has a good chance of moving up another spot tomorrow as well, as Sam Smith above it is only 5 spins ahead and currently falling.
 
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