What Was That Song?

[Eric Aiese]

Yes.net gets its data from Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems, which monitors 
stations 24/7 for Billboard's charts.  Their computer listening technology 
compares each spin against an audio fingerprint in their database.  BDS 
accepts labels' submissions for new music/clips, so I imagine some indie 
labels never get around to submitting their new music, and likewise for the 
majors with their catalog material.

Until recently, you'd see a lot of holes in the listings where old cuts or 
new/underground cuts might not register.  These days, looking at the 
listings for Oldies 103.3, they've gotten the standard oldie library 
down.  But for other stations -- say WBOT -- there are still a lot of holes 
over the course of an hour.  I guess that it's a combination of 
underground/new music, gold, and remixes.  Same deal with Magic 106.7, 
except it's probably older AC cuts that don't have to rely on BDS.  Did 
anyone notice which Magic songs show up and which are skipped?

Also, incidentally, does anyone know how the computers deal with stations 
that pitch up their music?

EA



At 12:00 PM 1/6/04, boston-radio-interest-request@rolinin.BostonRadio.org 
wrote:
>This seems to happen a lot. I'm not sure how they are getting the song
>information from the stations, but it doesn't seem like its coming right
>out of stations' automation systems, because that would surely show
>every song that is played. I've noticed that on Top 40 stations anyway
>that it appears that only currents, recurrents, and recent golds are
>showing up.