Draw Me a Map: Is Your Station Playing It?

Week 11: "Draw Me a Map" statistics:

Billboard: Moved up 1 spot to #36, with a slight audience gain of 17,000.
Mediabase: Fell 2 spots to #37, with an audience loss of 6,000 (though this chart is based on points).

(Keep in mind that different stations report to each chart panel, though there is some overlap.)

Last night, my husband uncovered some very enlightening and interesting information regarding Draw Me a Map and the stations that are and are not playing it. Each radio station is part of a market, and markets vary in size based on the amount of people -- audience -- listening. Generally speaking, the larger your city, the higher your audience. Different times of day have varying sizes of audience, too. Commute times are generally higher than overnight, for instance. So the time of day a song is played has a lot to do with how many people are hearing the song overall. Right now, the majority of Draw Me a Map's plays are late at night, or very early in the morning -- the lowest audience times. But not only that, it's not receiving ANY play in some very significant and very large markets.

Calling ALL Reps in Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; Miami, FL; Phoenix, AZ; and Minneapolis, MN: You represent the Top 20 markets that are either NOT playing the song AT ALL (no adds), or are only playing it once or twice per week. 1 morning or afternoon commute spin in your markets is roughly equal to 4 spins at any time on any other station. Not only that, but you're also in influential markets. An add at KKGO in Los Angeles, and actual airplay there, could prompt other stations that are holding out to follow suit. We need the adds and we certainly need the spins! And the easiest market to hit should be Phoenix -- after all, it is our President's hometown (I will be emailing Tim & Willy for sure -- they once made me sing on air, so they owe me one)!

We have our work cut out for us, Congress, but we can certainly get this done. Call, email, tweet, comment on facebook -- whatever it takes to get the word out there. Thankfully, some help is on our side: live performances on Good Morning America and the CMAs next week will hopefully get more people listening, the video is at CMT and GAC, and a win on the CMAs would be a big boost as well (fingers crossed!). Essentially, casual fans don't know the song is out there right now -- we need more people listening, liking, and asking for it. If Draw Me a Map can get to the Top 30 before Thanksgiving, it's more likely to survive the Holiday music onslaught.

On a sidenote, "Up on the Ridge" is still doing well, now up to 165,000 units sold. Last week it saw a 9% jump in sales to overtake the top of the Bluegrass Albums chart, and I think his "residency" in NYC and his appearance on Regis & Kelly helped prompt that boost. Imagine what a CMA win could do! There is still interest in the CD, and there should be equal interest in the music coming off that CD. Let's keep it up! (Thanks to DBC Rep Janet in San Diego for the UOTR info!)

PS. If you'd like to know if your specific station(s) is playing or has added Draw Me a Map, just comment on this post and I'll let you know! :)

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)