HRD RADIO REPORT
The HRD Radio Report showcases the weekly Active Rock Mediabase Charts (compiled by AllAccess.com), and appears every Tuesday on HardRockDaddy.com. The HRD Radio Report digs deeper into the weekly Active Rock charts, providing commentary, reviews, recommendations and predictions. It also features opinion pieces on chart action and the music business in general.
Many of the artists featured on the Active Rock charts have already been reviewed on HardRockDaddy.com.
Click on the hyperlinked song titles to read song reviews, and the hyperlinked artist names to read album reviews.
2016 Active Rock Radio / Octane Quarterly Report: Q1
The following is the Active Rock Mediabase Chart for the week ending 7/16/16. All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:
| CHART | CHART | ARTIST | SONG TITLE | RADIO |
| POSITION | POSITION | SPINS | ||
| THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK | THIS WEEK | ||
| 1 | 1 | RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS | “Dark Necessities” | 2011 |
| 2 | 2 | VOLBEAT | “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” | 1923 |
| 3 | 3 | SHINEDOWN | “Asking For It” | 1875 |
| 4 | 4 | CHEVELLE | “Joyride” | 1864 |
| 5 | 5 | GHOST | “From The Pinnacle To The Pit” | 1340 |
| 6 | 6 | POP EVIL | “Take It All” | 1261 |
| 7 | 8 | BLINK 182 | “Bored To Death” | 1144 |
| 8 | 7 | A DAY TO REMEMBER | “Paranoia” | 1090 |
| 9 | 9 | ASKING ALEXANDRIA | “Here I Am” | 863 |
| 10 | 11 | KALEO | “No Good” | 836 |
| 11 | 14 | 3 DOORS DOWN | “Still Alive” | 829 |
| 12 | 12 | HOLY WHITE HOUNDS | “Switchblade” | 804 |
| 13 | 13 | ROB ZOMBIE | “Get High” | 733 |
| 14 | 15 | DEFTONES | “Phantom Bride” | 716 |
| 15 | 17 | AVATAR | “The Eagle Has Landed” | 643 |
| 16 | 19 | SKILLET | “Feel Invincible” | 599 |
| 17 | 20 | HELLYEAH | “I Don’t Care Anymore” | 553 |
| 18 | 18 | BREAKING BENJAMIN | “Ashes Of Eden” | 548 |
| 19 | 16 | SICK PUPPIES | “Stick To Your Guns” | 497 |
| 20 | 22 | THRICE | “Black Honey” | 468 |
| 21 | 21 | SIXX: A.M. | “Rise” | 422 |
| 22 | 24 | TRIVIUM | “Dead And Gone” | 368 |
| 23 | 27 | ZAKK WYLDE (f. COREY TAYLOR) | “Sleeping Dogs” | 363 |
| 24 | 25 | FROM ASHES TO NEW | “Lost And Alone” | 329 |
| 25 | 26 | STITCHED UP HEART | “Monster” | 296 |
| 26 | 32 | TWENTY ONE PILOTS | “Heathens” | 267 |
| 27 | 28 | THROUGH FIRE | “Stronger” | 265 |
| 28 | 0 | PRETTY RECKLESS | “Take Me Down” | 246 |
| 29 | 23 | ESCAPE THE FATE | “Remember Every Scar” | 242 |
| 30 | 29 | LIKE A STORM | “Break Free” | 223 |
| 31 | 30 | BEARTOOTH | “Aggressive” | 221 |
| 32 | 34 | NONPOINT | “Generation Idiot” | 206 |
| 33 | 35 | CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN | “Soundcheck” | 203 |
| 34 | 31 | HELLYEAH | “Human” | 201 |
| 35 | 37 | CITIZEN ZERO | “Go (Let Me Save You)” | 196 |
| 36 | 38 | MEGADETH | “Post-American World” | 182 |
| 37 | 39 | DOROTHY | “Raise Hell” | 174 |
| 38 | 45 | NOTHING BUT THIEVES | “Wake Up Call” | 172 |
| 39 | 41 | CAGE THE ELEPHANT | “Trouble” | 172 |
| 40 | 52 | KALEO | “Way Down We Go” | 170 |
| 41 | 43 | FAILURE ANTHEM | “First World Problems” | 146 |
| 42 | 42 | PIERCE THE VEIL | “Circles” | 133 |
| 43 | 111 | DISTURBED | “Open Your Eyes” | 123 |
| 44 | 46 | MACHINE HEAD | “Is There Anybody Out There?” | 123 |
| 45 | 44 | KONGOS | “Take It From Me” | 119 |
| 46 | 80 | SIXX: A.M. | “Prayers For The Damned” | 118 |
| 47 | 47 | PUSCIFIER | “The Arsonist” | 114 |
| 48 | 57 | BRING ME THE HORIZON | “Avalanche” | 113 |
| 49 | 54 | THE RECORD COMPANY | “Off The Ground” | 111 |
| 50 | 51 | SEPTEMBER MOURNING | “Eye Of The Storm” | 103 |
ZAKK WYLDE (f. COREY TAYLOR) – “SLEEPING DOGS”
Sometimes Active Rock radio stations get it wrong when songs that are not a natural fit for the format end up cracking playlists. This is an ongoing problem, and one that exists all the way to the top of the chart. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and in the case of “Sleeping Dogs,” programmers are to be commended for giving this song the attention that it deserves, even if it deviates from the typical “Active Rock sound.” After all, it features two of the biggest stars of the genre in Zakk Wylde and Corey Taylor, both of whom are transcendent talents that have stood the test of time. “Sleeping Dogs” – and the whole Book Of Shadows II album for that matter – is the continuation of a journey that began in 1996 when the original Book Of Shadows was released. Regardless of stature, there are very few artists who can blow you away with sheer power and stir you emotionally with slower, more emotive songs, as this duo has done here with a memorable track that rises above the din of Active Rock playlists.
HRD SPIN CONTROL (by Adam Waldman and Jon Loveless)
Each week, we will share the songs that we think should be added to rotations, alongside the songs that we feel should be dropped from rotations, either because they are a bad fit for the format, or because they have run their course and it’s time for a new single from the artist.
SPIN IT…
SONS OF TEXAS – “Blameshift”
RICHARDS / CRANE – “Black And White”
SHAMAN’S HARVEST – “Here It Comes”
BRIDGE TO GRACE – “Left Inside”
HUDSON – “Cast Out”
ISLANDER – “Bad Guy”
FIFTYWATT FREIGHT TRAIN – “Whiskey & Hate”
EVE TO ADAM – “Lucky”
DROP IT…
Kaleo – “Way Down We Go”
Twenty One Pilots – “Heathens”
Cage The Elephant – “Trouble”
Kongos – “Take It From Me”
Catfish And The Bottlemen – “Soundcheck”
Holy White Hounds – “Switchblade”
Blink 182 – “Bored To Death”
Ghost – “From The Pinnacle To The Pit”
THE BREAKDOWN by Jon Loveless
KING OF THE HILL
Four of the top five songs see decreased spins. Amidst all of the turbulence, Red Hot Chili Peppers retain their spot atop the Mediabase Active Rock Airplay chart for a second week. Since the decline of “Dark Necessities” was so minor, it actually increased its advantage over Volbeat’s recent monster hit, “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown.” Shinedown hung on to the third spot for another week, but it’s clearly Chevelle that has the momentum among the most played songs.
NOTABLE CHART MOVEMENT
It’s a good time to be from Iceland, first Euro 2016, and now Kaleo reaches the Top 10 for the first time …
Thrice reaches the Top 20 with “Black Honey”…
The week’s highest debut, from Pretty Reckless, breaks into the Top 30, along with the latest from Twenty One Pilots…
Three songs debut in the Top 40, including a second single from Kaleo…
The bottom of the Top 50 sees an unusual amount of change, with five songs either debuting or returning to the published chart, most notably, the latest singles from format heavyweights Disturbed and Sixx: A.M.
THREE UP & THREE DOWN
MOVING UP
Chevelle – “Joyride”
Blink 182 – “Bored To Death”
3 Doors Down – “Still Alive”
DROPPING DOWN
Volbeat – “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”
Sick Puppies – “Stick To Your Guns”
Escape The Fate – “Remember Every Scar”
TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS
Maybe it was a good week to have a “recurrent,” or something in the gold rotation at radio, because it certainly wasn’t as good to have a current single on the chart as it was this time last year. Comparing week-to-week spins in the Top 50, airplay for currents was down almost 10% vs. the same week in 2015. It was a good week to be in the Top 10 (versus anywhere else in the chart), as those songs accounted for nearly 53% of the spins (compared to less than 49% in 2015). It was an even better week to be in the Top 3, which accumulated nearly 22% of the Top 50 spins this year, (versus around 16% a year ago). Basically, the Top 3 this week vs. 2015 is up 40% (based on spins).
In the current landscape, it means that if you’re going to get significant impact from a rock single right now, you not only need to have a “hit,” but you probably need to have that single get well into the upper half of the chart to move the needle. Otherwise, you’re battling for a smaller slice of a steadily shrinking pie.
WRAP-UP
That’s all for this week. Tune in to HardRockDaddy.com every Tuesday for the HRD Radio Report. \m/
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