You might hear some terminology you don't understand from time to time on our station. Here are some key definitions you should know.

Playlist:

1) The list of songs a DJ has played during a show. This information is logged in a playlist storage website called Spinitron where you can search past playlists back to 2005. Didn't catch the name of that song you loved? Spinitron is a great tool to find what you might have missed. Also, the Now Playing section of our website has a playlist updated in real time during every show.

2) The special selection of new music that DJs play songs from during daytime hours (6am-5pm). We have two music directors at the station who receive over 100 cds a week from promoters, labels and artists. These directors, along with nearly a dozen volunteer assistant music directors who each monitor a specific genre of music, determine what the best new albums are out of all the music the station receives. They then put these on a special shelf in our studios where DJs pick 4 songs an hour to play. DJs can choose any track from any of the 80-100 albums on this playlist (called so because of past policies that allowed less discretion on the part of the DJ) to compliment their shows. Since new music is being created in every possible genre, our music directors are often able to put together a collection of new music that is both diverse and high quality. Albums spend a period of four weeks on the playlist, are then rotated into a new releases section, and eventually into our main library.

Once we've decided which albums will be added to the playlist, we then keep track of which albums are doing the best.  This ties into the other definition of playlist, Spinitron, where we can track who is playing what. We take count of the playlist albums that got the most spins and compile a Top 30 list. Each Tuesday afternoon, our music directors present the 30 most popular albums to listeners and send this chart to the College Music Journal and Dusted Magazine. While most college stations chart to CMJ, KBGA is one of only forty colleges in the country charting to Dusted.

The radio-circle-of-life is completed when the promoters and labels who orignially sent the albums see that we're playing them and contributing to the proper charts, which function like the Top 40 Billboards for independent groups and labels.

So if you hear a DJ talking about the 'playlist,' do not fear! We never pre-program shows for our DJs. We simply provide them with all the best new music being produced today and leave it up to them to bring their favorite new tracks to you!