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  <title>AA Digital Sound</title>
  <subtitle>AA Digital Sound publishes independent coverage of Radio Culture / Music Discovery.</subtitle>
  <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
  <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/atom.xml" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" />
  <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/</id>
  <updated>2026-09-09T06:11:35.256Z</updated>
  <entry>
    <title>Why college radio still breaks artists first</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/radio/why-college-radio-still-breaks-artists-first/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/radio/why-college-radio-still-breaks-artists-first/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Student DJs, freeform blocks, and the NACC charts — the decentralized system that broke R.E.M., Nirvana, and still surfaces new artists before the algorithms do.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-28T08:52:30.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:52:30.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Freeform radio, explained: the format without a format</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/freeform-radio-explained-the-format-without-a-format/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/freeform-radio-explained-the-format-without-a-format/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Freeform radio hands every choice to the DJ — WFMU has run on that wager since 1958. What the format is, where it came from, and why shuffle isn't it.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-26T08:52:29.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-28T23:26:43.366Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Catalog streams dominate as 100,000 tracks arrive daily</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/catalog-streams-dominate-as-100000-tracks-arrive-daily/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/catalog-streams-dominate-as-100000-tracks-arrive-daily/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Roughly 100,000 new tracks arrive daily while catalog music takes 70%+ of U.S. streams, per Luminate's year-end report — and the discovery crunch is the story.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-24T08:52:28.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:52:28.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>What loudness normalization actually does to the records you stream</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/reviews/what-loudness-normalization-actually-does-to-the-records-you-stream/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/reviews/what-loudness-normalization-actually-does-to-the-records-you-stream/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Streaming services and broadcasters now turn every track toward a common reference level — here is how that measurement works, where the targets came from, and what it changed about comparing releases.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-23T08:38:36.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:38:36.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Amelie Rousseau</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Why new albums come out on Friday everywhere</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/why-new-albums-come-out-on-friday-everywhere-2506ffe2/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/why-new-albums-come-out-on-friday-everywhere-2506ffe2/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[The record industry synchronised release day in 2015. Here is who decided it, what it replaced, and what it changed for charts and college radio.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-21T08:38:35.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-28T23:27:20.945Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How does a song get added to college radio rotation?</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/radio/how-does-a-song-get-added-to-college-radio-rotation-9b85c462/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/radio/how-does-a-song-get-added-to-college-radio-rotation-9b85c462/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[From a volunteer music director's inbox to a weekly national chart report, here's the actual mechanism behind a college radio add.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-19T08:38:34.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:38:34.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How does a song actually get added to college radio rotation?</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/how-does-a-song-actually-get-added-to-college-radio-rotation/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/how-does-a-song-actually-get-added-to-college-radio-rotation/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Behind every add is a music director's judgment call, a spin logged in software like Spinitron, and — for stations that opt in — a line in an industry chart.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-17T08:38:33.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-28T23:26:43.366Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How does a song actually get into college radio rotation?</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/how-does-a-song-actually-get-into-college-radio-rotation-54d7bb91/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/how-does-a-song-actually-get-into-college-radio-rotation-54d7bb91/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[From a submitted single to a station's weekly chart, here is the real mechanism behind airplay at noncommercial radio — and why the data trail still matters for discovery.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-15T08:38:32.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:38:32.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How a community group gets a low-power FM license</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/discovery/how-a-community-group-gets-a-low-power-fm-license/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/discovery/how-a-community-group-gets-a-low-power-fm-license/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[The FCC's low-power FM service exists for nonprofits, schools, and tribal governments, not individuals or companies — and it only takes applications during narrow, irregular filing windows.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-14T08:38:31.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:38:31.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Ismail Okafor</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How much do college and public radio stations pay to stream online?</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/how-much-do-college-and-public-radio-stations-pay-to-stream-online/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/how-much-do-college-and-public-radio-stations-pay-to-stream-online/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[A federal rate schedule, not a station's own budget, decides what noncommercial webcasters owe for every internet play — and the number starts smaller than most program directors expect.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-12T08:38:30.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-28T23:26:43.366Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>The station signal and HD upgrades quietly reshaping radio in 2026</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/radio-signal-upgrades-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/radio-signal-upgrades-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[HD Radio conversion and station signal upgrades in 2026: transmitter work and subchannels adding programming space across the FM band.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-10T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.567Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Ismail Okafor</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How a Song Actually Gets Added to College Radio Rotation</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/artists/how-a-song-actually-gets-added-to-college-radio-rotation-511c2327/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/artists/how-a-song-actually-gets-added-to-college-radio-rotation-511c2327/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Before an algorithm ever hears a track, a music director already has. Here's the human chain that puts an unknown artist on the air.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-10T08:38:29.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-08-25T08:38:29.000Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Oliver Grant</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Britney Spears&apos; catalog sale leads a new wave of music rights deals</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/artist-catalog-sales-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/artist-catalog-sales-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Artist catalog sales in 2026 opened with Britney Spears' reported $200M Primary Wave deal. What the rights gold rush means for listeners.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-05T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.594Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Why public radio membership drives carry more weight in 2026</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/public-radio-membership-drives-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/public-radio-membership-drives-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Public radio membership drive results in 2026, the first full season after federal funding ended — how listener-supported radio now pays the bills.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-08-01T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.552Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Ismail Okafor</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>The royalty board decision songwriters already live with in 2026</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/royalty-board-decision-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/royalty-board-decision-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[The Copyright Royalty Board's Phonorecords IV decision sets 2026 songwriter rates at 15.3% of streaming revenue — what it means for music income.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-07-27T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.578Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Christina Rodriguez</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>The label signings defining 2026, from legacy bands to new capital</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/label-signing-spree-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/label-signing-spree-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Notable label signings of 2026: Jamiroquai to BMG, Bebe Rexha to EMPIRE, and the deals reshaping how records reach listeners.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-07-23T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.718Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How 2026 festival lineups got smaller while tickets got pricier</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/festival-lineup-economics-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/festival-lineup-economics-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[How 2026 festival lineups reflect booking economics: seven-figure headliner fees, smaller undercards, and pricier tickets at every tier.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-07-18T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.626Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Ismail Okafor</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>The 2026 college radio conference season keeps student broadcasting loud</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/college-radio-conference-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/college-radio-conference-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[The 2026 college radio conference season: 1,100+ student broadcasters at IBS New York in February, with the fall CBI convention ahead.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-07-14T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.604Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Christina Rodriguez</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Radio ownership consolidation returns to the agenda in 2026</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/radio-ownership-consolidation-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/radio-ownership-consolidation-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Radio ownership consolidation is back: the FCC plans to drop the national broadcast ownership cap in August 2026. What it means for local radio.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-07-09T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.669Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Christina Rodriguez</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Vinyl&apos;s growth slows in 2026, but the format&apos;s cultural hold tightens</title>
    <link href="https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/vinyl-sales-trends-2026/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" />
    <id>https://aadigitalsound.com/music-news/vinyl-sales-trends-2026/</id>
    <summary><![CDATA[Vinyl sales trends in 2026 show a mature market: $954M in 2025 revenue, superstar releases, and steady demand for record shops.]]></summary>
    <published>2026-07-05T12:00:00.000Z</published>
    <updated>2026-09-01T15:12:35.667Z</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Deshawn Carter</name>
    </author>
  </entry>
</feed>