Music News

Freeform radio, explained: the format without a format

No playlists, no genre lanes, one long-standing Jersey City example — and a philosophy that predates every streaming shuffle.

Catalog streams dominate as 100,000 tracks arrive daily

Luminate's year-end data shows old music out-streaming new by a widening margin — and the discovery crunch is the story for listeners.

Why new albums come out on Friday everywhere

How does a song actually get added to college radio rotation?

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.

How does a song actually get into college radio rotation?

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.

How much do college and public radio stations pay to stream online?

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.

The station signal and HD upgrades quietly reshaping radio in 2026

A tour of the transmitter work rolling out across US radio in 2026 — why stations still invest in towers when the audience carries phones.

Britney Spears' catalog sale leads a new wave of music rights deals

The artist catalog sales making news in 2026 kicked off with a reported $200 million Spears deal — and the market's appetite is far from satisfied.

Why public radio membership drives carry more weight in 2026

With federal funding gone, the 2026 pledge season became the clearest test of whether listener-supported radio can stand on its listeners alone.

The royalty board decision songwriters already live with in 2026

The Copyright Royalty Board's Phonorecords IV settlement is not a looming cliff — it is the schedule quietly raising songwriter rates through 2027.