Why Top 40 Radio Plays Fewer Songs, and Plays Them More Often

Because improved monitoring of consumers’ radio habits shows that listeners pay attention only when they hear songs they know, Top 40 radio stations, facing intense digital competition, play a lot fewer songs now—and play them with greater frequency—than in the past, says the Wall Street Journal. In 2013, the top 10 songs were played nearly twice as much as the top 10 a decade ago. The most-played song last year, “Blurred Lines,” by Robin Thicke, aired 749,633 times; 2003’s top song, “When I’m Gone,” by 3 Doors Down, was played 442,160 times that year, the Journal says.