Music Selection

A question that burned in my mind when I began working at KXCI was: How exactly do they decide what gets played and what does not? The station has a fairly well-ordered system for receiving, organizing, and reviewing CDs.

First, CDs are mailed to KXCI by any labels that wish to have those artists played on air. Generally these labels send the CDs to many, many stations with KXCI being one of them. The CDs are received and organized. This process of organization, known as “marking” the CDs, is something I did quite a bit. Essentially, the CDs have the first three letters of their name put on a label and a review sheet placed inside. This allows the CDs to be reviewed, and makes it easier to place them on a bookshelf to be organized. Finally, CDs are also given colored stickers to show the genre of the CD, and any other important information such as: New releases, or CDs that are soundtracks.

Next, the CDs are picked up by volunteers. The volunteers take the CD home and listen to all the tracks. They then give a numerical review to the CD, mark any tracks that have FCC regulated words ( which is INCREDIBLY important, refer to my second post. ) and mark which tracks they think are the best. CDs with a high rating are then placed into circulation, and can be played by DJs on the air.

This system also reflects the importance of volunteer support. I can speak from first-hand experience: of all the CDs I mark I will only ever review at most two. This is because the station receives an incredible amount of new music, so volunteers picking up CDs is very important. Also, volunteers and the members of KXCI have complete control over what gets played on the air, so it is important to not pick CDs with genres one naturally dislikes. It is an interesting system that helps keep the music of the station fresh and emphasizes the importance of the contribution of members.