Love is On the Air... and On the Rocks

Love is On the Air... and On the Rocks

Top Radio Airplay Monitoring Service Tracks Most-Played Love Songs for Valentine's Day

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- While the thought of Valentine's Day conjures images of romance and dark chocolate, it isn't all wine and roses on the radio.

Some of February's most popular love songs -- as tracked by Mediaguide, the leading provider of digital fingerprinting for music airplay monitoring -- manage to validate the feelings of those struck by Cupid's arrow as well as those wallowing in the sorrow of a broken heart.

Leading the category of songs that reference "love" in their titles, country crooner Faith Hill's new "Like We Never Loved at All," a collaboration with her country star husband Tim McGraw, takes the top spot with 12,187 plays since February 1, 2006. Newcomer Keyisha Cole has also made her mark with the soulful and sorrowful "Love," taken from her debut album, "The Way It Is," which garnered 6,542 plays.

In addition to the hits of the moment, familiar love songs like Barry White's "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" (2,066 plays) and Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" (2,084 plays) continue to strike a chord with contemporary listeners during this time of year. For some, '80s favorites like Steve Winwood's "Bring Me A Higher Love" (1,628 plays) and Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" (1,666 plays) are bringing back memories of high school loves won and lost.

"Mediaguide's proprietary audio fingerprinting technology and unparalleled reach across radio keeps us close to the heartbeat of the airwaves," said Steve Lubin, CEO of Mediaguide. "This Valentine's Day, there are plenty of songs for members of the lonely hearts club as well as those lucky enough to be smitten by true love."

Mediaguide was launched in 2002 to monitor radio broadcast music in real-time and facilitate the accurate distribution of royalty payments to music composers and publishers. Its proprietary technology and network of 2,500 radio stations currently tracks more stations and total airplay than any other monitoring service in the U.S.

Cuddly Classics... Or Not

Tracking the quintessential keyword of the holiday, "Valentine" songs are making a strong play on the airwaves. The ballad "Valentine", written by Jim Brickman, racked up 746 spins in the last two weeks.

On the other hand, songs on loss and heartbreak resonate strongly with those who have suffered at the hand of love, as evident from the current popularity of tracks like Bee Gees' classic "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," (476 plays) and the well-known "Breakup Song" from the Greg Kihn Band (816 times). "Break Up to Make Up," a reflection on the love-hate nature of relationships released by the Stylistics in 1973, has also been played 243 times over the airwaves in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.

Reporters who would like more information on the data above or a local customized Mediaguide report on Valentine's Day song airplay can contact Kathleen Reynolds (CooperKatz for Mediaguide) at 212-455-8062 or kreynolds@cooperkatz.com.

About Mediaguide

Mediaguide's proprietary digital fingerprinting technology monitors over 2,500 radio stations across the United States 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -- that's more than the combined number of stations monitored by its closest competitors.

It is the first and only company to electronically monitor college, non-commercial and commercial radio stations. That combination gives Mediaguide the unique ability to provide airplay information that had been available only to and about commercial mainstream artists to include self-released and independent artists, and those who want to discover and support them.

The Mediaguide Monitor(TM) platform provides music industry professionals, artists, songwriters and radio station directors with online, real-time access to the most comprehensive and cost effective radio airplay information available. Learn more about Mediaguide at http://www.mediaguide.com/.

Source: Mediaguide

CONTACT: Kathleen Reynolds, CooperKatz & Co. for Mediaguide,
+1-212-455-8062, kreynolds@cooperkatz.com

Web site: http://www.mediaguide.com/

-------
Profile: intent