What is a “hit music station” and what criteria does it need to meet to be the “number one hit music station”?
I got to thinking about this very question the other day when I read about the Manchester jingles branding fail on Radio Today.
Manchester’s Number One Hit Music Station
Manchester now has two hit music stations and they both claim to be number one! The Manchester rebrand of Galaxy appears to be part of a wider rebrand for the Galaxy network. Galaxy stations across the nation from South Coast to Yorkshire are dropping “Love Music” in favour of “Hit Music Station”.
What is a Hit Music Station
The strapline “Number One Hit Music Station” is a clever one as you don’t have to be the top station in the market just number one for hit music. It makes the station sound big and the term hit music can apply to a variety of music genres. Capital FM London have branded themselves as the “Number One Hit Music Station” for many years even though it’s taken a beating over recent years from Heart, Magic and Kiss.
Who is the Number One Hit Music Station then?
These are the top 10 in the UK and worldwide according to Google.
| Number | google.com | google.co.uk |
| 1 | 102.7 KIIS FM, Los Angeles | 95.8 Capital FM, London |
| 2 | 93Q, Syracuse | Leicester Sound, Leicester |
| 3 | Z100, New York | Ram FM, Derby |
| 4 | 95.8 Capital FM, London | Mercury FM, Crawley |
| 5 | 98PXY, Rochester | Trent FM, Nottingham |
| 6 | 97.4 Highveld, Johannesberg | Ten-17 FM, Harlow |
| 7 | KFM, Cape Town | Cool FM, Belfast |
| 8 | Leicester Sound, Leicester | Off The Chart Radio, Internet Only |
| 9 | Fox FM, Melbourne | Key 103, Manchester |
| 10 | Ram FM, Derby | 96.4FM BRMB, Birmingham |
Well done to Off The Chart Radio as it’s the only internet radio station to make it into the top 10!
Tags: 93q syracuse, 98pxy rochester, brmb, capital fm london, chart radio, cool fm, fox fm, galaxy network, google, heart, internet radio station, key 103 manchester, kfm cape town, leicester sound, magic, mercury fm, music genres, trent fm, z100 new york
