airplay

[air-pley]

noun

1. the act or an instance of broadcasting recorded material over radio or television.

airplay

/ ˈɛəˌpleɪ /

noun

1. (of recorded music) radio exposure

Word History and Origins

Origin of airplay¹

First recorded in 1965–70; air ¹ + play

Example Sentences

The singer has an iconoclastic streak: He once objected to the idea that one of his tracks would be suitable for pop radio—most acts covet pop airplay—and chose not to submit his music for Grammy consideration.

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Since 2017, this singer and songwriter from Shreveport, La., has put 10 singles on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart — five of which have gone to No. 1 and none of which has peaked lower than No. 7.

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Though they were getting airplay, the band’s album, which they recorded in 1981, didn’t see daylight because the ill-fated Rock-A-Mod Records, which they recorded the album for, folded before it could be released.

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Still, she mentions Australian actor Craig McLachlan showing up to her dressing room wearing nothing but a “dance belt” to play guitar for her and a suggestion from her label that if she wanted her record to get airplay, she had to go to dinner with a radio program director, “this man old enough to be one of my school teachers.”

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The possessive love song “Tu Tu Tu,” which features vocalist Edgardo Nuñez, reached the top of the Regional Mexican Airplay chart just this week — marking a first for the band from Salinas, Calif. Clave Especial is set to kick off their first U.S. headlining tour this fall.

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