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Unlike the Billboard Hot 100, songs don’t go straight to No. 1 on the radio. It literally takes months for even the most successful songs to rise up the radio charts. What labels want to see is a consistent increase each week, which is exactly what’s happening with #BTS_Dynamite 
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Dynamite is quickly climbing, getting around 30-60 spins per week on many stations. To go top 10, Dynamite will need to get around 70-80 spins per week per station. For No. 1, it will need to go into power rotation, which typically means at least 110 spins per week per station.
For this to happen, stations need to get positive feedback about the song from listeners, which may include ARMY but will also include the general public. Getting this feedback is called radio research. It’s when stations ask people whether or not they like the song.
While there are nationwide research services like Rate The Music, the most valuable results come from people who are actually listening to their local station, because that’s who the station wants to serve.
Some stations offer online panels than you can sign up for. But the most important radio research is where stations solicit and screen participants to make sure they're polling actual listeners within their target demographics.
Radio stations also look at other factors, such as streaming, sales, and requests from listeners, when deciding how many spins a song gets per week.
#BTS_Dynamite is in an excellent position right now. It’s rising up the charts fast and is the highest-charting new song at Top 40. Every song above it has been on the chart for at least 7 weeks, and most have been there much longer.
is in an excellent position right now. It’s rising up the charts fast and is the highest-charting new song at Top 40. Every song above it has been on the chart for at least 7 weeks, and most have been there much longer.
It takes around 4 weeks into the chart run for the results of this research to start coming back (Dynamite's at the end of week 3). Then stations will have a better idea of what listeners think. If positive, the song will keep rising. If not, the song won’t get much higher.
A song’s radio performance factors into the Billboard Hot 100. These numbers come from Nielsen Music/MRC Data, not Mediabase. But because Nielsen and Mediabase monitor most of the same stations, Mediabase is still a great way to gauge performance for Billboard.
I want to say a big thank you to @RossOnRadio, with whom I consulted while creating this thread. Thanks for helping us understand the radio a little better, Sean!
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