I’m juggling how much discovery to allow in the 7–9 a.m. drive — last week we slotted a fresh add at:20 and bumped recurrents from 5 to 7 spins/day in GSelector, and PPM showed a 6% TSL dip. If you program mornings, where do you introduce new tracks without denting quarter-hours?
I’d park the new cut right after your 7:30 benchmark — around:35 — bracketed by two A-level recurrents and a 5–7 sec tease, not the ‘fresh add at:20’ slot that often hits a soft spot in PPM; it’s like sneaking spinach into the lasagna. Have you A/B’d:35 vs:50 and watched minute-by-minute to see which holds TSL better? Either slot tends to protect the quarter-hour cleaner than:20.
I’ve had better luck teasing at:56 (“new [artist] after the top”) and then running the add as the second song after the 8:00 rejoin — open with a power recurrent, 6–8 sec setup, then the new cut to ride the:00 cume without risking first-position tune-out… If your 7:00 is the bigger cume, mirror the move at 7:02 instead.