CMJ (College Music Journal) is the company that college stations report their playlists to, similar to what a bigger, commercial station does with Billboard.
Well, according to this article, it seems that CMJ has some pretty shoddy systems, replacing lesser known artists on their charts with a compilation that CMJ puts out itself, Certain Damage.
Obviously there’d been some mistake; CMJ had somehow replaced a local disc with something that might be mistaken for a mid-’80s hardcore compilation. But Hetzner recognized the interloper immediately, and he was pissed. Certain Damage is a commercial sampler that bands and their labels pay CMJ up to $3,000 to be on. To the majority of college music programmers, the comp is a throwaway. “They are pretty much worthless compilations,” Hetzner says. “CMJ doesn’t go, ‘Oh, I love this record, let’s arrange to put their tunes on our compilation!’ No, it’s record companies approaching and paying to put their songs on the compilations. As long as you have money, you can get your shit on CMJ.” Having the record on KALX’s published playlist was not only incorrect, it was embarrassing. (full story)
That would be like if they didnt have the accurate data for the new Eminem record that was hitting #1, they’d replace the chart with “Billboard’s Greatest Hits Volume Six.”
Side note: Back in 1998 I interviewed for a job at CMJ. They never called me back, even though I sent a thank you card.