1964 - An Introduction

Hi all,

Jumpin' JK Homan here once again, right at the beginning of what will be my sixth year here on Mixcloud. Thank you all for your kind words over the weekend regarding my fifth anniversary, hard to believe it's been this long already. Hope you all enjoyed the review of the year show, those are typically my favourite shows to do each year so I hope that enthusiasm came through in the final result.

Soon we will be starting 1964, a year of immense change in the American charts. It's safe to say that the world we have known for the last five years is about to be completely uprooted, and in its place a new youth-centred pop culture is about to be born. It is one of the most important years in pop history, and I cannot wait to guide you all through it.

However, before we begin the year, I do have something to address regarding a problem that could affect the show over the next five months. I have been very much looking forward to this era ever since I began the show five years ago, however I was also dreading approaching this year for one reason, and it's a reason I have no choice but to confront now.

I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that the first half of 1964 is going to be like nothing we have experienced up until now. Four young men from Liverpool are about to completely upend the music world in ways that not even peak Elvis could manage. The chart achievements of The Beatles in the first half of 1964 is the stuff of legend - holding down the Top 5, landing 14 different songs on the Hot 100 at the same time. It's like nothing else in chart history, it stands alone. And yet, the limitations of the platform I use may hinder my ability to bring these astonishing achievements to you.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, Mixcloud has limits in terms of how many songs can be featured in each show from one particular artist. You are allowed no more than four songs from one artist, and no more than three songs from the same album or release. While I find these rules very frustrating, and have found my creativity compromised by it in recent months on the show (I had to edit two songs out of a Dinah Washington tribute on the 21st of December show, and we all remember the James Brown debacle...), I understand why they are there and accept it. There's nowhere else on the internet that would allow me to do the show I do in the same way, and I'm forever grateful to Mixcloud for giving me a space to do it at all.

Unfortunately though, this does present me with a massive problem going forward. This is an extraordinary and unusual period in chart history which operates well beyond the established norms. Not only will The Beatles be making way more than five appearances on the chart for most weeks, they will also be played elsewhere on the show on chart recaps, album chart sections, etc. How on earth can I possibly do the show like normal while also adhering to Mixcloud's limits? The short answer is I can't. Mixcloud's censors have gotten smarter since I started, and any tricks or ways around the limits that I may have found in the past simply don't work anymore. Paying creators are allowed to put up to 8 songs from one artist in subscriber-only shows, however I do not wish to put any of my creations behind a paywall. I want everyone to have the exact same experience of the show regardless of their finances.

Therefore, the only conclusion I have come up with which both retains the integrity of the show while also remaining within Mixcloud's limits is to split each episode into parts. This is definitely less convenient for those listening on the website - I myself get frustrated when having to switch between parts 1 and 2 and 3 on other people's uploads - however it's the only solution to this problem that I can envisage. This way, I can still do the show as I normally would, putting as many Beatles songs into each episode as I wish, while hopefully doing the least I can to get the show barred for international or non-paying listeners.

This is not a permanent change. This will only occur for episodes which need it, which will likely be each show from around mid-February through until around May or so, at which point the onslaught of Beatles records subsides and the chart is back to something resembling normality. I'm expecting about 13 shows to be affected, although this number could rise depending. It's unfortunate that I have to do this, as I would love nothing more than for everything to be available in its usual neat form, but unfortunately the limitations of this platform make that impossible. Hopefully this won't be an insurmountable challenge however, and hopefully it will not affect your enjoyment of the show.

That's all I have to say for now. It's an unfortunate hurdle to have to navigate around, but I want to do this legendary period in chart history justice and this method is the closest way I have found of achieving that. We'll deal with disruptions as they come, for now that's the plan and let's hope it works!

I'll hope to have the first show of 1964 out by this time next week. Until then, thank you once again for all the kind words and encouragement. I hope I can do this upcoming year justice, and I welcome you all along for the ride.

Talk again soon!
Much love,
Jumpin' JK Homan