The October Beatslab Jukebox Cycle Is In
The October cycle is published. The Jukebox is only two cycles old, and the second one was a different animal entirely.
September’s pool was small enough that every strong entry could land somewhere. October came in several times bigger, the quality jumped with the volume, and for the first time I had to cut tracks I genuinely wanted to feature. I listened to every song in full, same as always. Five slots is the rule, and the rule is what makes a feature worth something.
Here’s who made the cut.
Rock My Inspiration, Cliff Haines. Featured, no playlist placement this cycle.
Wave Collapse: The Battle of Evolution, Ryders of the Sun. Featured, not yet on Spotify.
Incentive, Genspin. Featured, not yet on Spotify.
The First Shrink, Doctah Rippah. Featured, not yet on Spotify.
The God I Invented, Cody Gillis. On Red Line: Hard Rock Anthems.
Each one has a full write-up, what I heard, what earned the spot, linked above.
What separated them wasn’t polish. Plenty of polished tracks went home. The five above were the entries with a point of view: writing that risked something, arrangements that made decisions, and a finished sound that holds up next to anything on a commercial playlist.
Beyond the features, October put twenty-four songs onto the Jukebox playlists.
September placed four. Country showed up in force, six adds to Cold Ones alone, and five of the seven playlists took on new tracks this week. Every song below is live on its playlist right now, sitting at the top of the lineup, and each placement holds for at least four weeks.
Cold Ones: Modern Country [link playlist names to jgbeatslab.com/playlists]
He Wasn’t Finished With Me, Justin Lee Sabo
Blacksheep, Dalton Crowe
Time and Tide, The Red Dirt North Band
Pulling Roses, Hypnaverse
No Man’s Land, Renee Revoir
Fat Georgia Raindrops, Studio Chief
Slow Lane: Soft Rock and Adult Contemporary
Sunset on the Moon, Cliff Haines
Koala Suite: The Oath, Koala Hit Squad
Come On In Anyway, Tom Badalament
Silky Smooth Copper, Matt Nowak
The End, Falling Up
The Barbecue of Your Love, david happier
When You Close Your Eyes, Jennifer Flagg
For Encouragement, Dlennon
Front Pew: Gospel and Worship
He Wasn’t Finished With Me, Justin Lee Sabo
I found the Light in Jesus, Broken Bread Worship
I am John (Follow Him), Broken Bread Worship
Mary, Young Mary, Broken Bread Worship
Faith Enough to Move, Dlennon
Second Chorus: Sing-Along Pop
Cocaine Love, KM Rogers
Extra Sprinkles, Unico Klang
I’m Just a Puddle, Mitch Bensel
RUNNING, Brent Allen Sprague
Digital Overload, Songspressions
Red Line: Hard Rock Anthems
The God I Invented, Cody Gillis
One thing decided more outcomes than any other single factor: unreleased songs. The playlists live on Spotify, so a playlist add needs a Spotify release to point to. Many songs this cycle were strong enough to place and missed only because they exist as a file or a generation link instead of a release. If that’s you, finish the release. The song already did its job.
The November cycle is open now at Beatslab Jukebox. Closes the 2nd Friday of next month, features publish the 3rd Friday, and every song gets a full listen. Payment never influences selection.
Josh, Founder, JG BeatsLab
