Airplay

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The wireless transmission of multimedia content to devices is managed through a network connection
2. The transmission of songs, shows, or sound recordings over radio or television channels for public listening or viewing
3. The distribution of music or video content through radio stations or TV networks reaching a wide audience

Etymology: "Airplay" is a plain compound: "air" joined to "play," with the sense that a recording is played on the airwaves. The first element is the familiar "air," meaning the open sky or, in the radio sense, the broadcast medium that carries sound, while "play" carries its old meaning of performing or sounding a recording. Put together, the word describes a song being sent out over radio or television rather than something happening in a room or on a stage. The pairing reflects how broadcasting reshaped the language of music. Once listeners could hear a recording on a radio set, the question of whether a song had been heard by the public became a matter of whether it had been transmitted, and the compound gave that idea a compact label. Its use as a measure of popularity, counting how often a track is broadcast, followed naturally from that sense.

Synonyms: broadcasting, transmission, airing