After over eight months of researching music testing methods, Kelly Music Research has found that online hook testing can deliver results as reliable as callout and auditorium testing, and it costs about 20 percent less. Kelly says that the "Secret Sauce" in online music testing is in the sample panel and the procedure, not the apparatus used, such as a phone vs. a computer.

"Random recruiting using a variety of outreach efforts combined with strict screening criteria, unbiased surveys and verification procedures yielded excellent results in our online Digital Callout research testing," reads the report from Kelly Music Research. The company said the key findings in the study are that apparatus has no significant impact on scores; Normal Fan (aka Passive Listener) participation is essential; Respondents are biased by artist name and song titles; and digital callout is significantly more cost efficient.

"Online music surveys got a bad reputation in radio because of mistakes made by early users," says company President Tom Kelly. "In the beginning, research control procedures got ignored in favor of models designed for record industry promotion or in hope of creating a free research model. Done correctly, music testing on a computer is just as good as telephone or auditorium – and it’s a lot cheaper."

Kelly advises that stations should use traditional random telephone and cell phone outreach along with other online and offline recruiting methods in order to build the listener panel; know at least the age, gender, ethnicity, geography and music preferences of all panelists; and only invite panelists who meet your screening criteria. Furthermore, stations should test the song, not the popularity or image of the artist. Don’t offer prizes, as sweepstakes make research vulnerable to manipulation and normal fans don’t respond well to contests. And lastly, don’t use all the surveys. Scrutinize every survey and toss out all suspect cases, Kelly suggests.