The Wave in Los Angeles Has Only Three Weekday DJs?

[radio128]

That is all fine, but the future (and sometimes even the present) belongs to young people. The point was, young people consume music very differently than previous generations and they find DJs to be fifth wheels to their listening experience. If that is the way they see it, it is only reasonable that they would question why DJs even exist at all.

What if Hot 97 decided to dump Funkmaster Flex and go jockless every night from 7 to midnight? I don't think their young listeners would be happy at all about it.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

I can't get over why more stations DON'T do what they have done. Jack has been jockless for years to virtually no detriment. It is not 1965 anymore and DJs are the the most replaceable part of any music-intensive station - including being replaced by nobody.

There are a few exceptions - stations that play a lot of new music and/or play a large variety of songs use the DJ to help "curate" the playlist and bring information to the listener that they otherwise wouldn't have. But for the vast majority of stations that refuse to move beyond their 800 song playlist, there is no need. The music consumer already has access to any information the DJ brings, and nearly all millenials I talk to (so I assume they are representative) have virtually no use for them whatsoever and wonder what they are doing on their radio in the first place. Actual phrase I heard from one of them: "If they are not on Spotify, why should they be on the radio?".

If one wants a live or recorded personality on radio then its most likely going to be on podcasts though in this decade though. Yes I admit its not the early 2000's anymore where local DJ's are on FM radio though but at the same time there is a generation such as Gen Z that primarily get their music and shows off Youtube, Twitch, Spotify, Tunein and Iheart.

 

[TheBigA]

If one wants a live or recorded personality on radio then its most likely going to be on podcasts though in this decade though.

I'm not aware of DJs making podcasts with music because of the royalty cost. Are you?

If one wants a live or recorded personality on the radio, they're still available right now with music on most FM radio stations. No one has eliminated all DJs on all broadcast stations. Even iHeart has lots of live & local personalities.

 

[Gregg.]

LA is a union town, so AFTRA minimum is $55,000 plus benefits.

The Wave has local DJs covering 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'd suggest that's just fine. Call your doctor at 3AM and tell me if he answers the phone. When I tried that, a recording directed me to 911.

No, I'm not saying we need a full time overnight live DJ. I asking how much it would cost to voice track overnights... or weekend evenings, which also look like they have no DJ.

AFTRA minimum for a 40 hour week + benefits might be $55,000. I'm sure everyone at the Wave full time gets double or triple that. But if a DJ can voice track a six hour shift in 90 min. wouldn't that be good? He'd get 90 minutes of pay. Or maybe voice track enough iHeart stations to make him full time.

 

[TheBigA]

He'd get 90 minutes of pay. Or maybe voice track enough iHeart stations to make him full time.

The Wave isn't owned by iHeart. Its owned by Entercom. Entercom doesn't have people from other markets VT their stations.

It looks like their air staff is already working their full schedule. Any more would by OT. Not worth it when there's no real ad money in ON.

 

[staggmovie]

The weekday schedule is:

Pat Prescott - 6am to Noon
Deborah Howell - Noon to 6pm
Frankie Ross - 6pm to Midnight

Weekends have Maggie McKay doing Sat. and Sun. afternoons, and Greg Mack doing Sat. mornings. The "On Air" drop down includes other names like LA veteran Mike Sakellarides, but he only does fill-ins. No regular shift. Long time midday personality Talaya Trigueros was released last year.

Also on weekends, Prescott, Howell and Ross do some voice-tracked shifts. I assume they may also be voice tracking some of their weekday work, since it is unusual for DJs to do a six hour shift these days.

The Wave's ratings are good! #4 now and always in the Top 5. Does the station really have to cut its full time air staff to only 3 people and regular weekend DJ line up to only 2? Can't the station at least voice track overnights and weekend nights? I can't get over a highly rated large market station that thinks having no DJ voice for hours at a time is fine.

Seems good as they each do 6 hours shifts apiece, where WLS FM here has some more weekend dis as that, because they at best do only a 4 hour shift, and each of these people shifts, are what is considered afternoons, and evenings, spect for mornings.

 

[Kent]

I like that "Silent Mike" thing, though. I might steal that one.

I used to say the overnight guy on an AC where I worked was "Silent Sam." I'd even interact with him before signing off for the night. "So, Sam, are you ready to go?"

"Well, you heard it right there! He's rested and ready!"

I doubt too many people noticed as it was a small market, and I probably didn't have too many people listening on Saturday night. I actually got the idea from a friend in Memphis after she told me her station was doing it.

 

[radiojames]

Entercom does have people from other markets VT their stations now.

 

[Groove1670]

Wow. I can't get over that there were many posts saying DJs are not needed. We don't need a friendly voice as part of the listening experience. If we don't need chat, weather, the Dodgers' score, some cheering up, maybe we don't need local radio stations anymore, either.

Yes, Jack's charm is that there are no DJs, just a sarcastic, wise-cracking Howard Cogan giving prerecorded comments. But that's what makes Jack unique. You couldn't have an entire radio dial of Jack-FMs.

How much does it cost to have a DJ voicetrack a six hour overnight or a four hour Sunday evening. Maybe 90 minutes? That's too expensive?

Maybe millennials don't need or want DJs, apart from a morning host like Ryan Seacrest or Elvis Duran. But The Wave skews older, to an audience that likely wants a friendly voice.

From a owners perspective, we have a morning announcer that has the role of brief breaks, and reading sponsor tags. They also upsell promotions. The longest break is a minute or less at the stopset. Our midday personality left us and we never replaced them. Our afternoon personality mirrors our morning personality with very short bits of information and station promos and sponsor tags. All is voicetacked unless we have a local guest stop by on Thursday or Friday morning. The budget for most small market stations doesn't allow for a full time on air staff.

The long winded days of the DJ are over.

 

[Marcos_C]

The music consumer already has access to any information the DJ brings, and nearly all millennials I talk to (so I assume they are representative) have virtually no use for them whatsoever and wonder what they are doing on their radio in the first place. Actual phrase I heard from one of them: "If they are not on Spotify, why should they be on the radio?"

Actually, in the United Kingdom, there is a notable exception to what you are saying. The Official Chart is a countdown show that airs live on Fridays from 4:00 to 5:45 p.m. local time on BBC Radio 1. Scott Mills, the host of the program, is literally the first person who tells the listeners what is the week's number one song in the UK. Only after the end of the program is the UK Singles Chart updated online to reflect what was just broadcast. Throughout the show, numerous listeners, most of them young adults, communicate with Scott on the phone or through social media. They often tell him which song they want to be number one, share with him their plans for the weekend, and tell him how their afternoon commutes are going.

In case anyone is curious, "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd is this week's number one song in the UK. It has been up there for four of the last five weeks, interrupted by "No Time To Die" by Billie Eilish two weeks ago.