There have been many "lost" songs throughout the years and mainly because they do not test well. However, there are also many songs I bet do not get tested at all anymore. For example, I was in a mall when I heard "Candle (Sick and Tired) by White Tie Affair" and it got me thinking about songs that I do not think get tested at all anymore, maybe because large sections of the audience have forgotten about them. Are there only a certain number of songs which make it to the "cutting board" to even be tested?
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Songs not looked at for testing anymore?
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
Station will retest songs that were "borderline" in the past. But if a song tests weakly one time, and even worse a second time and there is no new situation (being a movie theme or included in a video game or the like) we don't test it again. There is no likelihood that a song will be like wine and improve with age. Generally, such songs become radio vinegar.
Do songs improve with "nostalgia" though? Generally a mini revival tends to happen some time after the decade has ended and whats old is new again. Sometimes one is sick of a song and ready to hear it again after time has passed. For example, I heard wannabe by spice girls didnt test well for a while and do now.
Essentially, never. Songs that become "nostalgia" are likely by then outside the target age range of the station.
Very very rare. And stations go by the concept that what you don't play does not hurt you.
A music test of around 500 songs can cost up to $20,000. Stations just can't play "what if" for songs where 99.9% will test badly just to find one playable song that likely will burn again in just a few months.
I wonder how well Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" tested, or if it was even tested at all, before Stranger Things led to its huge comeback. Before then, I hardly heard it on terrestrial radio at all. It was too obscure for Classic Hits, too old for Alternative, and too weird for Classic Rock.
Recent viral TikTok trends have revived some old songs from the 1960s, like the Shangri-La's "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" and Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)", but not enough to influence radio airplay.
Recent viral TikTok trends have revived some old songs from the 1960s, like the Shangri-La's "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" and Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)", but not enough to influence radio airplay.
And that is why I mentioned that radio watches anything from a song appearing in a hit movie to being in a new hit game to, as you mention, a social media usage.
And these things will also show up in streaming charts.
There's a "request a thon" every year in kansas city on steel city stations (mix 93.3, 102.1)where a listener can donate money and hear any song thats ok'd by the staff. You hear all kinds of stuff you normally wouldnt!
That song doesn't ring a bell to me at all. Maybe if I heard it, I'd know it, but I don't know it by name. At least for classic hits, familiarity is important. Part of the idea behind playing older music is that the target audience knows every song you play. Relatively obscure or regional hit songs don't pass that test.
All but a couple of the most popular Fleetwood Mac songs today were relative stiffs in their time. So, the simple answer to your question is yes. I don't know, however, if it was a matter of people not liking those Fleetwood Mac songs when they were new so much as it was a general lack of exposure at the time. Fleetwood Mac tended to be released by the album rather than by the single, which prevented it from getting the airplay on hit music stations it might otherwise have gotten.
Grand Funk Railroad is an example of a group that was hated by critics but developed a loyal following. In the 1970’s, it was the only group to ever outsell The Beatles at Madison Square Garden, and that record held at least 10 years. Over time, critics became less harsh on the group, and it remains popular with rock fans all over the country, including some who probably were unfamiliar with the band when it was new. You don’t hear Grand Funk too often on classic hits, but you can still hear the group all over classic rock.
I wonder this too. Kate Bush was never played on classic hits radio. One TV show uses the song, and now it's back in the top 40 and a top song on Spotify. Gen Z loves Kate Bush now. I think that classic hits and classic rock radio should consider branching out in terms of variety if they want to find younger listeners. They were left in the dust when "Running Up That Hill" became a hit earlier this year. Gen Z obviously wants to discover new music. (and they're buying it on vinyl!)
Well, they like one song. I haven't seen evidence that they're digging into her catalogue.
These threads seem to be started on effectively the same topic day after day.
And by the same usual suspects intent on proving years of research and results wrong by finding an exception that, somehow, invalidates any programming methodology supported by those outcomes.
Indeed, the exception (or what someone thinks may be an exception, having no actual access to P&L statements) does not disprove the data.
Although programming is not my specialty- I think that if the operating budget permits it, a station would remain vigilant and test every song that could help them reach their desired audience, as often as they deem necessary. Even Bing Crosby's White Christmas.
One exception could be when time is of the essence and a programmer goes with their instinct, such as the passing of a major music recording artist. I think the best programmers know what to do when a major event happens.
This morning I'd expect adult Urban and R&B stations in Philadelphia are remembering Thom Bell.
One exception could be when time is of the essence and a programmer goes with their instinct, such as the passing of a major music recording artist. I think the best programmers know what to do when a major event happens.
This morning I'd expect adult Urban and R&B stations in Philadelphia are remembering Thom Bell.
A producer? And arguably the third most familiar in the Philadelphia soul valhalla behind Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff? Not a prayer of tribute from stations that have moved on from a 50-year-old sound is my guess.
Agree. The “tribute” mentality sometimes seems a bit much for what a comercial station would actually do.
You never know. WDAS does the "Quiet Storm" and they played a lot of old Gamble & Huff last night.
I don't mean special programming; I mean a mention. If you were programming an adult R&B or Urban station in Philadelphia and had someone on live now, Saturday mid-day, would you approve if they mentioned the passing of Thom Bell, his contribution to the Philly sound, followed by playing one song from Bell's list of notable songs? Is there a song on the Wikipedia page list that would work?
en.wikipedia.org
Perhaps it is the threshold. I acknowledge a producer may not qualify for mention. I presume Stevie Wonder would qualify.
Thom Bell - Wikipedia
Perhaps it is the threshold. I acknowledge a producer may not qualify for mention. I presume Stevie Wonder would qualify.
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