surfdude said:
They're screened by whether they listen to your format: Oldies, CHR, Country, etc...
They MUST listen to your format, at least sometimes, to be included. Usually half of them choose your station first. I've attended many of the tests, the 100 people in the ballroom of a hotel seem to really enjoy it. You see them singing along and tapping they're feet. The Oldies tests I've sat in on seem to include every socio-economic group.
They hear only about 8 seconds of each song, the hook, the most recognizable part of the song.
The reason for 8 seconds is that's about how long they would give the song before they would either change the station or decide to leave it on if they were in their car. They score it on a 1 to 5 scale and on whether the recognize it. Most Oldies listeners would tune out a song they don't recogonize because that's not why they came to your station. We know this because we ask them in one on one sessions. They want the familiarity and comfort of a song they know, and like.
That's why deeper cuts and less familiar songs don't get played. I do believe you can do specialty programming on the weekend that allows you to go deeper, as long as you clearly let your listeners know that
are are doing something special. My station is doing a Novelty Hits Weekend. Two or three per hour.
Songs we don't normally play.
Good perspective, and your comments should show the dreamers out there that we actually find out from listeners what they want to hear.
I should have mentioned that there are two ways of doing the logistics of testing. One is what you describe, a score sheet where each song is scored just like a school test. The forms are scanned and tabulated. The other method is based on a dial like the ones CNN and Fox used to score the debates and primary speeches. There, the results can be seen instantly and usually delivered to the station the next morning.
Either way, they hear 8 seconds and score. I've done some tests, and anything over 10 seconds is too long, and makes the participant tire quickly. 8 seconds makes the test move quickly and is enjoyable, as you say. It IS common for participants to sing with the best songs, and big cool currents get "woo!" sounds, especially with CHR or hip hop audiences.
I have done paralell on air tests, too. In Buenos Aires, we did a form with 1100 songs on a page in a newspaper that circulated about 1.2 million copies (the market is bigger than NY) and got 40 thousand back. A random sample of them was nearly parallel with the "real" music test, which, there, we did one on one in home with a moderator, and not in hotel meeting rooms which was not a culturally accoustomed thing to do.
Listeners love to be part of a test, as many people do not have their opinion taken into account very often. A music test allows them to count and to be part of putting the best music on the air.
I agree that many songs can be played in specialty shows that are not right for regular play. Just as we sell new songs, specialty shows "justify" playing what are ordinarily stiffs. In such a context, I might even put up with "Honey" one more time. ;D
