Does the U.S. "play it safe" with music more than other countries.

[Harvey_Dogg]

I don't know for sure if Canada is really more adventurous than any other country that broadcasts music on radio though. However on the streaming side Youtube, Spotify, Tunein, Iheart, Live365, Accuradio, 8tracks for some years we seen KPOP songs get mentioned as most streamed songs on their platform or EDM or Pop Music from Latin America in other years.

Some have went on to have a Billion views at least according to the labels Youtube page.

Yes, many of those under forty have left radio and get their music off Youtube and other online sources.

How many kids do you see with a Walkman or boombox today?

 

[Theater of My Mind]

In the case of both Australia and Canada, keep in mind that not always are the songs and artists that are hits here also hits in other countries. Look at Cliff Richard who had many huge songs in England, but is pretty much unknown here.

I think Abba got a lot more radio play in Canada than in the U.S. You'll also hear multiple songs from the Scottish 70s rock band Nazareth on every Classic Hits and Classic Rock station there. They were, are still are a lot bigger in Canada than in the U.S.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Actually, I heard Chicago's WLIT-FM (93.9 Lite FM) play Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" shortly before the station flipped to Christmas music yesterday afternoon.

America's Best Music plays it (or has). Even the local affiliate which was mostly oldies did.

 

[victorres43]

NPR here doesn't do mainstream pop and AC like Radio 2 and Radio 1, or classic rock and pop like Radio Caroline. The only reason those stations come across as different and daring to American ears is that they play songs that were popular in the UK but not so much (or at all) in the US. Playlist size is pretty much the same.

The songs that BBC Radio 2 play are not always big hits in Blighty. As of this writing, Radio 2 recently played Kokomo and Get on Your Feet, which weren't Top 20 hits in the UK.

But, imagine a station playing Creedence Clearwater Revival next to Rick Astley, or the Four Tops next to Sia. And the station is the most listened to music station in the country. Maybe even most listened to overall.

 

[victorres43]

America's Best Music plays it (or has). Even the local affiliate which was mostly oldies did.

I thought America's Best Music went too far playing 80s and 90s pop hits, especially if they are the big band / easy listening station. Now they are playing a song from 2007, which isn't even considered "standards"?

 

[vchimpanzee]

I thought America's Best Music went too far playing 80s and 90s pop hits, especially if they are the big band / easy listening station. Now they are playing a song from 2007, which isn't even considered "standards"?

Yes. That's very strange. It's been in the playlist for years.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Sara Bareilles's "Love Song" and "Brave" were both big hits on AC and Hot AC stations in the US, and I still hear them on the radio from time to time. But she hasn't had any hits anywhere in the world since then, not just here. And Ingrid Michaelson has had several AC hits in the U.S. since 2018, but they've all been Christmas songs, so that seems to be the niche she's found.

Oh, since 2018. That's different.

I heard a song I liked which turned out to be by her. It was called "Girls Chase Boys". I don't know how I found out what it was and it's unusual that I would like one like that.

The DJ thought it was someone else. It was at the beach when I was going back and forth between stations just to see what everyone was doing. The station in this case was Hot AC, formerly Mainstream AC. I think a co-owned station had changed to soft AC, which was the reason for the change.

 

[kevtronics]

I thought America's Best Music went too far playing 80s and 90s pop hits, especially if they are the big band / easy listening station. Now they are playing a song from 2007, which isn't even considered "standards"?

IIRC they've also played one of John Legend's piano ballads. If they don't gradually update the playlist, sooner or later it will be "Music By Dead People, for People Who Are Nearly Dead".

 

[davideduardo]

I never hear artists like Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson do not get played in the u.s. apparently they don't test well.

Stations can't test a song unless it gets significant airplay. It may be the label did not prioritized those artists in the US.

I made a thread about that kind of soft rock. Apparently it's too downtempo, yet a lot of the music that gets played overseas is too uptempo. It basically leaves us with kind of a bland "rhythmic-esque" music which is horribly boring. Both the soft rock tracks and the "true" rhythmic tracks are ones that are actually interesting to me.

There are lots of reasons why a release in another country either does not get released in the US, does not get promoted or does not get played. You are overthinking it based on style.

 

[vchimpanzee]

IIRC they've also played one of John Legend's piano ballads. If they don't gradually update the playlist, sooner or later it will be "Music By Dead People, for People Who Are Nearly Dead".

I wish I knew how to find the post but someone predicted the format would be gone by now.

I hate to imagine what you'd think of a station that still plays Bob Hope's duet with a woman "Thanks for the Memories". How the same station can play "Imaginary Lover" by ARS is a mystery to me.

 

[davideduardo]

8tracks for some years we seen KPOP songs get mentioned as most streamed songs on their platform or EDM or Pop Music from Latin America in other years.

The Luis Fonsi / Daddy Yankee tune referenced in this thread is a U.S. release, not from Latin America. U.S. U.S. Artists on a U.S. label.

Some have went on to have a Billion views at least according to the labels Youtube page.

Despacito has 8 million views just on Youtube.

 

[DOB]

It does amaze me that the same exact beat has been used for over 20 years, the stations play 20 songs in a row with the same beat, and that songs with that same beat can be released and get over a billion views even today.
I admit, when Daddy Yankee first came out I loved the sound, but it's a beat that's been burnt to a crisp for me since around 2004.
What's funny is when a hot artist in the genre tries to switch up the sound a bit and it's a major failure. Then it's back to that same beat again and thus the top of the chart.
Yeah, there's a big difference between similar sounding beats and the same exact beat used ad nauseum.

 

[TheBigA]

How many kids do you see with a Walkman or boombox today?

I wouldn't use that as an indication of anything. Sony stopped making Walkmen in 2010, and boomboxes are only available in vintage shops. Young people listen to the radio online and in their cars.

 

[Kent]

I was streaming a Hot AC in Canada (97.3 The Wave) and was surprised by the amount of differing types of music. It seems like there's a lot of EDM still and a lot of new music that seems more "adventurous." Another station from Australia was an AC which didn't quite stick to the "formula" and played more forgotten hits. Are the listeners of other countries more open minded, since a lot of it comes down to audience testing?

“Adventurous” is a relative term. If the stations in Canada or Australia are playing what their listeners want to hear, they’re not being adventurous. I would also argue they’re not being adventurous if they’re playing songs because they’re mandated by the government, though, when it comes to CanCon and most other such mandates, the stations play songs their listeners like that stick to that formula.

Americans have, and always have had, a reputation for being closed-minded pretty much around the world. We may or may not live that down, but I'm not sure the music offerings reflect that. After all, in any given US city, you’ll find a more diverse radio dial than you would in most Canadian cities of the same size.

 

[victorres43]

“Adventurous” is a relative term. If the stations in Canada or Australia are playing what their listeners want to hear, they’re not being adventurous. I would also argue they’re not being adventurous if they’re playing songs because they’re mandated by the government, though, when it comes to CanCon and most other such mandates, the stations play songs their listeners like that stick to that formula.

Americans have, and always have had, a reputation for being closed-minded pretty much around the world. We may or may not live that down, but I'm not sure the music offerings reflect that. After all, in any given US city, you’ll find a more diverse radio dial than you would in most Canadian cities of the same size.

In theory, Cancon would help Canadian artists of all stripes break through. After all, many Canadian artists broke through in the US thanks to exposure through stations like CKLW in the 70s. However, many Canadian AOR stations would fill the Cancon requirements with more Nickelback and the like.

And the rhythmic sound of CHUM isn't necessarily a template for the Move stations in Canada, as Toronto demographics differ from the rest of the country. But as rhythmic friendly as CHUM is, Boom FM is pop rock leaning as most of the other classic hits stations in North America. Compare Boom to the UK's Greatest Hits Radio, which is less classic rock obsessed compared to North American classic hits stations.

As for dial offerings, the Golden Horseshoe does have a crowded FM band, since you not only get stations from Toronto, but you also have some from Hamilton, Niagara, and Buffalo. The US has the edge on hip-hop and R&B radio, whereas Canada has the edge on strong coverage of public radio, plus ethnic talk catering to Asian, African, and Middle Eastern communities.

 

[tall_guy1]

Stations can't test a song unless it gets significant airplay. It may be the label did not prioritized those artists in the US.

There are lots of reasons why a release in another country either does not get released in the US, does not get promoted or does not get played. You are overthinking it based on style.

They got played in small increments about a decade ago.

 

[davideduardo]

They got played in small increments about a decade ago

And obviously did not have staying power or a U.S. career prospect. At some times, the label decides when to fold 'em on an artist that does not look like they will be "big" and where all keeping them means is more expense.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

In theory, Cancon would help Canadian artists of all stripes break through. After all, many Canadian artists broke through in the US thanks to exposure through stations like CKLW in the 70s.

CKLW's peak influence was prior to the implementation of the CanCon rules in 1971. The ratings dropped off once it was forced to play 30% Canadian music. Some Canadian artists still benefitted from CKLW's exposure but CanCon really marked the beginning of the Big 8's decline, which also dovetailed with the rise of FM top-40 music stations in the United States.

 

[Kelly A]

CKLW's peak influence was prior to the implementation of the CanCon rules in 1971. The ratings dropped off once it was forced to play 30% Canadian music. Some Canadian artists still benefitted from CKLW's exposure but CanCon really marked the beginning of the Big 8's decline, which also dovetailed with the rise of FM top-40 music stations in the United States.

I wouldn't tie the two timelines together. Nobody in Los Angeles or NYC was paying attention to what Canadian radio was playing back in the day, nor did Canadian radio have/had much of an influence on U.S. stations.

 

[davideduardo]

I wouldn't tie the two timelines together. Nobody in Los Angeles or NYC was paying attention to what Canadian radio was playing back in the day, nor did Canadian radio have/had much of an influence on U.S. stations.

However, CKLW as a Drake consulted station was highly influential because, for a period of years up to CanCon's implementation, it was pretty consistently #1 in Detroit, the market it targeted. At that time, all the Top 40 stations in the top markets watched each other through Gavin and the other trades. Even the smaller Drake stations like WHBQ and KAKC were watched closely in case one of them was "pioneering" a new song to see how much reaction it got.