In this context, "good" means "listeners like it" and, simultaneously, "few or no listeners dislike it".
"Good" is defined by a station's listening base. It does not really matter what the PD or MD thinks.
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Entercom's alternative experiment not a success?
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
"Good" is defined by a station's listening base. It does not really matter what the PD or MD thinks.
I love some of the themed weekends he's done since returning, but the normal course playlist is filled with far too much repetition for my liking (he followed the same philosophy in his prior tour of duty). I also think he devotes too many spins to very young leaning artists. Those are just my own personal feelings obviously.
Still too soon to judge if his efforts will prove successful; he returned - what - maybe 90 days ago?
Despite KROQ's playlist shortcomings, stationality sounds better than many of the other Alternative stations in the Audacy stable.
That's the problem. As I said, everybody has their own opinion. All radio cares about is playing whatever music attracts a sellable audience. That's the end of it. Morgan Wallen said some offensive crap last year. A lot of radio stations banned his music. Then Morgan's fan base mobilized and demanded to hear his stuff. Radio stations played his music. And as I said, he's on a small indie label, no big money pushing him. Just very dedicated fans. And country radio is getting good ratings again.
Name one artist in alternative who has the power to do that. Not because of money, but because his fan base is so big and powerful that it will cause big radio companies to overlook what that artist said. That's what alternative needs to do. They need to be artists who can reach a mass audience. It's not hard to do. There was a time when they could do it. They just forgot.
I read the article. Every few years the same exact article is written with the same unnamed sources blaming the same unnamed people. No names, no credibility. Give me a name of someone. Which indie promoter and which small radio station?
If the music is so good, and the artist is charismatic, it will get played. I've seen it happen too many times. There are too many outlets, too many radio stations, too many streaming platforms, too many video outlets for great music to be overlooked. Either the music isn't that good, or the people connected to it aren't working hard enough. There are lots of music conferences they can go to to learn how to build fan bases and learn how to build word of mouth. I know, I go to them, and I've heard the speeches.
The problem with the alternative format is there's no core anymore. No core audience, no core artists (except the big stars from 30 years ago), and no core marketing group. As I've said, the alternative artists know that the problem is in the music business, and that's why a bunch of them are signing record deals with Nashville country labels. Because the country music business has it's f-ing act together and knows how to get music heard. It's happening right now with Jelly Roll, but he's only one example.
The mark of bad journalism. No additional opinions, no named sources, no opposing viewpoints. Hearsay and rumor.
The fact that the article quotes a Future of Music Coalition study from 2008 tells me this is a generic story that they just pulled out to fill space and drive pageviews. There's nothing new in it and nothing of any credibility. I bet if I search some key words, I'll pull up similar articles from ten years ago.
In fact here's a similar article from the exact same writer from 2019:
He just digs up the same story every few years. I wonder if Billboard paid him again for the story he wrote for Rolling Stone.
Good observation. I did not catch the fact that the core data is a decade old and still reflects the era of those independent promoters who signed stations in exchange for bumper stickers and other promotional junk they got at a discount. Isgro without the baseball bat.
Today, small labels have many good independent promoters they can hire who will take a song and "work it" with all the principal stations in a format. For a fee.
That is no different than an architect subcontracting for AC, electrical, plumbing, steel, etc. The architect does not have a staff of builders, so they subcontract. A small label does not have offices all over the US, so they subcontract. Legal, ethical and efficient.
A lot of that data came from the last major payola scandal in 2005.
PAYOLA PROBES COSTLY FOR UNIVERSAL
Dave Universal used to be known for picking hit records, raising money for charity and dominating Top 40 ratings in Western New York as program director at WKSE-FM. Now Universal
It all seems extremely dated 17 years later, especially given the growth of streaming services and other platforms.
But back to the alternative format, and the need for the artists and labels in that genre to find a way to build a core of fans and artists to create an impact. Because without that, this format will stay based on 30 year old hits, remembering a time when the industry knew how to build hits and careers. They don't anymore.
And even then, only a couple of people were indicted.
Lots of accusations, though. Many came from record labels that just could not understand that their songs were stiffs and... no matter how much grease was applied.
I love college radio, and I'm very supportive of what they do. But college radio for the most part plays the personal favorites of the staff, and doesn't reach a mass audience. So I congratulate college radio for all they do, but I don't see it as a template for attracting mass audiences to commercial radio.
In keeping with the theme of this thread, Audacy announces it will replace Alt92.3 with a simulcast of News WINS:
www.allaccess.com
Audacy To Flip WNYL (Alt 92.3)/New York To WINS Simulcast, Ben Mevorach Upped To VP/NY News, Ivan Lee To WINS-WCBS-A Brand Mgr.
AUDACY is flipping Alternative WNYL (ALT 92.3)/NEW YORK to a simulcast of News WINS-A on OCTOBER 27th as the newsrooms of WINS and sister WCBS-A merge to share anchors and reporters under a new agreement with union SAG-AFTRA. WINS Dir./News and Programming BEN MEVORACH is being promoted to...
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How long before Audacy starts flipping the other lousy performers. I think it’s only a matter of when WSFS/Miami, WQMP/Orlando, and WDZH/Detroit are next.
Prepare to say hello to WWJ at 98.7.
Can't speak for the post-Alt fate of Miami or Orlando.
Can’t see them blowing it up in Detroit yet, considering they just launched a new morning show recently with Julia.
Perhaps, but if it goes the way of New York's Alt instead of Dallas's Alt in terms of ratings....
I’ve actually been doing a study of the changes in music by making a Spotify playlist of the Kaplan era and then a playlist of the songs added when Allers largely took control. They’re quite interesting; I’ll share them at the end of the month so the time period is equalized.
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I think I found your Spotify Playlist. If it's yours I love it!
Here you guys go. A playlist from when Mike Kaplan was running the show, and the playlist when John Allers and Christy Taylor mostly took over nationwide music adds. There's a pretty strong difference between the two.
I am not including the few random localized adds, such as KVIL playing "Ramon Ayala" by Giovannie & The Hired Guns.
I am not including the few random localized adds, such as KVIL playing "Ramon Ayala" by Giovannie & The Hired Guns.
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