http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/payolas-dead-so-why-does-radio-remain-a-wasteland.ars
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Dung
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Dung
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Good Read...
- Thread starter dungboy
- Start date
I don't think that article says anything new.
If new popular music were of equal or better quality than existing music it would be played. Listeners would demand it. Apparently the new pop music isn't up to the quality as the older stuff.
This doesn't seem to happen in other, non-pop, genre's. New music is always coming along.
Pop seems to have stagnated become very repetitious, and worse, influenced by Rap and Hip-Hop which the majority of listeners don't like.
If the indie musicians want to get played they need to produce better music.
If new popular music were of equal or better quality than existing music it would be played. Listeners would demand it. Apparently the new pop music isn't up to the quality as the older stuff.
This doesn't seem to happen in other, non-pop, genre's. New music is always coming along.
Pop seems to have stagnated become very repetitious, and worse, influenced by Rap and Hip-Hop which the majority of listeners don't like.
If the indie musicians want to get played they need to produce better music.
A
atwater kent
Guest
It's ok to not like what you hear on the radio, but this article is a piece of self serving tripe. Clear Channel isn't in financial trouble because they play too much popular music or not enough indie music. CC is going bankrupt because they sold their company at inflated values to private investment cabals that promised their investors big dividends. When the recession hit, radio advertising revenues slid below the level where cash flow could provide the money needed to make the payments on the money borrowed to finance the sale. CC and Cumulus and other big radio companies are firing folks left & right because they need to cut expenses to generate more cash to try to make the payments to the guys who gave them billions of dollars. It has nothing to do with ratings or loss of listeners or how many times a station plays Lady Gaga. The comments represent the heartfelt but frighteningly ignorant rantings of the conspiracy theorist music minority who need to believe that only payola and corporate shenanigans are what keeps the "good" music (their favorite music) from being widely accepted.
dungboy said:
Which particular comments are you referring to? They're all over the board. People are blaming Big Media; they're blaming small mainstream playlists. They're blaming debt service. But on the other hand, stations the play a wide variety of music simply don't get ratings. KPIG, for instance.
DavidKaye said:
Actually - for what it's worth - KPIG is rated #3 (12+) in its home market of Monterey - after KDON (rhythmic hits) and KGO. There's no way it can get decent ratings in the San Francisco market on a low-power static filled AM repeater.
As for the old rubric that a big play list scares away listeners - I'm not sure that's true. KFOG always has respectable ratings. And look at KOIT. Make fun if you want, but their music is much less "lite" than it used to be - it's basically mainstream pop and a lot of classic hits. You hear very little repetition on KOIT - and I'd guess that their play list is quite large.
In LA, K-Earth is getting higher ratings than ever - partially because they moved away from Oldies to Classic Hits, but also because their play list has expanded.
T
Talking Furniture
Guest
Lkeller said:
Last week KOIT & KIOI played approximately 400 titles. KMEL approximately 575. KFOG 950. KLLC 300. KRTH 665.
Talking Furniture said:
665 doesn't sound like much, but it's more that double the number that KRTH used to play. I believe the play list was limited to 300 titles during the Mike Phillip's era, and Phillips was always bragging that it was the key to the station's success.
I spent a week in LA about a year ago, had KRTH on quite a bit, and heard almost no repetition. With the old 300 song play list, the repetition was continual and mind-numbing.
I don't hear much repetition on KOIT, but then again, I don't listen that often. Maybe they keep it fresh (uh...so to speak) by rotating titles on and off the list frequently.
It's interesting that Alice has a smaller play list than Star.
Z
Zeb Norris
Guest
DavidKaye said:
Actually, KPIG's ratings are generally pretty solid, and at the moment they are spectaular.
landtuna said:
Really! Better music? According to whom, you?
Regarding your blanket statement that the "majority of listeners" don't like Rap or Hip-Hop couldn't be further from reality. With Urban-CHR stations solidly ranked in the top five within every larger markets 12+, how can you make that statement? Or are your personal tastes now representing the majority of us?
A
atwater kent
Guest
Zeb Norris said:
KPIG's ability to rule the barnyard in a market the size of Monterey doesn't prove a thing. They are an aberration. A fun one, but really proof of nothing when it comes to disproving the statement that "stations that play a wide variety of music simply don't get ratings." Even KFOG, KINK, KBCO and a few Jack station's successes can be seen as anomalies in the larger picture of what works in the Arbitron process and what doesn't. The overwhelming fact is that stations winning in Arbitron feature extremely small playlists.
atwater kent said:
I think I mentioned here awhile back that I've discovered this in playing live music. Most listeners don't appreciate intricate, difficult performances or unfamiliar music. They prefer the familiar, and especially the two-chord wonders. In my button accordion playing I get the most positive response when I play a Monkees oldie or a TV theme song.
It's really tough for a radio geek to set aside that mindset and get into the mindset of the average listener. The average listener wants to wear a comfortable pair of loafers, not a patent leather shoes with spats. They want to hear familiar music, not challenging music.
As a fan of free-form radio since KMPX days, I will always support the role of the DJ as music presenter - playing music that means something to him/her. If I had any say about it, I'd start by allowing/encouraging DJs to pepper their shows with tracks they like and can present in the context of whatever station they're on. Part of a person's "personality" is their music taste, and if you're going to have "air personalities" why not let them display their musical personality as part of the package?
Also, I'd seek out musicians who have talent as broadcasters, and put them on the air - allowing them to stray from any existing playlist as long as the music they play fits the general format of the station. By "fit" I don't necessarily mean a real tight fit either... Making some musician play only tracks on a playlist drawn up by consultants or others who have little passion for music is a complete waste of the talents of the musician doing the show.
I know that popular music fans like to hear their favorites (over and over???) but you can just drop DJs altogether and put a computer on the air for that... as some stations have essentially done. Putting a person on the air who really knows the music being played and who can relate their passion about it in an entertaining way would be a lot better than hiring "voices" to shout slogans and positioning statements between tunes on a tight and shallow playlist.
I know it can be done - I've heard great presenters over the years on stations such as KMPX, KSAN, KTIM, KPIG/KFAT, the CBC (check out Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap show on Saturdays: cbc.ca) and many other stations including KALX, KUSF, KFJC, etc...
Also, I'd seek out musicians who have talent as broadcasters, and put them on the air - allowing them to stray from any existing playlist as long as the music they play fits the general format of the station. By "fit" I don't necessarily mean a real tight fit either... Making some musician play only tracks on a playlist drawn up by consultants or others who have little passion for music is a complete waste of the talents of the musician doing the show.
I know that popular music fans like to hear their favorites (over and over???) but you can just drop DJs altogether and put a computer on the air for that... as some stations have essentially done. Putting a person on the air who really knows the music being played and who can relate their passion about it in an entertaining way would be a lot better than hiring "voices" to shout slogans and positioning statements between tunes on a tight and shallow playlist.
I know it can be done - I've heard great presenters over the years on stations such as KMPX, KSAN, KTIM, KPIG/KFAT, the CBC (check out Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap show on Saturdays: cbc.ca) and many other stations including KALX, KUSF, KFJC, etc...
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