I must be too old to be a CHR DJ

[sdh483]

But, let this 51 year old former CHR jock tell you what you have to look forward to: about the time you find yourself "settled" in that wonderful future gig in A/C or Hot A/C, "Low" by Flo-Rida and "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" should then be testing as an "oldie", or "classic hit".

God help us all.

These songs will be long forgotten. I could never see, in my lifetime, Solja Boy as an oldie, or "old school."

 

[KFodor]

While part of me wants to agree with you, please remember:

I thought the same thing about "Ice Ice Baby".

 

[RadioMahn]

Beyond the debate over individual songs, stop whining about callers requesting things you don't like, play or want to hear! It's YOUR JOB TO TAKE THEIR CALLS AND BE NICE. You're on the front lines of customer service in your industry. If you can't handle that, then by all means get out of radio now wussie!

Oh and I'm tired of hearing the Flobots is a reaction record. You're just repeating the record rep pitch I heard a dozen times. Sure it reacts. There's 100 people buring up your phones wanting to hear it. But there's more people who don't call and just punch to another station when it comes on. Disco Duck was a reaction record too.

 

[Beejus]

Beyond the debate over individual songs, stop whining about callers requesting things you don't like, play or want to hear! It's YOUR JOB TO TAKE THEIR CALLS AND BE NICE. You're on the front lines of customer service in your industry. If you can't handle that, then by all means get out of radio now wussie!

Oh and I'm tired of hearing the Flobots is a reaction record. You're just repeating the record rep pitch I heard a dozen times. Sure it reacts. There's 100 people buring up your phones wanting to hear it. But there's more people who don't call and just punch to another station when it comes on. Disco Duck was a reaction record too.

Seriously... how long have you been in the industry. You sound a tad burnt out.

 

[The Truthsayer]

Beyond the debate over individual songs, stop whining about callers requesting things you don't like, play or want to hear! It's YOUR JOB TO TAKE THEIR CALLS AND BE NICE. You're on the front lines of customer service in your industry. If you can't handle that, then by all means get out of radio now wussie!

Oh and I'm tired of hearing the Flobots is a reaction record. You're just repeating the record rep pitch I heard a dozen times. Sure it reacts. There's 100 people buring up your phones wanting to hear it. But there's more people who don't call and just punch to another station when it comes on. Disco Duck was a reaction record too.

You are right, Flobots is a stiff

 

[The Beave]

Disco Duck was a reaction record too.

But Rick Dees made a few coins on that track. How many morning show hosts can say a label released their material?

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Would you guys really want to here Seacrest try and sing.....?????? ;D

 

[Beejus]

Beyond the debate over individual songs, stop whining about callers requesting things you don't like, play or want to hear! It's YOUR JOB TO TAKE THEIR CALLS AND BE NICE. You're on the front lines of customer service in your industry. If you can't handle that, then by all means get out of radio now wussie!

Oh and I'm tired of hearing the Flobots is a reaction record. You're just repeating the record rep pitch I heard a dozen times. Sure it reacts. There's 100 people buring up your phones wanting to hear it. But there's more people who don't call and just punch to another station when it comes on. Disco Duck was a reaction record too.

You are right, Flobots is a stiff

Didn't you also say Secondhand Serenade and Spill Canvas were stiffs? Yet Hot 104.7 is playing both.

 

[raydiodude]

JESUS I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. THERE WERE SO MANY RIDICULOUS THINGS SAID.

Let me answer your question first:
PLEASE get out this business. Not because of your age but because you don't seem to even understand what your job requires in today's radio climate.

Here are a few things. Sorry if it jumps around a little:

- If you are being paid to do a live shift on a CHR, it goes without saying that answering those phones IS YOUR JOB. And I'll take it a step further. It is your job to make sure that you make some kind of connection with them that they remember.
- It's also quite clear that you are either to old or not creative enough to turn everyone of those ten annoyances into positives somehow.
- A CHR station's survival depends on the younger demos, whether 18-34 overall or a more narrow demo. And those younger demos are using radio LESS and LESS. TODAY'S PAIN IN THE ASS 15-16 Y/O IS TOMORROW'S 18 YEAR OLD THAT WE WANT USING RADIO.
- Kids that call over and over again do it because they don't feel like they were heard. If they call twice for the same song, I take :30 seconds and TALK to them. I ask them what are their top 3 songs right now, whatever. Relate to them for just a few seconds and they are satisfied. If you act like they are an idiot for requesting V.I.C and talk down to them, blow them off, etc then expect them to call back. And JESUS, don't EVER tell someone "that songs sucks" when they request it. It's the same as saying the listener themselves suck.
- SO WHAT if they request "Apple Bottoms Jeans" instead of "Low", SO WHAT. She's making a request, it's your job to know what she's talking about. When everyone kept calling for "Low Rider" by Flo or "Flow Rider", I turned it into a bit, ran the call back and would play the old "Low Rider" instead each time. That almost always generated a call correcting me that I'd playback followed by "Low".
- You want to blame the LISTENER when they request "Bicycle" instead of "Handlebars"? REALLY? They are coming to you for NEW music that they most likely heard on another medium (online, TV, whatever) first. Take two seconds and educate them tell them the correct title. EMBRACE THEM.
- Yes of course we don't use YouTube charts to enfluence programming our station. But the listener should never think that. You Tube (MySpace, Facebook, your station social net site) influences their lives, they assume it influences their station. Remember, well programmed CHR's are LIFESTYLE stations.

- I saved the best for last. You said this:
Yes, you can do the “Soulja Boy” dance. That song has been downloaded legally millions of times, and illegally a lot more. How’s about you do that and let the rest of us who are either (a) sick of it or (b) are a bit put off by some of the lyrics, forget it happened? Do some research would ya?

This is why I want you to please quit radio now. Seriously.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT A LISTENER REQUESTS why would you tell them to go get your product from another medium??

Basically you said this:
"It doesn't matter what you want. I'm the radio DJ and I'm sick of hearing that song. I'm also old and don't want to hear someone say "superman that ho" in a song. So since I, the DJ, don't want to hear that song, you should go where 2 million other people got it and downloaded it from. Then you'll have Crank Dat and hopefully you can get other songs too so that you have no reason to use radio anymore ever. And then I won't have to answer your call anymore. Dumbass."

Please at least move to some boring AC station instead before you end up getting replaced by syndication or VT.

For the record I'm 34 years old and I've done nights on a rhythmic leaning CHR for three years. We are #1 18-34 and #2 25-54.

Final Note: The station playing "I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz anywhere is not a CHR. Period.

 

[icycool7227]

OP and other posters on this thread. Sometimes the music you like changes. I don't listen to Radio Disney anymore - just got sick of that kind of music. But hey, if you don't want to be a CHR DJ anymore, you got one that's very willing to take your place - me! ;D

 

[icycool7227]

I 100% agree completely with this post. Well said. I can't believe someone wouldn't want to answer phones in a job. I'd be overjpoyed to answer ANY phones in ANY business/job. I'm amazed that people in their 30s even brave CHR. If you don't have a knack for it then why bother even working it? The CHR format requires energetic DJs, good people skills, and a willingness to play whatever the crap people want you to play. That is why songs become hits - people WANT to hear them. Anyone who doesn't understand that is plain clueless.

JESUS I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. THERE WERE SO MANY RIDICULOUS THINGS SAID.

Let me answer your question first:
PLEASE get out this business. Not because of your age but because you don't seem to even understand what your job requires in today's radio climate.

Here are a few things. Sorry if it jumps around a little:

- If you are being paid to do a live shift on a CHR, it goes without saying that answering those phones IS YOUR JOB. And I'll take it a step further. It is your job to make sure that you make some kind of connection with them that they remember.
- It's also quite clear that you are either to old or not creative enough to turn everyone of those ten annoyances into positives somehow.
- A CHR station's survival depends on the younger demos, whether 18-34 overall or a more narrow demo. And those younger demos are using radio LESS and LESS. TODAY'S PAIN IN THE ASS 15-16 Y/O IS TOMORROW'S 18 YEAR OLD THAT WE WANT USING RADIO.
- Kids that call over and over again do it because they don't feel like they were heard. If they call twice for the same song, I take :30 seconds and TALK to them. I ask them what are their top 3 songs right now, whatever. Relate to them for just a few seconds and they are satisfied. If you act like they are an idiot for requesting V.I.C and talk down to them, blow them off, etc then expect them to call back. And JESUS, don't EVER tell someone "that songs sucks" when they request it. It's the same as saying the listener themselves suck.
- SO WHAT if they request "Apple Bottoms Jeans" instead of "Low", SO WHAT. She's making a request, it's your job to know what she's talking about. When everyone kept calling for "Low Rider" by Flo or "Flow Rider", I turned it into a bit, ran the call back and would play the old "Low Rider" instead each time. That almost always generated a call correcting me that I'd playback followed by "Low".
- You want to blame the LISTENER when they request "Bicycle" instead of "Handlebars"? REALLY? They are coming to you for NEW music that they most likely heard on another medium (online, TV, whatever) first. Take two seconds and educate them tell them the correct title. EMBRACE THEM.
- Yes of course we don't use YouTube charts to enfluence programming our station. But the listener should never think that. You Tube (MySpace, Facebook, your station social net site) influences their lives, they assume it influences their station. Remember, well programmed CHR's are LIFESTYLE stations.

- I saved the best for last. You said this:
Yes, you can do the “Soulja Boy” dance. That song has been downloaded legally millions of times, and illegally a lot more. How’s about you do that and let the rest of us who are either (a) sick of it or (b) are a bit put off by some of the lyrics, forget it happened? Do some research would ya?

This is why I want you to please quit radio now. Seriously.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT A LISTENER REQUESTS why would you tell them to go get your product from another medium??

Basically you said this:
"It doesn't matter what you want. I'm the radio DJ and I'm sick of hearing that song. I'm also old and don't want to hear someone say "superman that ho" in a song. So since I, the DJ, don't want to hear that song, you should go where 2 million other people got it and downloaded it from. Then you'll have Crank Dat and hopefully you can get other songs too so that you have no reason to use radio anymore ever. And then I won't have to answer your call anymore. Dumbass."

Please at least move to some boring AC station instead before you end up getting replaced by syndication or VT.

For the record I'm 34 years old and I've done nights on a rhythmic leaning CHR for three years. We are #1 18-34 and #2 25-54.

Final Note: The station playing "I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz anywhere is not a CHR. Period.

 

[CW]

I turn the studio volume down every time "Low" by Flo-Rida is on.

Casey Kasem was also too old to be a CHR DJ. When he hosted AT 40, he would take the headphones off and do something else while a song was playing and when it was over, he said the song and position. Funny joke, Casey walked into a bar and asked the bartender, "what is that crap you are playing?" The bartender says "the song that you said was #1 last week."

When he hosted AT40, he VOICETRACKED it...never heard the music most of the time.....all they recorded was his voice and then laid down the song afterwards...the few times Casey actually heard the song was when HE requested the booth to play the song (PLEASE)......you evidently NEVER saw Casey do AT40.....or anyone do a show like that...even back in the 70s, it was voicetracked, then edited and then recorded together....Casey maybe had to spend 2 hrs in the studio MAX for a 4 hr show...usually less!!
(except the infamous time things were going wrong and he asked how long has it been?? 3 hours?? GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY...then finally lost it on the "Dead Dog" request...where you can hear him say:
"Lets come...start again....I'm coming into the record...play the record ok? PLLLEEEAAASSE????" And all this over a F*king dog dying....and you aint hear the tirade he did, you aint been laughing!!!
I'll post it on a ftp site you can check it out at!

A former ABC coworker

 

[The Beave]

I turn the studio volume down every time "Low" by Flo-Rida is on.

Casey Kasem was also too old to be a CHR DJ. When he hosted AT 40, he would take the headphones off and do something else while a song was playing and when it was over, he said the song and position. Funny joke, Casey walked into a bar and asked the bartender, "what is that crap you are playing?" The bartender says "the song that you said was #1 last week."

When he hosted AT40, he VOICETRACKED it...never heard the music most of the time.....all they recorded was his voice and then laid down the song afterwards...the few times Casey actually heard the song was when HE requested the booth to play the song (PLEASE)......you evidently NEVER saw Casey do AT40.....or anyone do a show like that...even back in the 70s, it was voicetracked, then edited and then recorded together....Casey maybe had to spend 2 hrs in the studio MAX for a 4 hr show...usually less!!
(except the infamous time things were going wrong and he asked how long has it been?? 3 hours?? GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY...then finally lost it on the "Dead Dog" request...where you can hear him say:
"Lets come...start again....I'm coming into the record...play the record ok? PLLLEEEAAASSE????" And all this over a F*king dog dying....and you aint hear the tirade he did, you aint been laughing!!!
I'll post it on a ftp site you can check it out at!

A former ABC coworker

I got a copy of it in 1990, Still actually have it digitally stored. One of the great snappages of all time.

 

[CW]

I turn the studio volume down every time "Low" by Flo-Rida is on.

Casey Kasem was also too old to be a CHR DJ. When he hosted AT 40, he would take the headphones off and do something else while a song was playing and when it was over, he said the song and position. Funny joke, Casey walked into a bar and asked the bartender, "what is that crap you are playing?" The bartender says "the song that you said was #1 last week."

When he hosted AT40, he VOICETRACKED it...never heard the music most of the time.....all they recorded was his voice and then laid down the song afterwards...the few times Casey actually heard the song was when HE requested the booth to play the song (PLEASE)......you evidently NEVER saw Casey do AT40.....or anyone do a show like that...even back in the 70s, it was voicetracked, then edited and then recorded together....Casey maybe had to spend 2 hrs in the studio MAX for a 4 hr show...usually less!!
(except the infamous time things were going wrong and he asked how long has it been?? 3 hours?? GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY...then finally lost it on the "Dead Dog" request...where you can hear him say:
"Lets come...start again....I'm coming into the record...play the record ok? PLLLEEEAAASSE????" And all this over a F*king dog dying....and you aint hear the tirade he did, you aint been laughing!!!
I'll post it on a ftp site you can check it out at!

A former ABC coworker

I got a copy of it in 1990, Still actually have it digitally stored. One of the great snappages of all time.

Yep...and its available at: http://home.earthlink.net/~psithurism/Audio files/
along with other funny files......Enjoy!

 

[The Beave]

CW.. absolutely great.... Loved every second. ;D

 

[its time w (your name)]

I Know I'm too old, and I dont care. It all sounds like garbage to me. BBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBB is not music, but I'm forced to hear it everyday by 20 year drivers who think the neighborhood wants to hear their crap. 20 yr old males believe that girls are somehow going to be so impressed by the loudness of their stereo, that they just jump into the vehicle.

Rock is dead, but if you like country, it still sounds like music, and is in fact just as creative and fun as it always has been. The Oldies format is rocking more now, if you can find it.

 

[lovejamminoldies]

One of the best posts on the board.... I'm 16 and I plan my career in radio, in fact, I'm already doing Internet Radio. THERE ARE TONS of songs I'm sick of, but them being tired or old for me is someone else's jam. And answering phones is interactive! You, the DJ, is in control. You have callers looking to you to play their song, and you insult them? Put yourself in the shoes of some of those kids my age wanting to hear the song YOU, the DJ, the one who's really not important when the trends come out, is sick of! Pleeeeeease! I'll take your job.

JESUS I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. THERE WERE SO MANY RIDICULOUS THINGS SAID.

Let me answer your question first:
PLEASE get out this business. Not because of your age but because you don't seem to even understand what your job requires in today's radio climate.

Here are a few things. Sorry if it jumps around a little:

- If you are being paid to do a live shift on a CHR, it goes without saying that answering those phones IS YOUR JOB. And I'll take it a step further. It is your job to make sure that you make some kind of connection with them that they remember.
- It's also quite clear that you are either to old or not creative enough to turn everyone of those ten annoyances into positives somehow.
- A CHR station's survival depends on the younger demos, whether 18-34 overall or a more narrow demo. And those younger demos are using radio LESS and LESS. TODAY'S PAIN IN THE ASS 15-16 Y/O IS TOMORROW'S 18 YEAR OLD THAT WE WANT USING RADIO.
- Kids that call over and over again do it because they don't feel like they were heard. If they call twice for the same song, I take :30 seconds and TALK to them. I ask them what are their top 3 songs right now, whatever. Relate to them for just a few seconds and they are satisfied. If you act like they are an idiot for requesting V.I.C and talk down to them, blow them off, etc then expect them to call back. And JESUS, don't EVER tell someone "that songs sucks" when they request it. It's the same as saying the listener themselves suck.
- SO WHAT if they request "Apple Bottoms Jeans" instead of "Low", SO WHAT. She's making a request, it's your job to know what she's talking about. When everyone kept calling for "Low Rider" by Flo or "Flow Rider", I turned it into a bit, ran the call back and would play the old "Low Rider" instead each time. That almost always generated a call correcting me that I'd playback followed by "Low".
- You want to blame the LISTENER when they request "Bicycle" instead of "Handlebars"? REALLY? They are coming to you for NEW music that they most likely heard on another medium (online, TV, whatever) first. Take two seconds and educate them tell them the correct title. EMBRACE THEM.
- Yes of course we don't use YouTube charts to enfluence programming our station. But the listener should never think that. You Tube (MySpace, Facebook, your station social net site) influences their lives, they assume it influences their station. Remember, well programmed CHR's are LIFESTYLE stations.

- I saved the best for last. You said this:
Yes, you can do the “Soulja Boy” dance. That song has been downloaded legally millions of times, and illegally a lot more. How’s about you do that and let the rest of us who are either (a) sick of it or (b) are a bit put off by some of the lyrics, forget it happened? Do some research would ya?

This is why I want you to please quit radio now. Seriously.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT A LISTENER REQUESTS why would you tell them to go get your product from another medium??

Basically you said this:
"It doesn't matter what you want. I'm the radio DJ and I'm sick of hearing that song. I'm also old and don't want to hear someone say "superman that ho" in a song. So since I, the DJ, don't want to hear that song, you should go where 2 million other people got it and downloaded it from. Then you'll have Crank Dat and hopefully you can get other songs too so that you have no reason to use radio anymore ever. And then I won't have to answer your call anymore. Dumbass."

Please at least move to some boring AC station instead before you end up getting replaced by syndication or VT.

For the record I'm 34 years old and I've done nights on a rhythmic leaning CHR for three years. We are #1 18-34 and #2 25-54.

Final Note: The station playing "I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz anywhere is not a CHR. Period.

 

[The Beave]

While we are at it why don't we post the "Ten Commandments of successful radio"?

 

[jsu5381m]

I turn the studio volume down every time "Low" by Flo-Rida is on.

Casey Kasem was also too old to be a CHR DJ. When he hosted AT 40, he would take the headphones off and do something else while a song was playing and when it was over, he said the song and position. Funny joke, Casey walked into a bar and asked the bartender, "what is that crap you are playing?" The bartender says "the song that you said was #1 last week."

When he hosted AT40, he VOICETRACKED it...never heard the music most of the time.....all they recorded was his voice and then laid down the song afterwards...the few times Casey actually heard the song was when HE requested the booth to play the song (PLEASE)......you evidently NEVER saw Casey do AT40.....or anyone do a show like that...even back in the 70s, it was voicetracked, then edited and then recorded together....Casey maybe had to spend 2 hrs in the studio MAX for a 4 hr show...usually less!!
(except the infamous time things were going wrong and he asked how long has it been?? 3 hours?? GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY...then finally lost it on the "Dead Dog" request...where you can hear him say:
"Lets come...start again....I'm coming into the record...play the record ok? PLLLEEEAAASSE????" And all this over a F*king dog dying....and you aint hear the tirade he did, you aint been laughing!!!
I'll post it on a ftp site you can check it out at!

A former ABC coworker

Your right, I never saw Casey put together an AT 40 show. Speaking of cranky dj's, where was that post about the dj at the Winchester, VA top 40 station who cussed out at someone over the air in the middle of the night because the caller was dissapointed the evening dj didn't play her song?

 

[Mid West Clubber]

We have to be friendly to all callers regardless of their age, or musical preference,, if not, we can be fired and greatly chewed out... However, we have to keep our calls short and sweet and always say thanks for listening. Some stations may not want their employee's to do this,, but when someone requests one of our powers, we tell them the round about time that the song is scheduled to play. If somene requests a song that just played 20 minutes ago, we tell them next time it will play, and ask if there is any other song they would like to hear. BtW, for eveybody that thinks that Jocks get all the girls, this is totally not true unless your name is Seacrest, and you like underage girls.... Girls that are 18-34 dont care about radio jocks, they would rather marry a doctor....