Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

[1954]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

The Big A is right on! Go to a concert by a major artist and watch (and hear) what happens when they go from a big hit to a new song nobody knows. People head for the snak bar. Same thing happens when a new unknown song gets played on the radio. Yes a few people stick around, but most punch out or hit the seek button.In the age of PPM where actual listening is recorded, stations that play lots of new and or unfamiliar music don't do well in the ratings. Formats like AAA and Jazz really do poorly. Stations that play well known popular songs win.

 

[recto101]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Remember when KFOG does Music from A to Z like they try to do songs that don't repeat. I listen to some of the Unfamiliar ones. Also KDFC as a non-profit does this too.

 

[Phedeks]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

How is it not true, just google the radio sucks, or go to yelp and read the reviews for radio stations. People were pissed when 92.7 dropped the dance format, they have dozens of 1 star reviews with people angry they started playing the same stuff as other top 40 stations.  Also everything is new at one point, you're acting like top 40 just plays the same song over and over year after year. You play new artists and new songs like you would anybody else. Since people are sheeplike, they will like whatever they hear and deem popular since it's on mainstream radio.  It's force feeding. People always say, "oh this song grew on me", No you just conformed since you heard it a million times. It's like that with anything. So I'm not buying the people enjoy hearing the same trash on repeat.

There is a reason why Radio is failing, people hate the same thing over and over and have more options to hear other music. The industry is failing all around, people are sick of being force fed crap.

 

[TheBigA]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

There is a reason why Radio is failing, people hate the same thing over and over and have more options to hear other music. The industry is failing all around, people are sick of being force fed crap.

But radio ISN'T failing. Sure a handful of people think it sucks. Some people just like to complain about everything. But 93% of the people in this country listen to OTA radio every day, and that figure hasn't gone down.

I worked with the late Thom O'Hair who was at the original KMPX and KSAN many years ago. He & I talked about the days of big playlists and playing album cuts. He said it was a great idea for a short period of time, but they all realized the way to attract a bigger audience is to focus on a smaller playlist. That's what he did. By the time he & I worked together, progressive rock was dead. The easiest way to get rid of listeners is expand the playlist and play unfamiliar music. We've tried it and we know.

 

[DavidKaye]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

The Big A is right on! Go to a concert by a major artist and watch (and hear) what happens when they go from a big hit to a new song nobody knows. People head for the snak bar.

Exactly. And what people here fail to see is that they are NOT average listeners; they're radio geeks who have a special interest in music. But most people don't; they want to listen to something comfortable, the audio equivalent of well-worn slippers.

 

[DavidKaye]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

I worked with the late Thom O'Hair who was at the original KMPX and KSAN many years ago. He & I talked about the days of big playlists and playing album cuts. He said it was a great idea for a short period of time, but they all realized the way to attract a bigger audience is to focus on a smaller playlist.

Indeed, even during KSAN's heyday, KFRC still outdrew them with its top 30 playlist.

While I personally listened a lot to KSAN (and KMPX before that) I knew that my musical tastes were esoteric. KMPX introduced me to Phil Ochs, and especially his song, "Crucifixion", as well as to Ma Rainey, and Ian & Sylvia Tyson. KFRC didn't do that. But there were times I listened to KFRC, especially nights and weekends because that was were the hits were (as well as the Ever Changing Transcendental Multilingual Two-Ton Mustard Seed...")

 

[weav]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

It's age dependent. Now and Wild (and Rev) skew pretty young. Over-30 folks tend to prefer the "comfort food for the ears". Energy's target demo was 25-54, generally on the younger end of it.

Even KOIT adds new songs now & then.

 

[TheBigA]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

But there were times I listened to KFRC, especially nights and weekends because that was were the hits were (as well as the Ever Changing Transcendental Multilingual Two-Ton Mustard Seed...")

Things haven't changed. You can hear some new and different things on a lot of OTA stations, but usually after 7PM or on weekends.

But when it matters, they stick with what works.

 

[DavidKaye]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

It's age dependent. Now and Wild (and Rev) skew pretty young. Over-30 folks tend to prefer the "comfort food for the ears". Energy's target demo was 25-54, generally on the younger end of it.

I still go with the Bill Drake theory: "The music a person likes at age 16 is the music they like all their life." We *here* are different, of course, but I think this generally holds true. It's interesting in that the beta test sites I have for my DJ software definitely support that theory. Just by doing a SQL on the years of the music on their machines I can tell when they were age 16. Sure, there's a bell curve, but the top of the curve is right around age 16, over and over again.

 

[recto101]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Remember when KFOG does Music from A to Z like they try to do songs that don't repeat. I listen to some of the Unfamiliar ones. Also KDFC as a non-profit does this too.

KFOG 104.5 AAA and KDFC 89.9 Classical are the only radio stations that I can think of that don't repeat their music some of the time. with exception on 10 @ 10 on KFOG. do any other station in the bay area does this?

 

[emprex]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

How is it not true, just google the radio sucks, or go to yelp and read the reviews for radio stations. People were pissed when 92.7 dropped the dance format

Same thing when 92.3 dropped the Rock/metal format in 2004. Today's FM is about what they want you to hear, not what people want to hear. FM music is not worth listening. Like corporations control the strings of dolls.

 

[davideduardo]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Today's FM is about what they want you to hear, not what people want to hear. FM music is not worth listening. Like corporations control the strings of dolls.

Please don't be bothered by the truth:

Station owners sell advertising. To do so, they must have an audience. To get an audience, they must get and keep an audience. The more audience they have, the more they charge for advertising.

The way to get audience is to pick a format that has good appeal and where the competition has not already fragmented the audience too much. Then listeners are consulted via a variety of means to find out which songs have wide appeal in that format, and which will chase a lot of listeners away.

The size of a station or format playlist is based on the number of songs that are liked and which don't hurt to play. Songs are repeated more in accordance with how much they are liked.

No "corporate" owner wants to have a smaller audience. That means less money. Now, really, what company has a goal of making less money?

So if you find that some formats have more frequent repetition, that is because the target listener group wants to hear some songs more often. Consider that if you don't like it, you are probably not in the station's target group.

A few people, those with eclectic tastes or those who love to hear loads of new songs, will not be targeted by any station.

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Remember when KFOG does Music from A to Z like they try to do songs that don't repeat. I listen to some of the Unfamiliar ones. Also KDFC as a non-profit does this too.

KFOG 104.5 AAA and KDFC 89.9 Classical are the only radio stations that I can think of that don't repeat their music some of the time. with exception on 10 @ 10 on KFOG. do any other station in the bay area does this?

If you're talking about features like "A to Z", the Bone (same owners/PD as KFOG) does that once or twice a year too. It will be interesting to see, with KFOG's newly reconfigured playlist, whether they do "A to Z" again anytime soon (and what it sounds like if they do).

 

[recto101]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Remember when KFOG does Music from A to Z like they try to do songs that don't repeat. I listen to some of the Unfamiliar ones. Also KDFC as a non-profit does this too.

KFOG 104.5 AAA and KDFC 89.9 Classical are the only radio stations that I can think of that don't repeat their music some of the time. with exception on 10 @ 10 on KFOG. do any other station in the bay area does this?

If you're talking about features like "A to Z", the Bone (same owners/PD as KFOG) does that once or twice a year too. It will be interesting to see, with KFOG's newly reconfigured playlist, whether they do "A to Z" again anytime soon (and what it sounds like if they do).

I know KUFX tried to do the top 1000 songs of al time with Big rick at the mike one time.

 

[EastBay]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

A few people, those with eclectic tastes or those who love to hear loads of new songs, will not be targeted by any station.

And that, while absolutely true, is also the reason people are going to alternate means of entertainment and are moving away from terrestrial broadcast radio. As I've said before, radio stations will always play music that's in the 'safe zone' of what will make them money; from a business perspective that's common sense.

But there is a huge group of people out there- more than you think- who don't want to hear the same songs over and over and really do want 'eclectic' music- the question is how to target those people while at the same time attracting advertizers. I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that in the meantime a large number of people are listening to their iPods, XM radio or some other form of media and not terrestrial radio.

 

[TheBigA]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

But there is a huge group of people out there- more than you think- who don't want to hear the same songs over and over and really do want 'eclectic' music- the question is how to target those people while at the same time attracting advertizers.

First of all, it's not as "huge" as you think. Secondly, the group itself is broken down into multiple smaller groups who each like a particular mix or genre of music. Thirdly, they have a deep deep deep aversion to advertising. So most of them subscribe to XM. The funny part to me is how dissatisfied some of them are with the playlists at XM. Those of us who study radio use habits have concluded that this is a group that will not be satisfied with any form of one-way radio. They will only be happy with a playlist they control. And it must be ad-free. Not much to build a business around. So that's why commercial OTA radio, regardless of ownership, has abandoned this concept.

 

[weav]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

... Secondly, the group itself is broken down into multiple smaller groups who each like a particular mix or genre of music.

Witness the eclectic KKCY "The City" back in the day - there were precious few of us who loved it and we were impossible to sell to advertisers.

This is true even within genres. Dance music, which I am familiar with from my stint at Energy, has lots of subgenres (trance, deep house, etc.) None of those have much mass appeal aside from the occasional fluke hit (e.g. Gabriel & Dresden's "Tracking Treasure Down", a #1 dance chart hit). And afficionadoes of those subgeneres tend to like only their favorite sub-sub-(sub-)genre. There aren't enough of those to base a commercial format on, which is why Energy primarily played remixes of pop hits and the odd dance track that was a mass-market hit in its own right (e.g. Alice DJ's "Better Off Alone").

[Miss Energy much? Um....]

 

[oldies76]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Yeah.....try oldies radio on the AM dial.....they tend to have much bigger playlists with fewer repetition.

It's really a mystery as to how and why a radio station can force-feed us music, most of us are tired of hearing over and over. The execs can claim testing, research and replication tactics, but ask anyone on the street about radio today. Mostly negative comments are given on lack of selection, lack of variety, too much talk, too many commercials and here's the biggest complaint: MY FAVORITE SONGS ARE NEVER PLAYED!

Who says that the same 400 songs, must be liked by everyone?? Really?
Must I hear a Righteous Brothers song, every single day?
Does Don Henley music have to be rammed into my ears, everytime I tune a station??

 

[oldies76]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

There is a reason why Radio is failing, people hate the same thing over and over and have more options to hear other music. The industry is failing all around, people are sick of being force fed crap.

110% AGREED!!!

 

[oldies76]

Re: Is it possible for a Radio Station that doesn't play the same songs over & over?

Not true. Most people like familiarity. They marry the same woman, live in the same place, drive the same car, eat the same food, and like the same music. Over and over.If not, why would you want to hear an unknown song by an unknown artist on the radio? It's a turn-off.

Daily life routines and listening to music are totaly two seperate issues. If people got tired of doing things with their husbands or wives, then what's the purpose of getting married in the first place. The divorce rate would be off the charts! We have a choice to what music we want to hear and the frequency of hearing it.

Who says WE have to hear "familiar" songs over and over, everyday or every week?? If radio does not play OUR favorite personal songs, then why listen?? Who's to dictate what songs ALL OF US must hear, based on the opinions of a few?? No wonder most people have negative comments about what's on radio and the LACK of favorites. A station's set list of 400 or 800 songs is not like by everyone, that is guaranteed! How about the other 2000 songs that were released in the day?? What about those songs....

It's all or none, in my book.