shirleyschmidt said:
True true about songs being songs being programmed, but they still have some leeway. Again, some things are not as hard fast as they appear.
As I said, at most stations jocks who change or even alter the order of the music log are fired. A lot of work goes into the log, all intended to establich flow, era balance, tempo segues, artist protection, horizontal and vertical rotations, demographic appeal, etc. No PD will let a jock destroy this hard and critical work any more thn GM would let the paint shop change the standard colors of a Chevy.
And who is at the front lines... oh yeah DJs... now you have picked on a topic I have a pet peeve about. Focus groups, trade mags, record label promotions should not be a local radio stations sole basis for that programming.
Focus groups are not used for music selection. Trades are just a reference. Record label hype is nearly never a consideration. New songs are added based on the PD (and MD if there is on) evaluation of new cuts. Oldies are programmed based on listener rating of each song. Only stations who can not afforde to reseaarch each song locally use consensus or safe lists. But in the larger makets, music stations base play on listener evaluations of each song, not focus groups, trades or record ducks quacking.
Okay this post may get long. Do they have limits here?? responses will be short (so stuff will be left off and I won't touch on everything I wish I could)
Focus groups are asked as to what they want to hear on the station and/or what about the music keeps them off a particular station. If they throw this information away, then why ask? (Not really a question). Afterall people don't tune into music stations to hear DJs talk all day. Evaluations in and of themselves have inherent. issues of error, but left with no other choice is better than nothing I guess.
Since DJ are the front lines, and they are often out in public venues and events, stations NEED to let them have more input...more than marking a notch on a list of songs that people call in about.
There is nothing more dangerous than using club experiences or event experiences to program. A club or a venue is not a radio station. I have gleefully beaten many stations that failed to take into account average radio listeners, not club patrons.
They talk with the people who listen to their station. DJs are not stupid, and anyone worth their weight knows what is garbage and knows what is a good idea and advice. Listeners are not stupid either and often have some good ideas. Never said a club or venue was a radio station, but appearance for on-air talent happens there and I am talking about those events...not a monday night at Joe's bar and grill.
I have spoken to a number of DJ who sight this very problem. Sometimes they feel almost useless when it comes to what they spin.
Very sad. It's not their job.
Their job or not, their input can be valuable. At least a PD can listen and take it in instead of never listening. Teams work so much better and their "hard work" can improve when everyone works as a team. PDs are are not Gods.
As for the other post, there is payola out there. We all know that. Law suits have been filed about it, people and stations convicted.
There have been less than a dozen convictions since the first investigation in the 50's. There have been, to the best of my knowledge, no law suits. Payola is a federal criminal offense, not a civil court matter.
A station can not be convicted of payola since by definition a station can not commit the crime... only an emplyee who plays songs not authorized by management for personal gain.
By stations, I meant the management and the company, which can. Law is a living breathing beast that changes daily. That is another topic all together.
There is the advertising style payola too, but that's yet another topic.
That is not payola. It is legitimate advertising as long as sponsor identification rules are complied with. Perfectly legal.
Perfectly profit in a pocket and because something is by definition legal, does not always hold up on the ethics scale.
Payola can be for more than just spins and can come in many different forms. Plus, radio industry is not the only industry this occurs in.
The legal term of payola applies only to radio airplay. While I suppose the term can be applied to other kinds of bribery, the use, legally, is only applied to bribery to play records as described above.
I have heard "mafia-types" use that term and others for meaning payoffs. Yes, I was speaking in a non-legal sense of the word and being flippant. I guess I could sit here all day and use all terms with full definitions to make you happier on my wording, but that is unlikely to ever occur, as legalese gets boring and has too many words associated with it, but is not limited to any size of a post on a site like this one.
Hope this is not too long.
