Live Callers on Local Radio Stations - Music vs. Listener Call in

[Rebafan]

In late September 2007 KKGO - Go Country 105 stopped airing contest winners, or any other listener calls on the air.
KKGO has stated to listeners asking why they are no longer being heard on the air that it is a matter of not airing the callers in order to play more music.
According to what I have read the FCC although internet stations generally play 15-16 songs per hour radio stations generally estimate their airplay as 12-13 songs per hour.

You may have heard about the internet streaming royalty issues etc. ... that royalty is on the actual sound recording, not the publishing (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)....that is for INTERNET streaming... while Broadcasters currently only pay publishing royalties for their over-the-air transmissions.
So... noting that the stations would perhaps have to pay for the airplay of say 13 songs yet only play 10 the station would be losing money by doing this... BUT If you notice the Theme Thursday song lists of the past, they are about 12 or 13 songs on them, a time when callers were not on but they do give traffic during that time.

My opinion is that the changes at KKGO had more to do with shifts dropping songs in order to play longer phone calls on the air and because of the actions of the person or people doing this the station perhaps was not playing the 12 or 13 songs the station should play an hour.
I do not believe that taking callers off the air has offered them the time to play more than the 12 - 13 songs they have played since day 1,... Shorter songs added into rotation, less commercials, shorter commercials arranged to fit the rotation, shorter station call tag announcements, the radio personalities doing shorter bits of their own or not having more than one topic per break... There is SO much more they could have done to be able to play more music, besides taking listeners off the air.

Speculation on the KKGO message boards went from they are actually playing more music, to the calls played were too long or they were abusive somehow, and a couple people speculated that the change may have been the results of all the many letters and emails sent to Mr. Levine, complaining about a certain on air personality, perceived as being rude to some callers.... Although I do not know the reasoning, my opinion on this is that the listeners WANT this!
IF/ When an on air personality may be rude to a caller and a complaint is made, I do not believe that the ENTIRE station suffers for this, I believe the personality is told that they need to communicate better with listeners on the phone as not to alienate them. I also believe that if people do not hear other listeners call in, they tend not to call... so the DJ sits in a booth spinning records with no or minimal interaction with the listeners.

This decision made by the station is only hurting the station by making listeners feel less involved, many can't see the live and local aspect of the station anymore and fewer listeners bother to call in and talk to the person on the air because even though personalities may give the phone number, when you hear a caller you tend to call in, when you don't hear other people calling you are not triggered to pick up the phone. If anyone is shooting themselves in the foot it is the station.

Why go live and local if the station is now similar other than in format to a station such as Jack EXCEPT we hear DJ's talking. XM radio has some talking now I believe, but not listeners or subscribers, so how is having a local radio station without listener interaction on some level any better than the station having left Whitney on nights to be able to hear her talk to callers nationwide, to have left the Dial-Global programming where you would hear people from across the nation.
You can get country music news from all over the web, you can get local news and traffic off the web and TV. You can hear all the country music you love via internet streaming, Sirius, XM, MP3 players or Ipods, tapes, CD's etc or via music channels on your TV...SO what reasoning is there to support a station that does not give you something you can't get somewhere else...

I am interested in finding out what others take on the Live Caller issue is... don't most stations play the contest winners and play clips of callers from time to time during a shift? What are the pros and cons of this issue?

I also wanted to share contact information for the people that would like to see a change at KKGO in regards to live callers or to assist the listeners of the station in being able to be again heard on the air:
The snail mail and e-mail addresses of the people to contact include:
Micheal Levine : [email protected] (Owner's Son)
Mike Johnson: [email protected] (Operations Manager)
Tonya Campos: [email protected] (Program Director/Music Director)

Main Station address for Snail Mail:
Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc.
1500 Cotner Avenue.
Los Angeles , CA. 90025

 

[nmoore6676]

To be honest I can not recall when they stopped taking callers on air so I take your date as being accurate. I do not believe that it is any kind of attempt to play more music in order to get their value for the royalty fees paid. When they first went on I think they wanted to present a sort of enthusiasm of the listeners now that country is back presentation to build the buzz among the fans. I know from my view that at first and particularly while it was on AM that having somebody do a "Price is Right Squeal" after winning a $14 CD was a bit contrived.

Having been at one time an on air person (in a previous life) I do know that taking phone calls along with all else that goes on in the studio is by some considered an unnecessary distraction. Of course now they no longer have to cue records and manage carts but it still has to be intensive. I listen to an out of town station on the net where they do encourage callers but they don't normally put them on air. Some jocks seem to do well but the one live weekend guy always get caught and comes out of a song with the tail end of his conversation. Sometimes charming but sometimes annoying. He's old school so doesn't use the computer, playing mostly CD's. They do have turntables because they are Classic Country and they do still play vinyl once in a while.

My point is that maybe KKGO has become popular enough that taking callers may be too time consuming overall, not just the music per hour. Probably like producers take the calls anyway so whether the winners talk to the DJ i haven't any idea. I listen for the music and not a lot of chatter so I like it now but I do think that putting some of the winners on in a promotional piece wouldn't be a bad idea.

By the way, no radio station has taken live callers in a music format for years. The "dirty little secret" is that when your favorite personality takes your song request and immediately plays it, he had the time to pull it or call it up on the computer to play it coming right out of the pretaped call. If they do take "live" delay calls they will play your request later in the show. Even "talk radio" has dropped most of the listener calls.

But you can call Jack and leave a message, if you're funny or cute enough they will use it.

 

[Rebafan]

By the way, no radio station has taken live callers in a music format for years. The "dirty little secret" is that when your favorite personality takes your song request and immediately plays it, he had the time to pull it or call it up on the computer to play it coming right out of the pretaped call. If they do take "live" delay calls they will play your request later in the show. Even "talk radio" has dropped most of the listener calls.

I am aware that most calls played on the air as requests etc are pre-recorded and that is how the radio magic is done. Playing a call LIVE while the show is going on would be difficult in that the call may run long, the delay button has to be ready etc. BUT to take clips from calls kind of makes the station cohesive in that it shows that people ARE listening and people ARE calling in. Playing the winners in contests is also something that can make other listeners say HEY I know him/her... if they won I can too... just have to keep trying etc.

I also am aware that when the instant request thing happens... SOMETIMES the radio personality has told the caller what to ask for because it is coming up in 5 minutes ...

IF all I was looking for in a radio station was music I would pop in a CD OR get XM .... When a group of fans got together trying to get a country music station back on the air, they talked about the radio personalities being family and for many I believe that still holds true... they want to interact with their "family" they want others to know that they can interact too...

I believe that radio personalities can touch the lives of the listeners that tune in... some of my good friends over the past 25 years have been radio personalities. The personalities can, give a person hope or a smile when they don't have one, mend a broken heart, tell the story of the long time listener that lost a battle with cancer, or won one... I think at least in a country music format short call clips, talking about e-mail the station may get about songs that touch lives etc would be great on air things to talk about and play.

Just another 5¢ from me... A listener that needs more than music on my radio...

 

[nmoore6676]

I agree with you about the contest winners, especially now that they have tickets to events that people really want. It was a bit contrived I thought when they had the callers on the air and all they got was a CD. My personal preference is for music with a little current info and traffic but I wouldn't tune out if they had some listeners on the air as well.

Maybe someone will notice and take note.

 

[Rebafan]

The flurry on the KKGO message boards (formerly country Boards) was about the host of the Sunday Night Classic Show having live callers on the air for 1-1/2 hours. He allowed listeners to call in and send out holiday greetings to their family, friends, the troops etc. It was a positive thing that he did that. Was a little disappointed that he read my friends nickname wrong on the air BUT none-the-less I think that he gave the message board members what they have been screaming for.... I think he didn't get the memo that no live callers (or recorded callers) were allowed on the air...

I do hope that the station hears what the listeners are asking for, because I believe a station is only as good as those that listen to it and when people tune them out and the ratings fall ....

 

[nmoore6676]

I heard that on Sunday night and it blew my theory (I posted on another thread) that they had commandeered the phone system for Michael Jackson. I think there was a little ambivalence at the start of the show between Jimmy and his producer about doing it but then they came back and said they were going to go ahead with it. I agree that it was a good idea and for the most part went off well. I also thought Todd baker did phone calls when they did them quite well. Basically I've come to your side about on air calls, so long as they aren't over done.

I am not sure of the status of Sunday Night Classics Show but since it was on KRLA before, then KGGO-AM before it began county while it was still an Adult Standards format I rather suspect that it is some kind of contract arrangement. Also the host is an executive of another local radio company and this is his hobby. In fact it is pretty similar to a show I myself did Saturday nights a long time ago in Columbus Ohio which is why I enjoy it so much and I am not claiming creation rights.

By the way are you as your screen name implies a Reba Fan? 'Cause Reba rules!

 

[Rebafan]

I heard that on Sunday night and it blew my theory (I posted on another thread) that they had commandeered the phone system for Michael Jackson. I think there was a little ambivalence at the start of the show between Jimmy and his producer about doing it but then they came back and said they were going to go ahead with it. I agree that it was a good idea and for the most part went off well. I also thought Todd baker did phone calls when they did them quite well. Basically I've come to your side about on air calls, so long as they aren't over done.

I am not sure of the status of Sunday Night Classics Show but since it was on KRLA before, then KGGO-AM before it began county while it was still an Adult Standards format I rather suspect that it is some kind of contract arrangement. Also the host is an executive of another local radio company and this is his hobby. In fact it is pretty similar to a show I myself did Saturday nights a long time ago in Columbus Ohio which is why I enjoy it so much and I am not claiming creation rights.

By the way are you as your screen name implies a Reba Fan? 'Cause Reba rules!

He was VERY ambivalent about it, I talked to him just after 9PM and he was checking with Jeff to see if they had a delay or delete button in case us wild listeners got out of hand.

Thanks for coming over to my side ;D Love it when that happens!

I think if it is not overdone and if they don't play the SAME callers over and over, keep the clips of the calls short etc it would be workable... now if ONLY the station would come over to the listeners side...

I am still curious to know the dynamics of how many songs a station is supposed to play, how it works on other stations etc...

Yes I am VERY much a Reba Fan, have been for as long as I can remember... she is a GREAT person who I admire very much for her music and who she is as a person.

 

[cwfan]

I am interested in finding out what others take on the Live Caller issue is... don't most stations play the contest winners and play clips of callers from time to time during a shift? What are the pros and cons of this issue?

It makes no difference to me whether they play listeners calls or not. I’m all about the music. Give me a good variety of country music and I’m happy. Honestly, I never noticed that KKGO stopped playing listeners calls until a handful of people started complaining about it on the KKGO boards.

I have no idea why KKGO stopped playing back listeners calls. I’ve heard several different reasons; they did it to fit in more music, they did it to clean up the sound of the station, and it’s just a trial thing. I dunno. Part of me thinks that some people abused the privilege and would call up the DJ’s five and six times a day as if they were calling their best friend. Maybe the station figured that if they stopped airing listeners calls, then the serial callers would stop calling and bugging the DJ’s.

Whatever the reason, I don’t care. I never noticed that KKGO stopped playing listeners calls, so the listener call thing isn’t an issue to me. I won’t stop listening to the station if they start playing listeners calls, but I also wouldn’t care if they never played listeners call again.

 

[recplayer]

And why do we care about this topic???? Please Mr. Levine... make these 10 people at countryboards happy and air their phone calls!!! Maybe then they'll stop complaining!!!! And maybe that rude air personality was rude because of these crazy listeners pestering him all morning.. or afternoon!!

I'm just sayin'!

 

[Rebafan]

And why do we care about this topic???? Please Mr. Levine... make these 10 people at countryboards happy and air their phone calls!!! Maybe then they'll stop complaining!!!! And maybe that rude air personality was rude because of these crazy listeners pestering him all morning.. or afternoon!!

I'm just sayin'!

I care about this topic because after reading countryboards.com it is apparent that there are listeners and fans, the same ones that fought for a country radio station that are unhappy with the current status of things at that station. Complaining is how those fans got country music back in Los Angeles and Orange County, and this seems to be something they are passionate about now on the boards... so I posted it here as a question to other people on these boards who are familiar with the industry and how things work at OTHER stations... do they answer the phones or have producers that actually answer the phone, do stations air clips of callers or just contest winners or are most stations like KKGO and don't play any of them.

Maybe the radio personality or personality that was rude should be replaced if that is the case as to why they took off live callers?
I am sure there are those that call into a radio station every hour of every shift every day, and that is an issue that the station must deal with, but the listeners are the one that keep the station going with ratings so to punish a full listener base by not picking up the phone, no longer taking requests or being rude isn't the answer either. I stated in an earlier post that "I think if it is not overdone and if they don't play the SAME callers over and over, keep the clips of the calls short etc it would be workable... "

These boards are filled with radio industry people that are familiar with the ins and outs of different markets and formats...I was looking for feedback as to the "norm" of how radio works in the LA market when it comes to callers, I was NOT looking for drama...AND... if you didn't care about this topic, there is a button that says "Mark Read" you can use it and move on to a topic that more suits your interest at any given time.

 

[ceejay]

...AND... if you didn't care about this topic, there is a button that says "Mark Read" you can use it and move on to a topic that more suits your interest at any given time.

This was my first thought when I read this post. Thank you for pointing it out .......... I'm just sayin'

 

[Rebafan]

I placed this topic here for input from whoever wanted to way in on the "standard" in the industry in regards to listeners call clips being aired whether it be contest winners or "loyal listeners" etc.
I am surprised (though not too much so) that someone would label this post as complaining and find it a non worthy topic.
I rarely listen to the station and only call in on occasional weekends when Melody Morgan and Gary Campbell are on the air. I primarily stream my music, but being one of the fans that was a part of the "complaining" that brought country music back to LA and the OC after the flip of KZLA, I am interested in helping the listeners and the station remain on the air and hoping that input on subjects such as this would help for listeners and possibly those that are a part of the station to make wise decisions on programming and being listener friendly.
Thank you CeeJay for your support of the "Mark Read" button... It gets me past ALOT of topics if I don't find them of interest.... rather than posting negative remarks that have nothing to do with the subject... I just mark them read and Move On!

 

[cwfan]

KKGO is doing just fine with or without listeners’ calls. It probably wouldn’t hurt if Saul invested in more advertising, though. And a better morning team probably wouldn’t hurt. Either that, or provide Shawn with more direction for his show. But all in all, it’s a great station. I’ve even been known to turn off my beloved Sirius just to listen to KKGO. Oh, and by the way, Sirius plays listeners’ calls. All those who said satellite radio wasn’t personal enough may want to rethink that, especially if hearing listeners’ calls is that important.

 

[LAFMDJ]

To be successful Go Country needs...

The Right Music!
The Right Marketing!
The Right Morning Show!

The PD is playing the WRONG music!
The station can't afford what it takes to market in LA/OC!
The Morning show needs guidence!

It's a darn Shame!

 

[ceejay]

To be successful Go Country needs...

The Right Music!
The Right Marketing!
The Right Morning Show!

The PD is playing the WRONG music!
The station can't afford what it takes to market in LA/OC!
The Morning show needs guidence!

It's a darn Shame!

Sorry, RF, but, I must respond to this hijacking......

The listeners seem to love the music the PD is playing.

You have to spend money to make money, do you not?

From what I understand, the Los Angeles FM Disc Jockey on the morning show, does not get along with the PD, so it is doubtful that he would accept any guidence from her..... or anyone else for that matter.

It is a darn shame, but, the last item is fixable!

I'm just sayin'.

 

[LAFMDJ]

Sorry, RF, but, I must respond to this hijacking......

The listeners seem to love the music the PD is playing.

The ratings sure don't reflect this?

You have to spend money to make money, do you not?

Yes! Lots of it. That's the point! They won't!

From what I understand, the Los Angeles FM Disc Jockey on the morning show, does not get along with the PD, so it is doubtful that he would accept any guidence from her..... or anyone else for that matter.

I know for a fact he can and would!

It is a darn shame, but, the last item is fixable!

Oh yes it is!

 

[LAFMDJ]

Callers on this station is the least of their problems!

Just spend one hour listening to real Country stations like.... KNIX, KMLE, KFRG, KWNR, KMPS, KUPL, Even KATM Modesto sounds big time compared to Go Country!

There is a huge diference!

What a shame!

 

[Rebafan]

To be successful Go Country needs...

The Right Music!
The Right Marketing!
The Right Morning Show!

The PD is playing the WRONG music!
The station can't afford what it takes to market in LA/OC!
The Morning show needs guidence!

It's a darn Shame!

Although I agree the station needs the right marketing and the right morning show... I do not believe that they are playing the wrong ratings.

According to the station they are hitting ages 25-60 and doing well with the range of music that they play.

I don't want to hear JUST pop country, there is a lost genre in there of classics by Johnny Cash, Waylon and others that KZLA missed and KKGO is picking up on. The listeners asked for a better mix of country from the 70's to today and I believe that is what the station is trying to give them rather than the pop country that was heard over and over on KZLA without the classics being sprinkled in from time to time.
I do not however feel that their playlist should be so tight that there is not room for requests for more than an hour a day on "LA's Most Wanted".

CeeJay, it seems you and I are on the same page... and YES they have to spend money to make money... I discussed this in the KKGO rating thread.

 

[Rebafan]

Sorry, RF, but, I must respond to this hijacking......

The listeners seem to love the music the PD is playing.

The ratings sure don't reflect this?

I believe the ratings are not just suffering from the playlist, they are suffering for other reasons as stated in the KKGO ratings thread. The playlist is a tight one now, no room for requests or add ons etc. There is some redundant music being overplayed ie; Garth... and many other things that the listeners seem to be steering away from the station because of.

As to whether Shawn Parr would listen to suggestion or feedback and follow through with what Tonya Campos may want or suggest to him is something I believe ONLY Shawn knows for sure.

 

[recplayer]

Spend money to make money??????? Tell that to Rick Dees!!!!