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No More Song Tags On B101?
- Thread starter richt1014
- Start date
The song tags sound really clunky. Not sure if there's any point on doing them in this day and age with RDS, Shazam, etc. Besides, B101 does not play any obscure music.
I thought song tags were good. Yes, some radios have RDS but most don't. Even if you have it, you're not always looking at your radio while you're listening. It makes sense to have a quick mention of artist and title. I think more stations should do it, maybe when there is no live DJ on duty.
Maybe you set up the automation system to play tagged songs nights and weekends, when all you have is prerecorded liners? The rest of the time you don't use the tags?
Maybe you set up the automation system to play tagged songs nights and weekends, when all you have is prerecorded liners? The rest of the time you don't use the tags?
I haven't listened recently to hear for myself. I always thought that the song tags were almost a station branding at this point. If you heard a song tag, you knew you were listening to B101
Interesting that this happened today. I was on a short drive yesterday and decided to see what the terrestrials were playing. B101.1 was playing "Straight Up" and I left it on. (The station still sounds really weird to me, BTW.) The song tag seemed to play too early. It played under the vocal, which is something I'd never heard on there before. At any rate, I have pretty much despised the song tags since they introduced them so if they're really gone, I say "CHANGE APPROVED!"
There may not necessarily be research but one could argue it was as outdated as the teletype sound effect behind KYW newscasts. The listeners know the songs they are hearing, they don't need a VO to tell them, and if they don't there's many ways to find out what the song was. And yes, the majority of people probably will not care at all about this change.
When I was at 101 (when it was Eazy 101 and I'd been hired to be a live jock), I'd occasionally get called in to do the always-exciting overnight shift. I recall the music logs being identical, all 24 hours, to what the live jocks were playing. The music decisions were made by some satellie outfit way out west.
A few overnights when I got dragged in to attend another of my early funerals, I'd get gay and reverse some of the 3-song sequences by loading up the numbered, matching studio carts in the wrong order. EZ enough to do.
Of course, the satellite jock would then, calmly outro the delicately researched set backwards.
No one ever called ; I never got a memo.
That was in the days before RDS, HD, and even Prodigy. The station got to #1 with a 7/1 share. I half-kiddingly asked the PD about a raise, insisting that I was responsible for that .1 showing.
A few overnights when I got dragged in to attend another of my early funerals, I'd get gay and reverse some of the 3-song sequences by loading up the numbered, matching studio carts in the wrong order. EZ enough to do.
Of course, the satellite jock would then, calmly outro the delicately researched set backwards.
No one ever called ; I never got a memo.
That was in the days before RDS, HD, and even Prodigy. The station got to #1 with a 7/1 share. I half-kiddingly asked the PD about a raise, insisting that I was responsible for that .1 showing.
Those were added to copy what Ben FM was doing when it was jockless. I always thought it was awkward to have the canned voice announce the song's title and artist, and then immediately follow it with a real DJ in the studio. Why not just have the DJ announce the song, since they're there anyway?
They were added when Now 97.5 signed on and used them, so B101 quickly added them themselves. When Now 97.5 flipped to the Fanatic about a year later, B101 decided to keep them.
After enough time, just hearing that song tag was almost like branding for B101. When you heard that song tag, you knew you were listening to B101. Regardless of things like Shazaam, information on infotainment screens, RDS etc., they still served some purpose in the eyes of Jerry Lee, and then Entercom/Audacy
Wait, Ben never used any such thing, and Now copied the B, not the other way? Wasn’t that how it worked?
I definitely remember the song tags on Ben-FM.
This much I am sure of—that didn’t happen. Now 97.5 did it. Never Ben.
As far as I know, Ben FM has never had them. Their claim to fame from the sign on until just a year or so ago was having John O'Hurley has the main imaging voice.
It seems like B101 may have had them first, and Now copied them (I could have sworn it was the other way around)
www.allaccess.com
Plus there's a top of hour aircheck at TopHour.com that doesn't have the tag at the end of one song: http://tophour.com/audio/Philadelphia PA/fm0975_2008-10_wnuw_rcabral.mp3
I could have sworn that B101 started doing it AFTER Now did, like how when 96.5 became "Today's 96.5" (then) More-FM started calling themselves "Today's 101.1 More FM" a day later.
It seems like B101 may have had them first, and Now copied them (I could have sworn it was the other way around)
Song Tags by Mike McVay
WBEB/Philadelphia and Jerry Lee get credit for this innovative tactic. Their researcher and consultant is the well-known father of The Research Group, Bill Moyes. Former McVay Media consultant and current PD of WLTW/New York City; Chris Conley was PD of WBEB when they launched the tactic. WBEB...
Plus there's a top of hour aircheck at TopHour.com that doesn't have the tag at the end of one song: http://tophour.com/audio/Philadelphia PA/fm0975_2008-10_wnuw_rcabral.mp3
I could have sworn that B101 started doing it AFTER Now did, like how when 96.5 became "Today's 96.5" (then) More-FM started calling themselves "Today's 101.1 More FM" a day later.
Country station 97.1 WBFB Bangor, Maine, also was using them. They'd even announce occasionally "We tell you all the names of the songs!" I heard it last year but haven't listened since.
I just think hearing song after song with no mention of title or artist makes no sense, especially those times when a station is automated. Some of us say we know all the names of the songs. But the average listener doesn't. At least run the song tags nights and weekends when there is no DJ.
If you ask listeners what they don't like about their radio station, one of the things they say is "they never tell us the names of songs." Of course, some PDs think that the intrusion of the name and artist is worse than not saying that info. And some are just lazy. Every time they add a song to the playlist they have to get their voice person to record it. That may be the real reason why it is not done that frequently.
I just think hearing song after song with no mention of title or artist makes no sense, especially those times when a station is automated. Some of us say we know all the names of the songs. But the average listener doesn't. At least run the song tags nights and weekends when there is no DJ.
If you ask listeners what they don't like about their radio station, one of the things they say is "they never tell us the names of songs." Of course, some PDs think that the intrusion of the name and artist is worse than not saying that info. And some are just lazy. Every time they add a song to the playlist they have to get their voice person to record it. That may be the real reason why it is not done that frequently.
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