Now 92.3 speeds up the music!

[nd2023]

I estimate that 92.3 Now is pitching up the songs 2%. I actually prefer it to Z100 keeping the original pitch. After the first 10K songs, it will mean more commercials and more music per hour.

 

[mr.ric]

Is it me, or are they playing with the volume??

 

[nd2023]

I am sure that the engineer is adjusting the audio processor as we speak.

 

[Ozman]

the artists want their music at 100% speed IMHO not 102% 100% is how they designed it to be played at

 

[mr.ric]

I am sure that the engineer is adjusting the audio processor as we speak.

Oh ok cuz im listening online and its like the music got louder. woke me up a lil lol

 

[Oldbones]

the artists want their music at 100% speed IMHO not 102% 100% is how they designed it to be played at

Don't look "now" but stations have been pitching music since the 70s.

 

[d21ofnj]

It all depends how it sounds on a higher pitch...Ill take that than sme stations that play on a -2 pitch

 

[davideduardo]

I estimate that 92.3 Now is pitching up the songs 2%. I actually prefer it to Z100 keeping the original pitch. After the first 10K songs, it will mean more commercials and more music per hour.

If they increase the pitch, the song length does not change. If they increase the speed, the length changes. Today, you can up the speed and compensate by electronically dropping pitch. The gain is not enough to fit more songs in, and is usually intended to make a station sound brighter than its competitor.

A 2% change is significant, but only gains you about a second per minute. You won't up the speed of commercials, as that is theft. So about 45 minutes to 50 minutes of music gets sped up by 2%, and the net gain is less than a minute an hour. It's about brightness, not about fitting more stuff in the hour... and on FM, adding brightness is really not a highly beneficial thing.

 

[radioman148]

I estimate that 92.3 Now is pitching up the songs 2%. I actually prefer it to Z100 keeping the original pitch. After the first 10K songs, it will mean more commercials and more music per hour.

This has been done for years. In the early 70s in Chicago WCFL sped up their music to get more per hour than WLS plus make it sound more exciting.

 

[nd2023]

Less than a minute an hour = one or two more spots per hour. That adds up to thousands of dollars more every day.

 

[radio124]

If you speed up a three minute song by 2% the song will end 3.6 seconds faster than if played at normal speed. If you play 15 songs an hour you've saved yourself a measely 54 seconds, not even enough for one sixty second spot. The idea that pitching the music is done to add more commercials is totally inaccurate. The Bartell stations of the 70's pitched up the music very significantly yet their spot load was 8 min. per hour. The amount of commercial time would have stayed the same whether the songs were played at normal speed or not.

 

[nd2023]

54 seconds = 1 more 30 second spot + 24 seconds of DJ banter.

 

[wgliradio]

Records are pitched to make them sound brighter and have more impact. I remember in the 80's when CBS FM would run their Brucie countdowns on Wed nite... I was amazed at how slow the songs sounded on CBS FM because they were at normal speed. Pitching records is totally a subliminal effect.

 

[davideduardo]

Less than a minute an hour = one or two more spots per hour. That adds up to thousands of dollars more every day.

If they wanted to add commercials, there is no need to speed up the songs. They just add a unit or two. There are points at which the addition of spots has a negative effect on audience, so you get less audience, more spots, lower rates. No gain.

 

[raydiodude]

Nick, respectfully, you are DEAD wrong. I've been working in radio for 20 years almost, NEVER have records been pitched up to gain more time for spots. Never once has that even been brought up, except on boards like this from people who have no clue.

 

[nd2023]

The reason for pitching up may not directly be to add more commercials, but the end result is the same: either 1 or 2 more songs a day or several more spots a day.
Wired 96.5 in Philly attacked Q102 for pitching up "Q102 speeds up the music to play more commercials. We don't"
I notice that the songs are not just pitched up on 92.3 Now, but also sped up as the BPM is faster.

 

[Hardrocker9]

I personally like it when top 40 stations speed up there music. To me its sounds more uplifting. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Z 100 used to do this for a while, I believe it was from 1997 to about 2003? Also some other top 40 stations that I can think of that still speed up music are BLI, and KISS 95.7. Like I said, i personally like it, can't really explain why.

 

[hubcity]

the artists want their music at 100% speed IMHO not 102% 100% is how they designed it to be played at

The artists want their music to sell. (This is CHR we're talking about - anyone who's on the format has already left their artistic pretensions at the door.)

 

[Garrett]

Nick, respectfully, you are DEAD wrong. I've been working in radio for 20 years almost, NEVER have records been pitched up to gain more time for spots. Never once has that even been brought up, except on boards like this from people who have no clue.

Yeah, no kiddin' ! I was thinking the same thing!!!!!!!!!!!

I see black helicopters...