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NOW??? Now the long-awaited FM Talk tsunami?

Apparently not.

I haven't read it yet, but my Facebook Friend quotes TJ: "Getting royalties out of Roulette Records was like trying to take a bone away from a pit bull."
 
Speaking of callers, I have to agree that good callers are very much a part of most talk formats. I want to rip my hair out (unfortunately I have none...) every time I hear a caller say the following:

"Hi, how are you doing?" (Followed by a pause waiting for the host to answer)
"I'll hang up and listen to your comments off-air" (Talk radio is a CONVERSATION, not a Q&A period)
"I was telling your call screener..." (We can assume you told the screener, since you're on the air)

A prime example of how bad callers can be is listening to a show that's simulcast both on Sirius XM and FM stations. You can spot a satellite listener a mile away when the host takes a call from them.

Good callers are an important part of the puzzle for most shows.
 
All or nothing only alternative?

Are all-music or all-talk the only alternatives if the performance legislation becomes law? How about some alternatives? Don't want to go all talk? How about:

Going talk in overnights: From 11 pm to 5 am weekdays, slightly different hours weekends. Plug in a couple of syndicated shows to keep from paying performance royalties during the little listenend-to late night hours. Find the new Larry King to do an all-night talk show for this century.

Full services stations: Except in some smaller markets, the assumption has been made that information programming needs to be surrounded by other forms of talk, usually political. How about a station that has a good amount of local and world news, traffic reports, weather, sports, business/consumer news. Form a partnership with a local TV station that doesn't have sister radio stations. Air the audio portions of their news broadcasts. That would reduce the amount of music played on the station. Think full-service ACs or MOR stations, updated for 2010 and beyond. And many of these stations would utilize the all-night talk show mentioned above.

Some lifestyle talk shows that fit with the music format. An evening sports talk show on an FM rocker (if the all-sports stations in the market are all on AM). Maybe entertainment or advice shows on a soft rock station.

More sports play by play on FM, with accompanying sports talk shows ... without the station going all talk or sports.

Give the morning shows being laid off around the nation a place on your station ... in more dayparts than just mornings. Hire hosts to do FM morning shows in middays, afternoons and evenings. There are lots available.

New Jersey 101.5: Talk weekdays, music on the weekends.

Who says the only alternative music FMs would have is the current political talk? Let's show some creativity out there, radio.

All of the above suggestions might also work in a world in which more and more people are plugging their iPods into their cars. How do you compete with that? Give them something they can't get on their Ipod.

It's not the elimination of music on FM. It's providing creative content around it.
 
YAH-mon.

radiophiler said:
It's not the elimination of music on FM. It's providing creative content around it.
Click to expand...

It only SEEMS LIKE a-world-turned-upside-down, but it makes sense.

In Olden Times: The station that played the most music won.

Now: The music station that plays LESS music can win, if:

a.) What's-BETWEEN-the-songs bonds listeners; and

b.) The music is right, REALLY right. And that no longer means tested-to-death "safe lists."
One of the big attractions how-people-are-doing-their-music other-than-by-radio: NEW music.
 
ALL KINDS of talk...except more-politics, puh-LEEEEZ

"Hot Talk" was a well-intentioned misfire, a caricature.

DO talk (a) the-way-people-talk, and (b) about-the-things-real-people-care-about.

But actually DO it, don't imitate how-other-people-do-it.
That whole "Hot Talk" thing had a lot of monkey-see-monkey-do to it.
 
Exactly!

Make it more like a bunch of friends sitting around talking about stuff that normal people do. Goof on popular figures, talk a little sports, etc. I always thought the "shock" aspect of that format was outdated, even 15 years ago. You can only do so much with mentally deranged people, midgets and porn stars.

I'm glad to see that someone who actually knows something about the business thinks along those lines. I always thought I was one of the few people who would switch the station when Howard or Opie and Anthony (or insert any wacky morning show here) brought in the misfits and tried to force memorable radio out of it.
 
Don C said:
I'm glad to see that someone who actually knows something about the business thinks along those lines. I always thought I was one of the few people who would switch the station when Howard or Opie and Anthony (or insert any wacky morning show here) brought in the misfits and tried to force memorable radio out of it.
Click to expand...

Oooops!

You actually picked the 2 shows that DID hot talk well FOR THEIR PERSONALITIES. Unfortunately, a bunch of hacks copied them and it became a T&A free-for-all.

Hot talk always should have been a more energized version of AM talk, sans the heavy political stuff, unless it was some sensational scandal. There is plenty of non-political-wonk material out there that is not necessarily "fluff" and will make for some great heated debate and conversation. A host doesn't have to divide evrybody based on political ideology to have a great bak-and-forth. THAT is what hot talk should have been. The concept was misunderstood and mismanaged from day one.

Sadly, the rep of "talk", thanks to the Limbaugh immitators has almost irreversably salted the earth as far as anybody under 35.

FM/Hot talk will be starting from scratch.
 
Well said!

jerry367 said:
Sadly, the rep of "talk", thanks to the Limbaugh immitators has almost irreversably salted the earth as far as anybody under 35.
Click to expand...

Amen!

If you saw the movie "Birdcage" in a theater at the time, you remember the big laugh Gene Hackman's character got when he said "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT RUSH LIMBAUGH SAID." If you didn't, rent it; and see how what-we-inside-the-box revere can be a punchline to "real people."

jerry367 said:
[size=10pt]FM/Hot talk will be starting from scratch.
Click to expand...

Let's hope so.

As Jerry put it: “Why are almost all talk shows the same and aimed at the same age group?”
(http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2010/04/ipad-radio.html)
 
You actually picked the 2 shows that DID hot talk well FOR THEIR PERSONALITIES. Unfortunately, a bunch of hacks copied them and it became a T&A free-for-all.
Click to expand...

I picked them quite deliberately, as well. O&A and Howard still fell back on the misfit/T&A crutch once in a while, too. The copycats, having less talent, did nothing but wierdos and porn stars. That's what made them so awful.

Actually, the show from that format that I liked the most was Ron and Fez. At least up until about 2 or so years ago. The show isn't quite what it used to be, but at one time they did a great show. Talk about the things that normal people talk about, great callers (on their FM shows, the XM callers are horrid), and no stunts. No porn stars. That show in the WNEW or WJFK days was about as good as the Hot Talk format can get.

I agree that there is a second chance for the format, if the right people do it. The days of being "shocking" are over. It's time for hosts that are entertaining without having to try too hard at it. Hosts that are not only funny, but smart. I guess the only concern is where these guys are going to come from.
 
Re: ALL KINDS of talk...except more-politics, puh-LEEEEZ

Holland Cooke said:
DO talk (a) the-way-people-talk, and (b) about-the-things-real-people-care-about.
Click to expand...

This is why I love podcasts. Not only are the discussions about things that are much more interesting to me (such as technology and popular culture), but the hosts come across as a lot more real because they're not trying to keep people listening till the next commercial break. [Also, the ads are much more limited, and generally read by the hosts.]

I haven't listened to commercial talk radio in years... and I don't miss it.
 
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