Question for Music/Program Directors

[PedroOrange]

To use your example, I have no real affection for DEVO but I would be fine if a station played that band just because it would be something different. You know I am really a big fan of southern fried chicken. I love it and enjoy having it weekly, but I would grow sick of it if I ate everyday for almost every meal. True music fans like hearing a variety of music. The fact is,and there are a variety of reasons for this, radio is a dying art and people are sick of it, because it is not radio anymore. You are supposed to be in the entertainment business more or less, but people are not being entertained anymore.

I agree with you...but sadly, with so many competing mediums, stations have to play it safe. It would be nice to see a station break away from that mold and take a chance.

But, like SuperQ has said, it's a job...and as soon as it turns into a job, it's time to get out.

Don't get me wrong though...it beats digging ditches. However, to see something you love doing evolve into a stale environment is quite depressing.

PeDrO

 

[SuperQ]

I agree, radio is not nearly as much fun as it used to be. And I go back to the days of playing 45's and having staff meetings where decisions were made on the basis of "hell, let's try it...if it doesn't work, we'll try something else."

I too miss those days. But even as corporate and stale as it has become, radio still beats the heck out of manual labor or selling shoes. And I am way too old to get hired to learn a new trade. In fact, I'm fortunate that corporate radio still finds me employable.

And Sand, radio is not in the music business. Radio has never been in the music business. It used to be more of an entertainment business of which music was a key part, but radio's job was never to expose people to music. And today, it would be ludicrous to use radio to get exposed to new music. There are way too many options over which you have total control.

 

[firepoint525]

Just remember Sandscott, your requests come from an incredibly small portion of your audience. And in almost all cases those people are not representative of the vast majority of your audience.

Way back in the day, the station I worked at played the song Rappers Delight for about two weeks. We got as many complaints about it as we did requests. We then played it 7 to midnight for a few more weeks. It was our number one most requested song by a factor of 2 or 3 times for almost 9 months. Had we played that song as often as it was requested, we'd have all been looking for work.

It is true that there is probably less satisfaction with radio these days. That's less a function of what radio is doing differently than it is with the wide variety of alternatives that are available. We keep hearing that no body under the age of 25 even owns a radio any more (check Jerry Del Colliano's daily blog). Yet since 1990, cume and average quarter hours for the 12-34 audience are down between 5 and 10 percent. They're mostly still listening, maybe just not as much, and they have alternatives.

When I got started there really was no alternative other buying the single or album. Then came MTV, VH1, CD changers, the Internet, satellite, and now IPods. Radio is pretty much doing what it's always done, it's just got twice as many radio stations and a whole bunch of other outlets to compete with. That generally means you have to narrow your focus rather than broaden it. In the old days if there was one Top 40 station in town, they prided themselves on breaking new records. As soon as they got a competitor, they tightened the playlist and really played the hits.

That legend lives on on a much bigger scale.

There's a reason for that. Most people know that radio doesn't actually play requests, so they don't bother calling the station for requests. I think I was about 14 when I figured that out. So the only people calling with requests are children, pre-teens, totally clueless idiots, harassers, stalkers, and people with nothing better to do with their time.

Radio stations don't really want requests, so they don't get any! :

Radio is going to play what radio is going play, so requests are considered "suggestions," and as such, don't mean much anyway. :

 

[firepoint525]

I agree, radio is not nearly as much fun as it used to be. And I go back to the days of playing 45's and having staff meetings where decisions were made on the basis of "hell, let's try it...if it doesn't work, we'll try something else."

I too miss those days. But even as corporate and stale as it has become, radio still beats the heck out of manual labor or selling shoes. And I am way too old to get hired to learn a new trade. In fact, I'm fortunate that corporate radio still finds me employable.

And Sand, radio is not in the music business. Radio has never been in the music business. It used to be more of an entertainment business of which music was a key part, but radio's job was never to expose people to music. And today, it would be ludicrous to use radio to get exposed to new music. There are way too many options over which you have total control.

You may be surprised. I'm 44, lost my job at my last station late last summer, and start my new job as a state employee tomorrow! Not only that, I'm getting the perks (increased pay, benefits, prestige, daytime working hours, and nights, weekends, and holidays off) that I never would have gotten from my former station! So life does indeed, go on!

 

[Meepster]

When we first got "mini-disc" recorders/players in the studio at Froggy for "live" request shows...it was fabulous! They call and request songs and/or make comments about them, you record the entire conversation, and edit out what you don't want to use. You can play it in a matter of moments, or save it for an indefinate period and use it when you like. In fact...I actually still have several mini discs from back then with literally hundreds of edited great "phoners" on them that could STILL be edited and reused today. I did a show called Cryin', Lovin', Leaving, or laughin' that was all request every night. I used many of those same cuts and phoners along with a lot of new ones when I went to afternoons. It was all corny stuff...but like the OM always said...if it's corny and people love it...GROW CORN!

I hated doing that evening shift, and never was that fond of Country...but I DO have a picture of myself at The Pyramid on my birthday one year with my arm around Faith Hill and hers around me. I got a little hug and a special wish for a "HOPPY" Birthday from her.
She saw my nametag and thought that was quite funny.We just laughed! Seemed like I met her husband whathisface that night, too.

I'm sorry...what were we talking about?
I musta drifted.

hahahahahahaha!

 

[Sandscott]

Super Q,

You are right and wrong. Radio is not the music business EXACTLY but the two used to go hand in hand. Good radio stations that used a little creativity would occasionally take the chance and play an unknown artist or actually play a legitimate song request. At times, a radio station with guts would start hyping an artist and the rest of the nation would eventually catch on. Radio had the power to make an artist. Today, it is all about being safe which is why people can't think for themselves anymore. No one wants to take a chance anymore. What would entice me to listen to your radio station anymore when I can more or less name what songs you are going to play and I probably have all the songs you play that I like on an I-Pod or Greatest Hits album. If I turn on radio I want to be entertained and very seldom am I entertained anymore. I turn on 103 and oh geez there is Steve Miller "Jet Airliner"-when was the last time I heard that? Oh wait, earlier today or yesterday when there are literally thousands of bands and tens of thousands of bands that are never played. Why won't classic rock radio play the Moody Blues anymore? How about some UFO? Uriah Heep anyone? A lot of those bands had HITS in the 70's, yet radio won't even play them. Give me a break.

I bought Ted Nugent's new album a few months ago and he did a remake of the old Amboy Dukes song "Journey To The Center of Your Mind" It reminded me I haven't heard that old Amboy Dukes song on radio in years. WHY?

What gets me is when people claim certain bands are hasbeens. Are they has-beens because they aren't still good performers or can't still write good songs or are they has-beens because radio lost its balls and once they reached a certain age or were no longer the flavor of the band, all of a sudden radio deemed that not cool enough to play anymore. I am sorry but it is ridiculous. How about actually considering what the audience wants to hear.

 

[radiofan4life]

Okay, I'll say it and I know I'll get ripped but I think the problem with local radio now is the lack of passion and drive from the announcers themselves. I think most managers would welcome creativity from the announcers since it would probably drive ratings and thus revenue. The announcers come in with little to no show prep, with no energy and jump behind the mic and occassionally do an outro-intro of what the computer says is coming up and then get back to their solitaire game or back on the phone with their significant other. Nobody is holding them down from doing a quality shift but themselves. WHERE'S THE PRIDE? Blaming Big Brother for holding us back only goes so far IMO. Fire away!!!

 

[radiofan4life]

And another thing (it's my day to vent), what is with these people (and you know who you are) who constantly knock local radio or the lack thereof and then make ridiculous comments like "Local radio stations are no longer local so that's why I listen to XM or my IPOD now"? Give me a break. If you aren't part of the solution to a problem then you are part of the problem. Local radio needs the support of listeners and advertisers to survive. If you are as passionate about as you say you are, then shut up and support it for goodness sakes. When it's gone we all lose.

 

[Sandscott]

I agree firepoint and thank you for your post, but allow me to say this. I really want to support local radio. However, it simply does entertain me anymore, so I find myself listening less and less. Why would I listen to something I do not enjoy. The bottom line with me is I am NOT going to listen to the same songs everyday. I like Led Zep as much as the next person, but I don't have to hear them everyday and certainly not SEVERAL times a day when they could throw in a UFO or Robin Trower song instead of playing Stairway for the five billioneth time.

 

[PedroOrange]

Okay, I'll say it and I know I'll get ripped but I think the problem with local radio now is the lack of passion and drive from the announcers themselves. I think most managers would welcome creativity from the announcers since it would probably drive ratings and thus revenue. The announcers come in with little to no show prep, with no energy and jump behind the mic and occassionally do an outro-intro of what the computer says is coming up and then get back to their solitaire game or back on the phone with their significant other. Nobody is holding them down from doing a quality shift but themselves. WHERE'S THE PRIDE? Blaming Big Brother for holding us back only goes so far IMO. Fire away!!!

Again, this goes back to something I mentioned earlier...either in this thread of another...if you pay low wages with little or no benefits, you're going to get announcers who lack the passion.

If the PD or GM aren't teaching up and coming air talent how to be great at their job, then you are going to get folks who just "read the liner cards" or play solitaire.

Not every DJ is right for the job...some think they can show up five minutes before they go on-the-air and breeze through their 5 hour shift. Get to know the artists you're playing and get to know the people in your area.

PeDrO

 

[SuperQ]

There are plenty of people available with incredible passion for minimum wage. Unfortunately they lack the experience to channel the passion in the proper direction. There are probably dozens if not hundreds of posters on this board who would work for free, secure in the knowledge that if, given a chance, their ideas would revolutionize radio and make them rich heroes. I was that person when I was 19.

The corporate world is not interested in passionate people willing to take chances. They're interested in people that can achieve within the structured framework that everyone has agreed on. If they're passionate about that, it's a bonus. Taking chances in a corporate environment is dangerous unless there is a clear and obvious scapegoat.

It's not about radio, it's about all consolidated, stockholder-beholden corporate businesses from high tech to retail. XM and Sirius can take more chances because they've got 100 plus channels that don't need ad revenue or ratings. At the ad-supported channels on satellite, people are still getting fired because their ideas aren't working, and because they need ratings and revenue to drive the stock price.

It sucks, but it's real. Imagine Dilbert doing PM drive. That's corporate radio.

 

[PedroOrange]

At the ad-supported channels on satellite, people are still getting fired because their ideas aren't working, and because they need ratings and revenue to drive the stock price.

The question I would ask is: Do these people, who are taking chances/risks, really know what they are doing? Just because you work in radio...just because you're a PD or a jock...it doesn't mean you know what you're doing.

I've worked with many of radio bosses who didn't have the first clue as to what they were doing. That's when I learned that the idealistic career I'd gotten into wasn't going to work out.

PeDrO

 

[longleggs]

What a great discussion. I love how a few of you (especially Sandscott) have called some people to task. I, too, get no real enjoyment from corporate radio. Heck ,the only thing I regularly listen to is SL 100's House of Hair just because I don't have to hear the same songs every week.

The thing is there is no incentive for a deejay to be creative anymore. It is sort of like a teacher with No Child Left Behind. It is the same tired songs, the same everything. The day and age where a deejay can guide the show is over with. Deejays are a dime a dozen. I appreciate the guy or gal who would tell a good joke who come up with things that were topical and occasionally throw in a song THEY LIKED instead of the corporate playlist.

That is one reason why I liked Alice Cooper's nighttime show which oddly did poor ratings in this area but seems to do well everywhere else. He told stories and actually played stuff like Frank Zappa. Why can't radio do a little bit more of that. Heck, I hear Cooper has a new album coming out around August sort of in the Welcome To My Nightmare vein, why can't a PD maybe play one track and (gasp) see if listeners like it? You mean to tell me that in the course of 24 hours, seven days a week, there is no room for deep cuts, a few new songs by veteran artists, etc. and listeners want to hear AC/DC every three or four hours but would turn the station if you played Spooky Tooth. I am not buying it.

 

[PedroOrange]

The thing is there is no incentive for a deejay to be creative anymore. It is sort of like a teacher with No Child Left Behind. It is the same tired songs, the same everything. The day and age where a deejay can guide the show is over with. Deejays are a dime a dozen. I appreciate the guy or gal who would tell a good joke who come up with things that were topical and occasionally throw in a song THEY LIKED instead of the corporate playlist.

Not necessarily. I worked at a place with a very tight playlist...but I learned how to work around it. You find a way to make the station interesting.

I try to make my show something I would want to listen to.

The multi-tasking aspect kills small-market local radio...do a 5-6 hour shift, follow up with voicetracks, do production, manage the website...all for less than $9.00 an hour.

Again, it's not hard work, but it's hard to make a living out of it.

PeDrO

 

[SuperQ]

If a jock was throwing in a few of his favorites occasionally, he would likely have been fired in all but the smallest markets or lowest rated stations.

I've been doing this as a jock, PD, GSM, GM and station owner since 1970. And there was never a year when I didn't hear complaints about the same ten songs over and over again. So this is nothing new or consolidation related.

Every year, a different group of 17 year old boys would call up and tell me to play some f-ing (blank).
Fill in the blank with Montrose, Skynyrd, Nugent, AC/DC, Dokken, Megadeath. The artists and the kids changed, but the story never did. Everyone of those 17 year olds grew up hating radio because no one would play their (blank).

Unless you go back to the pre-Beatle days, jocks played what they were told to play at successful stations, and it worked, until we entered a world with hundreds (sat) or thousands (online) of competitors.

There have been stations that let the passionate jocks program their own music. These stations became preacher creatures within a year, or had PD's take back control.

The issue still has nothing to do with voictracking, how many stations Clear Channel owns or how afraid the PD is.

When one company owns five stations in a market and another company owns four, everyone can find their safe little niche and be comfortable. When there were six or seven different owners in the market, all playing to win, there was that passion you're looking for. But that cat has long since been let out of the bag.

I have come go to grips with it thusly. I work for corporate radio to earn a living and support my radio habit. It still beats hard labor. I own a small market radio station that allows me to play what I want, take the chances I want, and have fun. You can still do it in the small markets and make a difference in your community. You just have to own the station to make a living (and that's no guarantee)

Look at what could be (in a small market) instead of being miserable about what isn't (in the big markets).

 

[PedroOrange]

There have been stations that let the passionate jocks program their own music.

Wow...that's a scary thought.

I work for corporate radio to earn a living and support my radio habit. It still beats hard labor. I own a small market radio station that allows me to play what I want, take the chances I want, and have fun. You can still do it in the small markets and make a difference in your community. You just have to own the station to make a living (and that's no guarantee)

I agree...it's not hard labor. But, you own your small market station and I would imagine you make a decent salary running the station. But, it's yours and I imagine you bust your tail making sure everything runs tight.

I would love to be in a position to own or even work at a small market station and make a decent salary. However, I've seen many small-market owners dedicate their lives to the station while family life is left on the side-lines. It's a hard act to balance.

PeDrO

 

[PedroOrange]

I hate to sound like a mark for Gregg Rivers on this board, but I heard his "Deep Cut" yesterday and he executed it very well. He played a song off of Robert Plant's second solo disc...gave a little history about Robert's solo career and the song in general. He also talked about his appearance with Allison Kraus at Bonnaroo and in Memphis.

Normally, I might have switched the channel because I was unfamiliar with the "Deep Cut" he played, but because of his enthusiastic and informative introduction, I stuck around and enjoyed the tune.

Thumbs up!

PeDrO

 

[Meepster]

Sure can't hurt if you decide to apply for a part-time gig. ;D