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Sending homebrew CDs to radio stations for possible airplay

Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> HitDiscs and GoldDiscs started under the Century 21
> Programming name, around 1985.

When did they do away with their tape based automation service? I keep thinking it was around 1988. If I recall they sold that division to Broadcast Programming.
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> I believe the HitDisks were always TM Century. At least,
> that was on the CD labels of every one I ever programmed.

They did indeed start under the Century21 Programmijg name, as noted in another reply to your question. I have access to some of their HitDiscs from the late 1980's to early 1990's and they are all branded as Century21 Programming.
 
Re: Well, not exactly.

>
> Actually, TM started out as a jingle company

The initials stand for Tom Merriman, who wrote most of the jingles. I did my first with TM in about 1970 for WUNO, and then did WERC and Kixx in Birmingham with them in '72.
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> > I believe the HitDisks were always TM Century. At least,
> > that was on the CD labels of every one I ever programmed.
>
>
> They did indeed start under the Century21 Programmijg name,
> as noted in another reply to your question. I have access
> to some of their HitDiscs from the late 1980's to early
> 1990's and they are all branded as Century21 Programming.
>

I guess that dates it. The first Hitdisks I programmed were in 1993, and were TM Century by then.
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> > HitDiscs and GoldDiscs started under the Century 21
> > Programming name, around 1985.
>
> When did they do away with their tape based automation
> service? I keep thinking it was around 1988. If I recall
> they sold that division to Broadcast Programming.

I thought that was TM that had tape services and sold to BPI. Did Century also have formats?
>
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

>
> If I can't trust you to follow the list, why should you work there?
>


um... to entertain the listeners and give them a reason to listen?


KL

<a href="http://home.nc.rr.com/gttyson/lastradio.html">The Last Radio Station<a><P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> I thought that was TM that had tape services and sold to
> BPI. Did Century also have formats?

Yes... They were still providing tapes in the mid to late 1980's.
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> > I thought that was TM that had tape services and sold to
> > BPI. Did Century also have formats?
>
> Yes... They were still providing tapes in the mid to late
> 1980's.
>
We started using a tape service in 1990 from BPI that had originally been Century 21, Hot AC format. It replaced a BPI format we began in 1987 that BPI had just purchased from Peters Productions and at that time BPI hadn't yet purchased the Century tape formats, so apparently sometime between 1987 and 1990.

TM also had tape formats ("Stereo Rock" the most well known.) I don't recall if BPI bought them or not, but it's likely since BPI was buying out just about every tape service in the late 80s, early 90s.
 
Re: Playlists are local... but there is a pecking order.

> > HitDiscs and GoldDiscs started under the Century 21
> > Programming name, around 1985.
>
> When did they do away with their tape based automation
> service? I keep thinking it was around 1988. If I recall
> they sold that division to Broadcast Programming.

If memory serves, it was late 1987, and you are correct that BPI serviced C21's remaining tape clients, although the clients received BPI formats replacing the C21 ones (the division was not sold, only the client contracts).<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> >
> One word... No. (Unless it's a "Local Rock" show on a rock
> station, but those are usually buried sometime on Sunday
> when no one is listening, except for the bands that sent in
> music)
>
>

Not all local music shows on rock stations are burried on
Sunday mornings. The Rock station in our cluster WBZG FM Peru Illinois does it's local music show on Thursday eveings at seven. I will guess that most rock statioins taht do local music shows are in smaller markets.
 
> Oh trust me.. there were some really crappy bands back in
> college...

The thing is, the truly great acts in the fifties were discovered by radio, guys just walking into the station with a guitar.

Denying local artists from the medium of radio is therefore the height of arrogance.

Sure, there are the talentless, the clueless, and the tone-deaf. But somewhere, there are some musicians that sound good to a few people and they might just grow on others. Could be regional, or an angle on another region. The Stones were into the Delta Blues and they developed a following in Britain. Then what happened?

I think every damn radio station should set aside two hours for local acts, no matter how "unpolished" they are because if four guys or gals take the trouble to learn their instruments, write a few tunes or interpret tunes of others in their point of view, then press a little vinyl or dupe some CDs, they should be granted a "hearing" by the masses.

Let the people decide who's hot and who's not. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by johnnyd on 10/25/05 09:31 PM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: Commercial radio not the best place for new music

> I've discovered more new music in the last few years from
> sites like Download.com, internet stations, and the Music
> Choice channels than I have from contemporary broadcasters.
> Way too many quid pro quos involved in the music selections
> of the local FMs, in my opinion.

There are many stations which literally won't add a new song to their playlist unless it's reached the Top 20 of whatever chart they monitor. That's just sad!

<P ID="signature">______________
noiboc.jpg

"This is the New York Emergency Broadcast System satellite channel. They took the crosstown bus."</P>
 
Re: Commercial radio not the best place for new music

> > I've discovered more new music in the last few years from
> > sites like Download.com, internet stations, and the Music
> > Choice channels than I have from contemporary
> broadcasters.
> > Way too many quid pro quos involved in the music
> selections
> > of the local FMs, in my opinion.
>
> There are many stations which literally won't add a new song
> to their playlist unless it's reached the Top 20 of whatever
> chart they monitor. That's just sad!

Actually, from the point of view of getting ratings and achieving revenue success, this is a reasonable policy for most stations.
 
> I think every damn radio station should set aside two hours
> for local acts, no matter how "unpolished" they are because
> if four guys or gals take the trouble to learn their
> instruments, write a few tunes or interpret tunes of others
> in their point of view, then press a little vinyl or dupe
> some CDs, they should be granted a "hearing" by the masses.
>
>
> Let the people decide who's hot and who's not.
>


Tried it on our station. Had a 'homegrown' show. Took a 6 share radio station...to a 0.0. Just for the hour. People acually tuned OUT--then tuned back in when the local crap stopped. No one cares about most poorly done, poorly produced local music except the bands wives and grandma....and grandma won't listen. There are exceptions, but they're few and far between...even in major metros. In markets 50 and under, two hours of local music would be the sound of one hand clapping.

Leave local music for high school stations and non-coms....cause commercial radio involves both halves of that phrase...and most local bands suck. The honest truth is, the people DO decide...and radio has determined the best way to capitalize on that....by NOT playing most local music.
 
>
> Tried it on our station. Had a 'homegrown' show. Took a 6
> share radio station...to a 0.0. Just for the hour. People
> acually tuned OUT--then tuned back in when the local crap
> stopped.

Excellent comments...

I had that happen onece, too. Nobody wants to hear a show of unknown songs, or bad covers. This is just bad, unlistenable radio and not what our listeners come to hear.
 
Re: Commercial radio not the best place for new music

> > There are many stations which literally won't add a new song
> > to their playlist unless it's reached the Top 20 of whatever
> > chart they monitor. That's just sad!
>
> Actually, from the point of view of getting ratings and
> achieving revenue success, this is a reasonable policy for
> most stations.

But if every station did this, then radio would no longer be able to get songs on the chart in the first place -- which is basically what is happening now. I see more and more artists advertising their new albums directly to the public on the Internet, on TV, and in print media. Commercial radio once played a key role in attracting consumers to new singles and albums, but now it's just become the useless middleman.

And as "legal" download sites continue to take off, record companies will become increasingly useless as well. Who needs Sony/BMG/Capitol/Arista/etc. when an unsigned "indie" artist can get his or her new music placed right alongside commercial releases on iTunes?

<P ID="signature">______________
noiboc.jpg

"This is the New York Emergency Broadcast System satellite channel. They took the crosstown bus."</P>
 
Re: Commercial radio not the best place for new music

> > > There are many stations which literally won't add a new
> song
> > > to their playlist unless it's reached the Top 20 of
> whatever
> > > chart they monitor. That's just sad!
> >
> > Actually, from the point of view of getting ratings and
> > achieving revenue success, this is a reasonable policy for
>
> > most stations.
>
> But if every station did this, then radio would no longer be
> able to get songs on the chart in the first place

There are always smaller stations that add untried stuff. And each larger station does a limited number of adds, with different songs on each one. As different stations prove or disprove songs, the real hits still emerge.

In general, all stations are doing is taking advantage of better listeener level information on the interest in new songs and not playing as much garbage while trying to find the real hits.
 
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