Slate.com article.. Alt Radio

[x13thfloorrand]

Probably national implications, but a good 'inside' from a DJ on todays Alternative Music format and how radio trys to make it work

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...unwarranted_decline_of_fm_rock_stations_.html

 

[TheBigA]

The writer of this article wants commercial mainstream acceptance for a music that's simply not commercial or mainstream. And that's why its fans love it so passionately. In addition, what's hurt rock in the last ten years is it's divided into so many sub-genres, with very few recognizable superstars. My view on this subject is simple: The music has to get better, bigger, and more organized if it's going to get airplay. And doing that is that antithesis of the alternative culture. So they might achieve radio acceptance, but at the cost of their die-hard fans.

 

[chas108]

The writer of this article wants commercial mainstream acceptance for a music that's simply not commercial or mainstream. And that's why its fans love it so passionately. In addition, what's hurt rock in the last ten years is it's divided into so many sub-genres, with very few recognizable superstars. My view on this subject is simple: The music has to get better, bigger, and more organized if it's going to get airplay. And doing that is that antithesis of the alternative culture. So they might achieve radio acceptance, but at the cost of their die-hard fans.

I read it and it's just another validation of my conviction that Rock is dead - as a driving force in Pop culture - and headed back underground from whence it came.

These three observations, A:

-"divided into so many sub-genres"
-"few recognizable superstars"
-"simply not commercial or mainstream"

...tell the tale.

How many people have familiarity with Atreyu, A Day To Remember or The Devil Wears Prada? Yet all are big stars within their sub-genre. The threshold for success in Rock today is much smaller than even five years ago when Nickleback and Linkin Park were still hitting home runs in multiple radio formats and had the sales to validate their radio success.

"...they might achieve radio acceptance, but at the cost of their die-hard fans..."

That conumdrum's existed for decades, especially in punk. Many of Green Day's early fans never forgave them when "Dookie" blew up. IIRC, Kurt Cobain had a hard time reconciling mainstream success with underground credibility.

Although I've pounded the "Rock is Dead" theme on this board through much of the year - the die-hard fans within these sub-genres don't care...I think it's like the Guy Patterson character in the movie That Thing You Do!, pursuing his real passion - jazz - when the Wonders broke up. Jazz went underground after 1955 and from time to time produced some great moments in the larger Pop Culture during the Rock era. I believe that's how it will be moving forward with Rock. Nickelback's new song is a killer track...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj4NVYtzlQA&ob=av2e

...and this album might blow up big-time but I'm going to call it the exception that proves the rule.

As for Alternative radio...I'm starting to think that the '90's were lightning-in-a-bottle for the format, and the 2000's were spent trying to preserve that success, but now it's going back to its normal - much smaller - place in Pop Culture.

 

[TheBigA]

I believe that's how it will be moving forward with Rock. Nickelback's new song is a killer track...

Funny story about Nickleback, reported on another board: They got the gig to perform on the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers Thanksgiving Day game with national exposure. Great gig, except a group of people have started a Facebook page to have them dropped from the show because they aren't from Detroit. As if that makes a difference. Were there groups starting Facebook pages and petititions in 1964 because The Beatles were from England? This is another thing that is killing rock.

 

[SirRoxalot]

What's interesting to me is that so many young artists are going back toward roots music, and discovering the foundation that rock was built on. We may simply be going through another cycle. Rock evolved from the simply powerful music of the 50s into the vapid pre-Beatles music of the early '60s, reinvented itself into something much more complex through the cultural revolution of the 60s and 70s, then devolved into disco and hair bands in the '80s. Punk provided another shot of roots muscle, which evolved into the navel-gazing "it's all about me" of the 90s. I see young musicians going back to the motherlode these days, looking for less glitz and more reality.

Of course, there have always been bands who ignored the trends and created great music along the way. I think that they're still out there, but they're ignoring the record companies, which makes them less obvious to radio. White Stripes and the Black Keys are pretty good examples.

I'm not so sure that rock is dead, but rock radio that fights over 25-54 while largely ignoring audiences outside those parameters certainly plays a part. "Safe" music lists - especially generated on a national rather than regional basis - also reduce radio's role as a trend setter. And yes, I know that money is the reason. But might a rimshot playing something INTERESTING be more effective ultimately than simply acting as a spoiler for a competition station?

 

[chas108]

I'm not so sure that rock is dead, but rock radio that fights over 25-54 while largely ignoring audiences outside those parameters certainly plays a part. "Safe" music lists - especially generated on a national rather than regional basis - also reduce radio's role as a trend setter. And yes, I know that money is the reason. But might a rimshot playing something INTERESTING be more effective ultimately than simply acting as a spoiler for a competition station?

I would hope so...can they find a sales staff that can sell it?

A longtime friend of mine got the chance to program a Metal format on a rimshot Class A; this was back in 1986. They had ratings; what they didn't have was a saleable product...or (I would hope) more appropriately a sales staff that could sell it.

It lasted less than a year.

That said, I failed to qualify in this thread that Classic Rock is alive and well. Pollstar numbers, record sales etc. Classic Rock isn't the issue and in fact, I'm getting the feeling that some younger people are discovering the music and liking what they hear. But tastes these days are quite diverse and so that shouldn't paint of picture of hordes of teens and 20-somethings jamming to vintage Aerosmith and Def Leppard 24-7...just that they've added it to their musical diet.

Funny story about Nickleback, reported on another board: They got the gig to perform on the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers Thanksgiving Day game with national exposure. Great gig, except a group of people have started a Facebook page to have them dropped from the show because they aren't from Detroit. As if that makes a difference. Were there groups starting Facebook pages and petititions in 1964 because The Beatles were from England? This is another thing that is killing rock.

I couldn't possibly agree more.