Survey Shows Gen-Z Not Listening To Radio

[landtuna]

I'll just leave this here. 38 Of The Most Expensive Music Videos Artists Have Ever Made

What a total waste of money.

 

[Kelly A]

I don't agree with this, although it depends on the format. In the country format, and entire industry was created around music video production, and the most artists saw these as extensions of their creative process. The videos became eligible for awards, including new Grammy categories.

We were talking about MTV, which as I recall, mainly featured pop bands with the exception of crossover artists. There was a country music video channel, but just like MTV, ultimately didn't have very long legs either.

 

[Kelly A]

And don't forget the plethora of daytime music shows such as American Bandstand (and many locals) beginning in the mid-50's.

Can't forget nor remember, because many of us weren't even born yet.

I would not class rappers as artists in any way, shape or form. They certainly could be, but they're not.

Why, because many of them are black?

This is exactly why my generation, who grew up in the 50's and 60's, is way ahead of the ones following. Our RnR and a lot of Pop music came from Black groups; Fats, Platters, Skyliners etc. Way too many to mention. I'm a white person and grew up in a majority white location but some of my favorites are Earl Grant (easy listening), Charlie Pride (Country), Johnny Mathis (romantic ballads) and a bunch of others. My generation, at least in my geographic area, was color-blind to the pop music of our day. Although the music didn't necessarily add to our understanding of the Black culture it sure opened the door if you felt like taking advantage of it.

Watched an interesting PBS documentary the other day about Little Richard: Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll - Stream the documentary now | American Masters | PBS

Not only Little Richard, but it showed the terrible racism and exploitation of black or gay musical artists, and how white culture exploited not just their music, but treated them like garbage. So, according to you, those were the days?

 

[TheBigA]

We were talking about MTV, which as I recall, mainly featured pop bands with the exception of crossover artists. There was a country music video channel, but just like MTV, ultimately didn't have very long legs either.

There were two country music video channels that started around the same time as MTV. But in any case, the quality of the videos was not a big issue. It certainly was better than it had been previously.

There was a huge explosion in new cable channels around 1980. CNN also started around the same time as MTV.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

I would not class rappers as artists in any way, shape or form. They certainly could be, but they're not.

They are in every way, shape and form. Your hangups don’t change reality.

 

[CTListener]

Can't forget nor remember, because many of us weren't even born yet.

Why, because many of them are black?

Watched an interesting PBS documentary the other day about Little Richard: Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll - Stream the documentary now | American Masters | PBS

Not only Little Richard, but it showed the terrible racism and exploitation of black or gay musical artists, and how white culture exploited not just their music, but treated them like garbage. So, according to you, those were the days?

And bragging about how big a fan you are of Earl Grant and Johnny Mathis hardly makes you a champion of black music. Both performed music in a style well-known and accepted by white audiences.

 

[Kent]

Great music doesn't have generational borders. There is a reason Elton John lasted as long as he has. A good tune will always be a good tune.

I have a 19 year old niece. If you or I were asked to imagine what a Gen Z'er would be like, the person you'd picture would be exactly like her. She'd agree with you that Elton John is good, but she won't listen to him on her own volition either. Agreeing something is good isn't the same as wanting to hear it. She, by the way, still uses radio, but it's not her preferred way of consuming audio. The real question is, as she progresses through college and enters the workforce, will she still want to spend the time required for curating playlists? Radio is easy. All you have to do is turn it on, and, if you don't like what's playing, hitting a button or telling Alexa to change the station is quick. It doesn't consume any of your extra time, which you have less of as you get older. We don't know what the answer to that question will be yet, but that will ultimately determine the long-term viability of radio.

I was raised in a Western town where TV prime time was always 7-9pm. In NYC it seemed to be an hour later due to the longer commuters trips.

The explanation I got for the later primetime on the East Coast was, when TV was new, the bulk of the US population lived in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and the networks wanted to provide the majority of the population with a live feed.

I would not class rappers as artists in any way, shape or form. They certainly could be, but they're not.

I don't like rap either (for the most part, never have), but it reaches the audience it wants to reach. It would seem to do so very effectively, too. It is indeed art. It's just art you and I neither appreciate nor enjoy. There's nothing wrong with not liking it, but that doesn't mean it's not art.

 

[michael hagerty]

The explanation I got for the later primetime on the East Coast was, when TV was new, the bulk of the US population lived in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and the networks wanted to provide the majority of the population with a live feed.

Right. Commute times had nothing to do with it.

After World War II, the networks had the ability to transmit coast-to-coast, but a 7 pm show on the East Coast would be a 4 pm show on the West Coast. Working people would still be at work. Less of a problem for a 6 pm show in the Central time zone, so the decision was made that what was live in the Eastern time zone would also be live in the Central time zone ("7, 6 Central, over most of this network.")

Until videotape became reliable and affordable, networks in the Mountain and Pacific time zones generally played back shows via kinescope that had aired on the East Coast days before.

 

[vchimpanzee]

The crooners were a different era and style that doesn't really fit todays listening habits. Elton was more of a pop act.

And yet adult standards radio plays both.

I did hear "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" in some store so that is a reminder not all his songs work.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't like rap either (for the most part, never have), but it reaches the audience it wants to reach. It would seem to do so very effectively, too. It is indeed art. It's just art you and I neither appreciate nor enjoy. There's nothing wrong with not liking it, but that doesn't mean it's not art.

It's just noise except for the early stuff, as far as I'm concerned. I'm never going to understand what's art about it.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Why not introduce students to musicians like Duke Ellington?

Now that's music.

The more I listen to Serenade Radio online, the more I hear him.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Bing yes, Frank no (good actor but lousy singer).

I don't agree. Bing is better in his way.

 

[vchimpanzee]

But that was a typo. I had meant 1985 but it makes little difference.

1983 is about right. To me there was a lot of junk, before that but after 1983, things got a lot worse.

Country started getting better, though. I have nothing against the Urban Cowboy sound but when the music moved more toward a traditional sound, it got a whole lot better. Then Garth came along and things went south again. "Friends in Low Places", though, to me is a good song.

 

[vchimpanzee]

What you had were live performances shows like Bandstand, Hullabaloo, Soul Train, and the like. Artists would perform live. Occasionally The Beatles would make films because they had a film maker on staff at Apple. Prior to that, they'd make movies. But what MTV wanted was something different from a performance video. They wanted to add a visual portrayal of the song. That was a whole new thing.

Also, The Monkees did what could be called music videos on their show and they were quite influential.

 

[Kelly A]

Good Lord. What does any of this history or old-timer preferences have to do with Gen-Z not listening to the radio?

 

[vchimpanzee]

And bragging about how big a fan you are of Earl Grant and Johnny Mathis hardly makes you a champion of black music. Both performed music in a style well-known and accepted by white audiences.

Nevertheless, that's what I like. And Nat King Cole is even better.

 

[crainbebo]

'm a white person and grew up in a majority white location but some of my favorites are Earl Grant (easy listening), Charlie Pride (Country),

Charley Pride is another artist that could be covered in a Black History Month lesson. He broke a massive barrier in a nearly all-White musical genre. DeFord Bailey came a little before him, but Charley was even more successful. Now we have Darius Rucker and Jimmie Allen in the genre with successful careers. Realize where I live - if local 5th graders aren't listening to rap, they are listening to current country music, and so are their parents. Unfortunately, it looks like Allen may have made some bad choices lately (sexual abuse allegations) and his record label fired him last month.

 

[TheBigA]

Charley Pride is another artist that could be covered in a Black History Month lesson.

Be careful where you propose that idea. Some states have laws about that subject in public schools.

 

[Kelly A]

Be careful where you propose that idea. Some states have laws about that subject in public schools.

Sadly, that's true. Teachers aren't supposed to teach history that involves the exploitation of people with skin other than white.

 

[TheBigA]

Sadly, that's true. Teachers aren't supposed to teach history that involves the exploitation of people with skin other than white.

Not only that. Music education is not seen as core to the curriculum in a lot of places. It's more of an after-school activity. In most cases it's cut because of budget, not politics. It's certainly not included as part of history.