Uh, Disco Duck is a novelty song and still deserves (as a joke) to be played, just like Milli Vanilli, just like Vanilla Ice, just like some of Hammer's material, just like Weird Al, just like Ray Stevens, Blues Brothers, Steve Martin, Rodner Dangerfield, Kip Adotta and others with somewhat out there songs. Heaven forbid we inject a little fun with some bad music into a format. Heaven's no! Sometimes you people kill me. Let's keep it all serious and deep, gather around a fire and smoke peyote together and dream up ways to save the world. Unbelievable! Stiffs playing stiffs. Makes sense I guess.
> > > To think a station can know what to play based on the
> > > feedback of a handful of people in an auditorium is
> > wishful
> > > thinking. In the case of oldies radio or VH radio with
> a
> > > shorter time period to cover, YES, the station SHOULD go
>
> > by
> > > the Billboard charts that show the Top 40 songs of the
> > time.
> > > And don't just stick with the top 12 or 15 of those.
> > >
> > I would suggest the following:
> >
> > 1. Internet Surveys
> > 2. Callout Research
> >
> > in addition to the auditorium testing.
> >
> >
> > and for the rest of the people test new songs on the air
> and
> > ask listener opinions via phone (or internet).
> >
>
>
> You're kidding, right? Callout research??? In today's
> world of call screening (caller ID, answering machines),
> cellphones and do-not-call lists how representative of a
> sample are you gonna get? Most people I know screen their
> calls one way or another. Look at the response problems
> Arbitron has with certain demos.
>
> Internet surveys? Yeah right! Just ask Howard Dean how
> much internet surveys reflect reality. I don't know anyone
> who participates in internet polls and give them no
> credibility. Would you program a station by the opinions
> expressed on this board? Not if you want more than a .1
> share.
>
> As far as using request lines as a barometer of a song's
> appeal...that idea was discredited decades ago...it's
> generally agreed that less than 5% of your audience will
> EVER call your station for ANY reason, let alone to voice
> opinion on a song. Maybe if they REALLY HATE it they MIGHT
> call, but mostly they'll just change the station.
>
> And as far as old Billboard charts goes...it's been
> discussed elsewhere. Just because a song charted high 25
> years ago doesn't mean anyone wants to hear it today.
> "Disco Duck" was #1 for a couple weeks...gotta be a "power
> gold" today, right?
>