The Bridge is closing down.........again

[FrankF]

The Bruce Springsteen channel returns again to Sirius 10 from September 27 thru March 2008.
http://investor.sirius.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=264991

 

[Tony_Ramirez]

Another reason why Sirius stinks. Just what we need more one artist channels. Who wants to listen to a channel that just plays one artist.

 

[AZJoe]

Its called PAYOLLA!! The Bridge is my fav Sirius channel , and it gets hijacked for the 2nd time by the Boss!! This sucks!!

 

[FrankF]

The Bridge seems to be a disposable channel for Sirius. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was an all Christmas channel during the Holiday season several years back too.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

that stinks....I love "The Bridge", it's my Saturday/Sunday Morning chill out, clean the apartment channel...

i'm getting a little tired of using up a channel just because somebody is going on tour/releasing a cd.....it's getting old...what next, the all Foghat channel? I would have put "The Bridge" in my top 5.

1) Howard 100
2) Sirius NFL Radio, channel 124
3) The Pulse channel 9
4) The Coffehouse, channel 30
5) The Bridge, channel 10

 

[AZJoe]

The best thing to do is call Sirius HQ direct and protest, call 212-584-5100, ask for the Programming dept. It wil do no good to call Customer Service at teh tol free #, they havent a clue!!

 

[CTListener]

Its called PAYOLLA!! The Bridge is my fav Sirius channel , and it gets hijacked for the 2nd time by the Boss!! This sucks!!

I've wondered about these single-artist channels for a long time. I'm assuming record-label money is flowing into Sirius in return for the right to program the Springsteen/Who/etc. channels. How is this NOT payola? Don't the rules apply to satellite radio? How about the occasional single-artist specials on XM featuring tracks from a recently released Rhino Records anthology? XM plays nothing but tracks from one recording for a couple of hours and mentions "Rhino" several times during those hours ... again, how is that NOT payola?

 

[OldNumber7]

I've wondered about these single-artist channels for a long time. I'm assuming record-label money is flowing into Sirius in return for the right to program the Springsteen/Who/etc. channels. How is this NOT payola? Don't the rules apply to satellite radio? How about the occasional single-artist specials on XM featuring tracks from a recently released Rhino Records anthology? XM plays nothing but tracks from one recording for a couple of hours and mentions "Rhino" several times during those hours ... again, how is that NOT payola?

Payola, as it is usually described, is an off the books deal. This is different and it may also be presumptious to assume Sirius is getting cash from the label or the tour. Instead, this may well be a simple co-promote, a legal exchange of promotional consideration. For example, when Bruce was on the Today show the other day, promo gals were visible on camera waving official Sirius signs. I assume Sirius is getting sign placement and/or displays at the concert venues (although I haven't been to a Springsteen concert yet). That said, I did NOT see any Sirius visibility when I was at a Stones concert during the last tour, so maybe that theory isn't quite on the mark. Whatever the arrangement, there no doubt is a legal contract between the parties. Sometimes cash can be part of a legal arrangement if it is money that is on the books and legally taxed. Obviously, especially in the cases of The Who, the Stones and Bruce, Sirius is way for them to reach a radio audience and promote the tour because ordinary radio stations are reluctant to play their stuff (modern rock stations won't play their new records because they don't sound modern and many classic rock stations won't play them because the music is new and untested).

 

[Oldbones]

Obviously, especially in the cases of The Who, the Stones and Bruce, Sirius is way for them to reach a radio audience and promote the tour because ordinary radio stations are reluctant to play their stuff (modern rock stations won't play their new records because they don't sound modern and many classic rock stations won't play them because the music is new and untested).

I feel bad for some of these classic rock artists who are still recording. About 10-12 years ago I worked at a classic rock station that threw in a few new songs from core artists...maybe 1 an hour or every other hour. To say the listeners were indifferent would be an understatement. Often the newer material wasn't up to the standards (or at least perceived not to be) of their hits, and by & large the listeners just didn't care about it.

 

[OldNumber7]

Obviously, especially in the cases of The Who, the Stones and Bruce, Sirius is way for them to reach a radio audience and promote the tour because ordinary radio stations are reluctant to play their stuff (modern rock stations won't play their new records because they don't sound modern and many classic rock stations won't play them because the music is new and untested).

I feel bad for some of these classic rock artists who are still recording. About 10-12 years ago I worked at a classic rock station that threw in a few new songs from core artists...maybe 1 an hour or every other hour. To say the listeners were indifferent would be an understatement. Often the newer material wasn't up to the standards (or at least perceived not to be) of their hits, and by & large the listeners just didn't care about it.

I wouldn't feed too bad for the artists. They make and play music because they like it. They already have boatloads of money and the enduring admiration of their fans. It's the record companies and promoters who are always looking for avenues to make money off their artist stable. If normal radio isn't going to give them a good avenue to do that, they can turn to sat rad and web-based promotion and delivery. By becoming so homogenized, regular radio has forfeited its place as a crucial music promotion vehicle. Sat rad and Web exposure are the new havens for real music lovers and the labels are beginning to understand that.