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When is it too early for Christmas music?

I blame that Staples back to school ad they started running several years ago.


(and have you noticed that back to school ads have started up almost before school lets out for summer?)
 
Yep. The only demo the stores are looking for in mid-late July are the folks in states like GA, SC, FL, etc where school starts as early as the second week of August...

-crainbebo
 
Since I was in high school I have sung a Christmad cantata most years with my church's choir, wherever that church happened to be. This year the choir isn't doing one because we don't have enough members committed to showing up to practice. So it's not unusual for me to already be singing Christmas songs now.

But not at the 11:00 service. I don't remember which one it was two weeks ago but I think it was "O Come O Come Emmanuel". Yesterday we sang "Go Tell It on the Mountain".
 
Anything before Thanksgiving is too early, period.
 
Personally, if I were programming a music station, I wouldn't even think of programming any Christmas music prior to December 1st.

From December 1st through 10th, I'd program one Christmas song every third hour.

From December 11th through 17th, I'd program one Christmas song every other hour.

From December 18thg through 12 Noon on December 24th, I'd program one Christmas song every hour.

Only from 12 Noon Christmas Eve through 12 Midnight on Christmas Day, would I go all-Christmas.

The idea is that I'd ease my listeners into the season without "hitting them with a 2-by-4". And going 24/7 Christmas at the beginning of November one way to hit a listener with a 2-by-4.

However, I suspect the real reason so many stations go all-Christmas earlier and earlier every year is the fact that most music-formatted stations get most of their revenue from retail advertisers, and they probably pressure radio to play more Christmas music and do it earlier. It subconsciously reminds listeners to "Get Your Christmas Shopping Done!".

Given how dependent music-formatted radio is to retail advertisers, they usually bow to the pressure.
 
Blow it out at 12AM on Black Friday! That's the start of shopping season...I don't mind X-Mas music after Thanksgiving.

-crainbebo
 
Joseph_Gallant said:
Personally, if I were programming a music station, I wouldn't even think of programming any Christmas music prior to December 1st.

From December 1st through 10th, I'd program one Christmas song every third hour.

From December 11th through 17th, I'd program one Christmas song every other hour.

From December 18thg through 12 Noon on December 24th, I'd program one Christmas song every hour.

Only from 12 Noon Christmas Eve through 12 Midnight on Christmas Day, would I go all-Christmas.

The idea is that I'd ease my listeners into the season without "hitting them with a 2-by-4". And going 24/7 Christmas at the beginning of November one way to hit a listener with a 2-by-4.
Click to expand...

AMEN to this. I can't agree more. I love your idea of a station GRADUALLY increasing the frequency of the Christmas music throughout the month of December. This is how it used to be in the '80s and '90s. I wish we could go back to that.
 
Yesterday, there was a Christmas song on the local morning show of my Dial Global standards station. All the songs played in the last 30 minutes are requests. Still ...
 
I'm not ready for Christmas until after my birthday (December 10).
 
back when I was growing up in the 80's, our local radio stations wouldn't start playing continuous Christmas music until Christmas Eve and would play usually stop Christmas Night around midnight or so.
 
Personally I love Christmas music so I enjoy being able to hear it any time I want, but it should be after Thanksgiving or maybe a few days before. Any longer and you get sick of the songs very quickly.
 
Gregg said:
So when you hear an AC station switch to Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole before Thanksgiving, don't give them a hard time. They're doing it to be first and to get the advertisers on board.
Click to expand...

I don't give them a hard time. I change to another station, and never change back.
 
I was watching a TV program on the Hallmark Channel last night. They are going to start showing Christmas movies October 31! Just like with radio, that's too early for me as well.
 
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