Will stations continue to voicetrack even when the economy picks up?

[onair91]

Stations seem to be getting away with voicetracking, so why would they switch back to having live jocks on the air even if the economy picks up? Any thoughts?

 

[rapking]

Legal Local ownership and local D.J's are on the danger list . Big Companies trash the radio biz. Live jocks and local ownership will only be on pirate radio .

 

[Deleted User]

wow Hell has just frozen over, I agree with Ed !
VT'ing will continue.

 

[oldoldiesguy]

Tracking was the coming thing long before the economy tanked. If revenues start rising again, why would groups want to spend them on hiring talent?

 

[Signpost]

Kiss 108 is a troubling example. Since cutting to all but the two remaining live shifts - ratings have soared to a record #1 run 12+. What's the incentive for them to add live jocks? Only with local (disciplined) competition could Kiss 108's rampant voicetracking become a liability.

 

[raccoonradio]

live and local on college radio like our WMWM blues show

 

[thetheo]

I'll always prefer live and local all the time.

I think that's how a station has an identity, give the listeners something more than just the song, how else will they find out about the next show, the new band, the model the lead singer is dating, the sox score, etc etc etc.

(Shut up Steve they can find it on the internet)

Which is true, but I still want to hear local info / national news / etc when I'm driving around. If I just wanted non-stop songs I'll listen to a CD or an iPhone.

That said, the ratings will prove time and time again, the less talking the more listeners.

I'm not including WBZ, WEEI, etc in these arguments, those people are tuning in for talking.

But comparing music station to music station, look at WBOS' numbers. No DJs + less commercials = ratings gold.

It's unfortunate, but til either Arbitron gets us accurate ratings (when hell freezes over) or til people actually listen more to the WFNX/WAAF/etc of the world who are live and local most of the day, it's not gonna change.

 

[CTListener]

Kiss 108 is a troubling example. Since cutting to all but the two remaining live shifts - ratings have soared to a record #1 run 12+. What's the incentive for them to add live jocks? Only with local (disciplined) competition could Kiss 108's rampant voicetracking become a liability.

There is no incentive to go back to live jocks. Today's radio listener wants as little yackity-yack as possible and really doesn't give a crap about local news; just play the tunes and shut up. To compete with the iPod for listeners under 30 (or maybe even under 40), radio has to be as iPod-like as possible. That means more music, less talk, unfortunately for those of us who remember personality-driven music radio so fondly.

 

[Schuyler]

.....Today's radio listener wants as little yackity-yack as possible and really doesn't give a crap about local news; just play the tunes and shut up.....

Beancounters have made that claim ever since automation systems came into being (the big clunky kind with reel-to-reel tapes and cart carousels). Indeed, there are many listeners who feel the way you describe, but they are not now nor ever have been the total population.

OTOH, it doesn't matter. As long is radio is treated like any other business instead of like the news-and-entertainment business, voicetracking and every other half-a$$ed way of saving or making a buck will prevail.

R.I.P. Real Radio

 

[beantownradio25]

It's 2010, radio will never be the way it was in the old days again! Anyone who comes on this board and says "R.I.P Real Radio" is stuck in the past and isn't looking at things from a business perspective. Times change and radio has to change along with it to keep relevence.

There would be absolutely no sense in returning to the old ways of radio no matter how good the economy is.

Watch, as time goes on even deejays will begin to loose relevence. Deejays will be a thing of the past towards the end of this decade, and Syndication/Satellelite fed programming is going to keep growing.

 

[aaronread]

live and local on college radio like our WMWM blues show

Yeah, there's just that pesky problem of employees usually wanting to be paid. And labor laws about having them work for you without being paid.

I wonder how many college radio stations could get their asses nailed to the wall for all the unpaid free labor they get from non-student DJ's and whatnot? No really, I honestly wonder about that! I have no idea if minimum-wage laws apply in this case. I'd assume they do unless told otherwise but I haven't really looked into it...and I confess I don't like the idea that all the time I volunteered at various stations might've indirectly been causing them to break the law.

 

[Schuyler]

It's 2010, radio will never be the way it was in the old days again! Anyone who comes on this board and says "R.I.P Real Radio" is stuck in the past and isn't looking at things from a business perspective. .....

It's one thing to be nostalgic for a time when things were far and away better on all sorts of levels, including revenue. It's another to try to justify staying in the business even if it means wallowing in its present crapulence and trying desperately to justify its deplorable state.

I'd rather be stuck in the past than in the present, you miserable whippersnapper. Now get off my lawn!.

 

[beantownradio25]

It's one thing to be nostalgic for a time when things were far and away better on all sorts of levels, including revenue. It's another to try to justify staying in the business even if it means wallowing in its present crapulence and trying desperately to justify its deplorable state.

I'd rather be stuck in the past than in the present, you miserable whippersnapper. Now get off my lawn!.

I'm not denying the fact that radio these days sucks. It does. It's cookie cutter to the max. However, with the Act of 1996, the internet, I-pods, times change and what was done in the golden days is not possible these days without extrememly deep pockets. Radio has no choice but to be cheesy and "more music less talk" to appeal to the younger demos who would rather listen to their I-pod/MP3.

 

[KarsonWithaK]

Jon Stewart says "We make the doughnuts; we don't drive the truck." Stewart was commenting on the changing landscape of media including radio, television and the internet. Compelling shows have a way of finding an audience and generating revenue. Internet radio IS radio. Satellite radio IS radio. Yes, I get that "the old days" of radio were glorious but you had minimal choices fifty years ago. Today my generation and the next can find ANY format we love 24/7/365 from anywhere in the world. I would no sooner go back, then I would yearn for three networks of television. I think the future is bright for the talented. Guess, I'm screwed.

 

[12 In a Row]

Makes me laugh seeing some of the "back in the day" comments.

Back in the 60's the most powerful successful music stations had VERY tight playlists and the jocks were highly restricted. Light, tight, bright-shut up and play the music. Result? Huge ratings.

 

[motormouth]

The Buggles sang it back in 79....."we can't rewind, we've gone too far..."

 

[carmen]

radio has to be as iPod-like as possible.

was thinking the opposite

anyone got tapes?

 

[CTListener]

Makes me laugh seeing some of the "back in the day" comments.

Back in the 60's the most powerful successful music stations had VERY tight playlists and the jocks were highly restricted. Light, tight, bright-shut up and play the music. Result? Huge ratings.

I think the nostalgia is more for the full-service AMs like WHDH and WBZ, with personalities like Jess Cain and Carl DeSuze, not the top 40 powerhouses. Their playlists were just as tight as their top 40 brethren, but the talk was chatty, not just call letters/time/artist's name/call letters, making the music sound more like an incidental part of an actual show, rather than the only reason for the show's existence.

I remember driving to work with my dad during one home-from-college summer in the mid-70s. He liked to listen to Jess Cain, so that's what we had on every morning. And every morning, it seemed, Jess would play either "Music Box Dancer" or "La Paloma Blanca." But dad wasn't listening for the music, he wanted to hear the funny bits and Tim Horgan's sports commentary. I preferred WVBF during those years, and I honestly can't remember anything about any of the DJs, including their names and shifts. All I remember is the music.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I wonder how many college radio stations could get their asses nailed to the wall for all the unpaid free labor they get from non-student DJ's and whatnot? No really, I honestly wonder about that! I have no idea if minimum-wage laws apply in this case. I'd assume they do unless told otherwise but I haven't really looked into it...and I confess I don't like the idea that all the time I volunteered at various stations might've indirectly been causing them to break the law.

Many volunteer college stations are officially registered as non-profit organizations, and if not, they should be. I believe that being an official non-profit gives the organization the option to utilize volunteers, and "working" there is always ultimately at the personal choice and discretion of the volunteer. It's not as if anyone at a volunteer radio station is being forced to do "free labor".

 

[12 In a Row]

.....Today's radio listener wants as little yackity-yack as possible and really doesn't give a crap about local news; just play the tunes and shut up.....

Beancounters have made that claim ever since automation systems came into being (the big clunky kind with reel-to-reel tapes and cart carousels). Indeed, there are many listeners who feel the way you describe, but they are not now nor ever have been the total population.

OTOH, it doesn't matter. As long is radio is treated like any other business instead of like the news-and-entertainment business, voicetracking and every other half-a$$ed way of saving or making a buck will prevail.

R.I.P. Real Radio

Imagine if the internet was around in the late 40's/early 50's. We would be reading about the end of radio.
All of the great programs and soaps are moving to this new technology called television and to be replaced by local radio announcers. R.I.P Real Radio