Worst songs on country radio

[Casey]

Firstly, you can't count Pandora's total user base, because many of them no longer listen to Pandora. That would be like counting past subscribers of SiriusXM and anyone who has ever owned a SiriusXM radio. According to Pandora, they have roughly 30+mil active users per month who listen between 10-14 hours on average per month. Secondly, what is a user and what is a subscriber? A Pandora user is just that, a single user. A SiriusXM subscriber is the account, not a single user. Do people share a SiriusXM account? Most definitely, families share them all the time. Is it safe to say at least half of the total SiriusXM's subscribers (20.5mil) share their account between 2 or more people? Most likely. This puts SiriusXM and Pandora on an equal level for users already, not taking into other accounts that would put SiriusXM higher. Pandora (also a national service) was also founded in 2000, but did not launch until 2005. Sirius was not launched until 2002. Similarly XM launched in 2001. Pandora is younger, but being free without the need for expensive radios gives it a significant advantage. Pandora is also offered in all 50 states (48 SiriusXM) and it is accessible outside the USA via proxy, SiriusXM (their main service) is not.

SiriusXM's press releases show quite a bit, including how many they lose. They are losing a lot of subscribers, no doubt, but they are gaining more than they are losing. 20 million subscribers is a lot of subscribers for a luxury service. That is nearly as many tv subscribers as Comcast has, and more than the amount of internet subscribers they have. To put that into perspective, Comcast is the largest cable/internet provider in the USA. This means SiriusXM is not exactly a small company. With nearly record low churns and record high subscriber growth, I think it is safe to say SiriusXM is doing quite well.

How is Pandora more like SiriusXM than it is broadcast radio? SiriusXM and Broadcast radio both have DJ's, talk/news content, and both use spectrum. Pandora is not like either one.


This is getting very off topic, so bring it back on topic I will say that I can't stand Luke Bryan's newest song "Country Girl (Shake it for Me.)" Definitely one of the worst songs I have heard in a while.

 

[TheBigA]

Firstly, you can't count Pandora's total user base, because many of them no longer listen to Pandora.

Really? You should tell that to Pandora, because they used that number in their IPO which just raised a couple of billion dollars from unwitting investors. Whoops.

How is Pandora more like SiriusXM than it is broadcast radio?

Pandora and SiriusXM are both national services eminating coast to coast basically from one place. Broadcast radio is thousands of individual radio stations eminating from a transmitter in your home town. Very different systems of distribution. Different audiences. Local radio stations provide local information. Pandora and SirusXM don't. There's a limit on the number of broadcast stations allowed in a given town, and that limit is set by the federal government. No such limits on SiriusXM or Pandora.

 

[Casey]

Why would I tell that to Pandora? They are the ones who said it. 80+ million "registered" users and 30+ million "active users" are two very different things, and they know that. They have openly stated both, but put more force behind the larger number to distract those who don't actually pay attention.

An increasing amount of stations do not provide much "local information" unless you are counting their local advertisements. An increasing amount of stations are using syndicated content, therefore making it a national service.

As far as a limit goes, clearly no one cares. Radio has raised their limit with HD radio, and yet almost no one is buying an HD radio to get those extra stations. You can have 10 stations or 100 stations, if the programming is still bad no one is going to care. If you really want to take into account who has the lowest limit, it is not broadcast radio. Pandora maxes an account at 100 stations, while SiriusXM maxes out their old Sirius radios at 135. With HD radio (up to 4 channels per station) and weak translator rules, it is easy to get more stations/channels than 135 in most markets. They may not be all from your market, but if you can tune them in it does not really matter. Also notice most of New York City cannot tune in a country station, and it is not because the lack of stations in the market.

 

[TheBigA]

An increasing amount of stations do not provide much "local information" unless you are counting their local advertisements. An increasing amount of stations are using syndicated content, therefore making it a national service.

You're making a generalization about 14,000 radio stations. Lots of them provide local content. No such option with Sirius XM.

Also notice most of New York City cannot tune in a country station, and it is not because the lack of stations in the market.

Since you're expanding the market view to encompass all kinds of OTA, actually there are many country radio options in NYC. The most obvious is an HD station: WKTU-HD2, ince you are including HD. Plus you have two stations in Northern NJ, one in Long Island, and a fourth in Westchester County.

 

[Casey]

I didn't say none of them have local content, I said an increasing amount. Saying an increasing amount are decreasing their local content is not an opinion, it is a fact. Clear Channel admits they want to increase syndication. Plenty of stations still have local content, but plenty also do not.

WKTU-HD2 is no longer broadcasting country.

 

[TheBigA]

I didn't say none of them have local content, I said an increasing amount.

Doesn't matter. SiriusXM has none. Period.

 

[Casey]

Actually it does.

Clear Channel has several stations on the XM due to their agreement, such as WSIX. Not their own content? Doesn't matter, it is still there.

Period.

 

[DJOnAStick]

Actually it does.

Clear Channel has several stations on the XM due to their agreement, such as WSIX. Not their own content? Doesn't matter, it is still there.

Period.

But how many times has CC's contract with XM expired and those stations that are rebroadcast on satellite gone away? Those are all on a contractual basis and can change at any given time. The only reason we listen to Z100 and WSIX on satellite is because we know some of the people on both stations and obviously can't hear them where we are at in Kentucky. We are certainly not listening to hear about severe thunderstorm warnings in the tri-state or mid-state. We are easily a minority here. LOL!!

 

[TheBigA]

Clear Channel has several stations on the XM due to their agreement, such as WSIX. Not their own content? Doesn't matter, it is still there.

It's only local content to Nashville, but not to any place else.

 

[DJOnAStick]

Clear Channel has several stations on the XM due to their agreement, such as WSIX. Not their own content? Doesn't matter, it is still there.

It's only local content to Nashville, but not to any place else.

Exactly. Not to mention you have to put up with the darn network barter spots that play over local spot breaks. LOL!!

 

[Casey]

You are right, WSIX is local only to a very small amount of people, as are the other stations. Despite SiriusXM having a little local content, it does indeed lack local content for the majority of people. However, that does not stop it from being a successful service. Local is the main feature that sets broadcast radio apart from the rest of the services, but if it is not executed well it does not really matter. Picking up syndicated radio shows such as "CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan" does not help radio achieve their local potential, or in my opinion, any potential. When stations syndicate their programming they lose their advantage of being local. What advantages do stations playing syndicated content have over SiriusXM?

 

[TheBigA]

Why don't you ask them?

 

[firepoint525]

I remember back when I worked at the old WDXN in Clarksville, TN, the then-pd there got a record on an indie label. I recall that he filled out the comment card saying that he liked the song, but that they didn't play indies. WDXN was a rinky-dink AM station, so I would hardly call them a big player in the industry.

Not long after that, under the next PD, WDXN did indeed play one song that was on an indie label. I later found out that the singer's father owned a furniture store that heavily advertised with us! : Payola is alive and well in radio! :

It's worth noting that less than a year later, WDXN underwent the first of MANY format changes that they would undergo over the next 10-15 years.

 

[Casey]

Why don't you ask them?

What a useless post.

Syndicated content has no advantage over SiriusXM, and certainly no advantages over Pandora/Slacker.

 

[TheBigA]

Syndicated content has no advantage over SiriusXM, and certainly no advantages over Pandora/Slacker.

I think that's why so many stations choose not to use it.

 

[vchimpanzee]

You want to hear what you consider good music? Buy it and listen to it on your own device.

I see. And where do you propose I get the money to do this?

And it doesn't matter anyway. If I'm in a business that plays this garbage as background music, then the radio station really needs to clean up its act. Country radio CAN sound good.

 

[DJOnAStick]

You want to hear what you consider good music? Buy it and listen to it on your own device.

I see. And where do you propose I get the money to do this?

And it doesn't matter anyway. If I'm in a business that plays this garbage as background music, then the radio station really needs to clean up its act. Country radio CAN sound good.

"Good" is really relative though. Wouldn't it be in this case?

 

[sdh483]

BACK ON TOPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I nominate any song whose title included the word "Country." What a useless word since most country songs sound like a bad cross between Bon Jovi and Lynyrd Skynyrd. How about some songs about love, family, a freaking watermelon festival???!?!

 

[Jay F]

BACK ON TOPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I nominate any song whose title included the word "Country." What a useless word since most country songs sound like a bad cross between Bon Jovi and Lynyrd Skynyrd. How about some songs about love, family, a freaking watermelon festival???!?!

Yes I am bored of songs about living the country lifestyle set to a rock beat. One thing I appreciate about older country is that it was taken for granted the artists were country, they didn't have to prove themselves with cliche lyrics.

I think there is a shortage today of country songs about love gone wrong. It doesn't need to be as common as it used to be but a few sad songs in the mix would add variety. Even if expressing sadness has become pretty much taboo on all radio formats, it is still an emotion people feel and can relate to at points in their life.

 

[TheBigA]

Yes I am bored of songs about living the country lifestyle set to a rock beat. One thing I appreciate about older country is that it was taken for granted the artists were country, they didn't have to prove themselves with cliche lyrics.

You mean like Loretta Lynn's "When You're lookin' At Me, You're Lookin' At Country." Or how about Barbara Mandrell: I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool. Although most people thought Mandrell was pop.

I think there is a shortage today of country songs about love gone wrong. It doesn't need to be as common as it used to be but a few sad songs in the mix would add variety. Even if expressing sadness has become pretty much taboo on all radio formats, it is still an emotion people feel and can relate to at points in their life.

Taylor Swift: Back To December, Darius Rucker I Got Nothing, The Band Perry You Lie, Billy Currington Love Done Gone, Toby Keith Somewhere Else, Jerrod Niemann What Do You Want. These are just from the last few months.