Clear Proof That Radio Stations Only Play 300 Songs Or So

[Listener]

My morning guy likes to have the radio on during the day, which is fine with me so long as it's not too loud.  He likes to listen to Kiss 104.1, which is Atlanta's R&B Standards station -- Sade, Prince, old Michael Jackson, Barry White, et al.  I like it too; it's Preset #6 on my car radio, which I never use cos I have an XM, but that's another story.

Anyway.

We work next to each other from 11:45am to 1:00pm every day.  And every week I hear the same songs... the song that Will Smith sampled "Just The Two Of Us" from always gets stuck in my head.  The same Barry White, the same Sade, the same Prince, the same old Michael Jackson, the same Al Jarreau... I hear it all, over and over.

I used to work in radio -- I stopped a little more than a year ago -- and since then the playlists have shrunk more and more.  Of course, no playlist was smaller than "Planet 103", which was 103.5 in Ft Lauderdale, FL for a short while; I heard "Sonny Came Home" once an hour on that station.  I'm not kidding, either... I actually listened to it all day while I was doing yard work one day, and I really heard it seven times.

I have a similar complaint with XM... they play different songs on the deeper stations -- Lucy, Fred, Ethel, et al -- and have smaller playlists on stations like Mix and 20 on 20, which are supposed to be pop stations, but they seem to latch onto artists and play a lot of their stuff.  One day, Nirvana was on Fred, Lucy, and Ethel all at the same time.  Charlatans UK are on Ethel, Mix, and XMU quite often.  At least, with XM, I know I can always tune into 150, the uncensored comedy channel.  They've laid off the artist-heavy rotation, but for a while, they were playing Lewis Black and Kathleen Madigan at least once every two hours, usually right when I got in the car.  And while I have no problem with either of them in moderation, Lewis Black gets old after a while, and they played the same Madigan bits over and over.  There are probably tens of thousands of stand-up comedians... do an open call for CDs and play some stuff by a comedian who does the circuit in the Carolinas or something...

One last thing about radio stations:  the concept of the "request show" does not exist.  I think we've all figured that out.  The way it works is this:  every station has a playlist, loaded into their computer, that they have to play.  During the "all-request lunch", 99% of all radio stations simply take calls until someone requests the appropriate song, and save that phone call in a machine called a "360".  Then they play it back when the time is right.

BTW... has anyone else noticed how all stations in a radio group have similar, if not nearly-identical websites?  Examples:

Cox Radio:  http://k92fm.com/, http://kiss1041fm.com/, http://star94fm.com/, http://580wdbo.com/

It's scary.

[Jessie]

Wow, that's a really long post.

[Jessie]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

[Beefy]

I would be so happy to find a radio station that played The Charlatans U.K. that I would never change the station.

There's a store near me where the only two things that are ever played - EVER - are the first Stone Temple Pilots album and that one Seven Mary Three album that had Cumbersome on it.

[Listener]

Wow, that's a really long post.

Yeah, I know.  Sometimes I pontificate.

Radio sucks. People who work in radio suck.

Yeah, I know.  I do.  Or, at least, I did.  Now I work for the radio equivalent of a contractor.  That's gotta earn me a FEW cool points.  And I have my own podcast, which earns me even more points.  Geek points, though...  

[Gamplayerx]

Beefy, you should try my local radio station.  They are actually independant.  And play kick ass music.

http://www.wrnr.com

They stream online, too.

[Listener]

I would be so happy to find a radio station that played The Charlatans U.K. that I would never change the station.

There's a store near me where the only two things that are ever played - EVER - are the first Stone Temple Pilots album and that one Seven Mary Three album that had Cumbersome on it.

Urk.

Get an XM.  You'll hear plenty of Charlatans UK.  At least until the XM music directors get their hands on The Next Big Thing.

I'd like to hear more of The Bravery besides "An Honest Mistake", myself.

[Beefy]

I'd like to hear more of The Bravery besides "An Honest Mistake", myself.

If you're serious, I'll put some in the Dump for you.

I didn't know The Charlatans were back to Next Big Thing status.  They sort of dropped off my radar a few albums back.

[Listener]

I'd like to hear more of The Bravery besides "An Honest Mistake", myself.

If you're serious, I'll put some in the Dump for you.

I didn't know The Charlatans were back to Next Big Thing status.  They sort of dropped off my radar a few albums back.

They're the Next Big Thing on XM.  I'm personally not a huge fan.

I don't even know where The Dump is.  I'm such a n00b.

[Listener]

We work next to each other from 11:45am to 1:00pm every day.  And every week I hear the same songs... the song that Will Smith sampled "Just The Two Of Us" from always gets stuck in my head. 

This song just came on.  Right now.  Serendipitous?  No.  Just normal...

[ignom]

One of the stations I listen to actually has a promo that says they now have over 1000 songs in their music library. That means I have 5X more music on my Ipod than the radio station has in its library.

[Beefy]

They're the Next Big Thing on XM.  I'm personally not a huge fan.

Well, I'm not a huge fan either.  Two of their CDs, though, are part of the soundtrack to my college years, and so have a special place.

And they'd still be something unique and different from what constitutes radio content here in Houston.

[Dry then Catch]

The goal of any radio station to get ratings::::

never be #1.  you will be too specialized if you play say "college rock" or "smooth jazz".  your fan base will be loyal, but small.

its best to play watered down stuff that everyone sorta likes...this way you can get a mass of people liking you as the number 2 or 3 station.

its better to have 1,000,000 fickle listeners who like you 2 or 3 on the dial, then 20,000 hardcore ones. 

[Alice]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

My favorite cousin is a radio DJ. 

Our college station actually kicks all sorts of ass.  It's pretty much the only radio I'll listen to.

[Listener]

One of the stations I listen to actually has a promo that says they now have over 1000 songs in their music library. That means I have 5X more music on my Ipod than the radio station has in its library.

Having it in the library isn't the same as having it in the playlist, though... that's what I REALLY want to hear.

Michele of A Small Victory (who is also on TF) blogged about this earlier in the year.  My favorite part of her entry:

How many times a day can you play Stone Temple Pilots before the listeners get bored? And how many times can you drag out the Toadies' Possum Kingdom in an attempt to appear creative before the listeners figure out that the "hip" playlist is etched in stone and boring?

[ReBurn]

The goal of any radio station to get ratings::::

never be #1.  you will be too specialized if you play say "college rock" or "smooth jazz".  your fan base will be loyal, but small.

its best to play watered down stuff that everyone sorta likes...this way you can get a mass of people liking you as the number 2 or 3 station.

its better to have 1,000,000 fickle listeners who like you 2 or 3 on the dial, then 20,000 hardcore ones. 

How do you know so much about radio?

[Jessie]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

My favorite cousin is a radio DJ. 

Our college station actually kicks all sorts of ass.  It's pretty much the only radio I'll listen to.

My ex was the ClearChannel IT guy.

He turned me against everyone who was ever involved in radio.  It's not really fair, but that's how it is.

[ignom]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

My favorite cousin is a radio DJ. 

Our college station actually kicks all sorts of ass.  It's pretty much the only radio I'll listen to.

I worked at the college station for a while. It was boring because my show was at 8 pm and I was the only person in the whole place.

[ReBurn]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

My favorite cousin is a radio DJ. 

Our college station actually kicks all sorts of ass.  It's pretty much the only radio I'll listen to.

My ex was the ClearChannel IT guy.

He turned me against everyone who was ever involved in radio.  It's not really fair, but that's how it is.

You're so jaded.

[ignom]

He turned me against everyone who was ever involved in radio.  It's not really fair, but that's how it is.

Ever?

[Listener]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

My favorite cousin is a radio DJ. 

Our college station actually kicks all sorts of ass.  It's pretty much the only radio I'll listen to.

My ex was the ClearChannel IT guy.

He turned me against everyone who was ever involved in radio.  It's not really fair, but that's how it is.

In his defense...

(a) ClearChannel blows goats.  I have proof.

(b) Radio station employees generally have no idea how to use their computers, and download more viruses in a day than a seaport hooker in a month.  My virus-catcher worked overtime when I worked for a radio station.  The employees break the computers, they install spyware and adware, they destroy the network, and then they expect the IT guy to fix it.  Radio is probably one of the most difficult industries for an IT guy.  Not difficult work, but mind-numbingly repetitive.

[Listener]

Radio sucks.  People who work in radio suck. 

My favorite cousin is a radio DJ. 

Our college station actually kicks all sorts of ass.  It's pretty much the only radio I'll listen to.

I worked at the college station for a while. It was boring because my show was at 8 pm and I was the only person in the whole place.

Don't complain.  I used to work the weekend overnight... Saturday 12am-6am, then Sunday 12am-5am.  I was a zombie for four years.

[Jessie]

He turned me against everyone who was ever involved in radio.  It's not really fair, but that's how it is.

Ever?

I could possibly be swayed to make a few exceptions.

I think I could be bribed.

Perhaps in the form of hibachi chicken sauce.

[Beefy]

You're so jaded.

And I'm the one that jaded you

[Listener]

You're so jaded.

And I'm the one that jaded you

bah-da-da-da-duh (doo doo) bah-da-da-da-DA DAA

(I can't transcribe guitar licks.  Sorry.)