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The Illusion Of "Variety" On The Radio

M

Michael1973

Guest
At the risk of opening a can of worms, I want to make a comment or two about the ways radio stations try to create the illusion that they have more "variety" than they acutally do. And I'm not referring to the way the songs are programmed -- I understand somewhat how that works, and why the playlists tend to be more limited than I'd like. I'm referring to the way the "variety" is actually addressed on the air, and what bothers me about it. Let me give you two examples.

There's an AC station that I listen to sometimes, which has a very narrow playlist to begin with, but which occasionally has "flashback" weekends, where they hype the fact that they're "bringing back all your favorites from the 70's and 80's all weekend long." Usually, though, the "flashback" songs are ones you hear all week as part of their regular music mix. It's like they're trying to distract listeners from noticing that their weekend mix is identical to their weekday mix.

Another example would be when these stations that do have a wider playlist have their "we play anything" or "forgotten favorites" weekends. I love hearing these types of shows, but it makes me cringe when a DJ or announcer proclaims, "Here's a song I bet you haven't heard in YEARS" and then plays a song you hear every weekend on that station, and probably on every other station with that format.

I know what you're going to say. It makes no difference as long as the average listener is hearing music they like. But to me it's very noticeable. I do understand that you need to limit your song lists to the most familiar songs, but why create the illusion that what you're doing is so big and different, when in reality it's not? Is it really such a small percentage of listeners who really notice?
 
> At the risk of opening a can of worms, I want to make a
> comment or two about the ways radio stations try to create
> the illusion that they have more "variety" than they
> acutally do. And I'm not referring to the way the songs are
> programmed -- I understand somewhat how that works, and why
> the playlists tend to be more limited than I'd like. I'm
> referring to the way the "variety" is actually addressed on
> the air, and what bothers me about it. Let me give you two
> examples.
>
> There's an AC station that I listen to sometimes, which has
> a very narrow playlist to begin with, but which occasionally
> has "flashback" weekends, where they hype the fact that
> they're "bringing back all your favorites from the 70's and
> 80's all weekend long." Usually, though, the "flashback"
> songs are ones you hear all week as part of their regular
> music mix. It's like they're trying to distract listeners
> from noticing that their weekend mix is identical to their
> weekday mix.
>
> Another example would be when these stations that do have a
> wider playlist have their "we play anything" or "forgotten
> favorites" weekends. I love hearing these types of shows,
> but it makes me cringe when a DJ or announcer proclaims,
> "Here's a song I bet you haven't heard in YEARS" and then
> plays a song you hear every weekend on that station, and
> probably on every other station with that format.
>
> I know what you're going to say. It makes no difference as
> long as the average listener is hearing music they like.
> But to me it's very noticeable. I do understand that you
> need to limit your song lists to the most familiar songs,
> but why create the illusion that what you're doing is so big
> and different, when in reality it's not? Is it really such
> a small percentage of listeners who really notice?
>

THe ones I love (or bug the heck out of me) are the "More music weekends", more music than what??? You play just as many commercials on the weekend, and have just as many songs during the hour as compared to the week?

How about this, a new morning show on the local country stations that has 25% more music? 25% more music than what, the old morning show, the crosstown country station??? Same amount of music still being played!

Or how about this, 30 minutes nonstop music next, only to come back for 18 minutes!!! Happens a lot!
<P ID="signature">______________
Joshua Werner
http://www.wisconsinbroadcasting.com
90.3 WRST-FM Oshkosh
Station Manager & Webmaster
http://www.uwosh.edu/wrst
[email protected]</P>
 
> Or how about this, 30 minutes nonstop music next, only to
> come back for 18 minutes!!! Happens a lot!
>
Or the 50 minute music hour, not counting all of the blathering our DJs do, or this 2:00 liner you're listening to right now telling you how much music we play. Primarily that mammoth liner, I like DJs.

Liners are too long at about 10 seconds. Agree?
 
> but why create the illusion that what you're doing is so big
> and different, when in reality it's not? Is it really such
> a small percentage of listeners who really notice?


At the risk of being accused of going off topic, may I gently suggest that the wide winking acceptance of such transparent lies in radio may be a result of the wide winking acceptance of transparent lies in other areas of our lives?
 
Re: Hardly a lie...

> > but why create the illusion that what you're doing is so
> big
> > and different, when in reality it's not? Is it really
> such
> > a small percentage of listeners who really notice?
>
>
> At the risk of being accused of going off topic, may I
> gently suggest that the wide winking acceptance of such
> transparent lies in radio may be a result of the wide
> winking acceptance of transparent lies in other areas of our
> lives?

"Variety" truly does not mean "lots of songs." When you talk to real listeners, not us geeks on this board, you find that "variety" means "all the songs I like."

On a CHR or hipo-hop stations, variety may mean 30 songs... the current, big, cool, hip songs. Playing more songs does not "increase" variety... it decreases it because to this type of listener, playing non-hip or bad songs is the antithisis of variety.

Even on an adult station like AC, variety is perceived as playing only songs the listener knows and likes, not lots of different songs.

There is no lie in claiming variety if a station has consulted with listeners and is playing all the songs that the listeners want to hear, and none of the ones they do not want to hear.
 
> > Or how about this, 30 minutes nonstop music next, only to
> > come back for 18 minutes!!! Happens a lot!
> >
> Or the 50 minute music hour, not counting all of the
> blathering our DJs do, or this 2:00 liner you're listening
> to right now telling you how much music we play. Primarily
> that mammoth liner, I like DJs.
>
> Liners are too long at about 10 seconds. Agree?
>
Longer liners can work (15, maybe 20 seconds) if they can engage the listener and are not repeated too often. Seven or eight seconds in my mind is ideal. Not enough time for the fickle listener to reach that dreaded button (or dial) before the next song kicks in. Two minutes is waaaaaay too long for a liner. In my mind, anything over 15 seconds stops being a liner and becomes a station promo.

Peace.



<P ID="signature">______________
It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.
-- Samuel Langhorne Clemens
</P>
 
> At the risk of being accused of going off topic, may I gently suggest that the wide winking acceptance of such transparent lies in radio may be a result of the wide winking acceptance of transparent lies in other areas of our lives?

Not off topic but wide of the mark I think. What's going on is not that program directors are deceiving their audiences but that they communicate their attributes badly. A station that says it plays "More Variety" makes as much impact as the car dealer who advertises "lower prices". Whether or not it is true is almost besides the point. Even if it IS true, no one will believe it because of a liner.<P ID="signature">______________
"Radio on the Internet is yet another world-shrinking example of what communications analysts call 'death of distance." - Tim Jones

<a href="http://saltydog.5gigs.com">
The Salty Dog</a>
</P>
 
Re: Caution... repetition dulls reality.

> > At the risk of being accused of going off topic, may I
> gently suggest that the wide winking acceptance of such
> transparent lies in radio may be a result of the wide
> winking acceptance of transparent lies in other areas of our
> lives?
>
> Not off topic but wide of the mark I think. What's going on
> is not that program directors are deceiving their audiences
> but that they communicate their attributes badly. A station
> that says it plays "More Variety" makes as much impact as
> the car dealer who advertises "lower prices". Whether or not
> it is true is almost besides the point. Even if it IS true,
> no one will believe it because of a liner.
>

For many years, a station I competed against used "more music" in every jingle and liner. When we did research, they always won the "Which station plays more music?" image, and strongly. Yet they consisxtently had among the highest commercial loads in the market! The incessant repetition of "more music" from 1968 to present did it (this was an AM CHR that successfully transitioned to FM).
 
> Longer liners can work (15, maybe 20 seconds) if they can
> engage the listener and are not repeated too often. Seven
> or eight seconds in my mind is ideal. Not enough time for
> the fickle listener to reach that dreaded button (or dial)
> before the next song kicks in. Two minutes is waaaaaay too
> long for a liner. In my mind, anything over 15 seconds
> stops being a liner and becomes a station promo.

Keep in mind that a "liner" was so named since it took up less than one line on a sheet of typing paper.

And a programmer I respect says, "There is no such thing as a 60 second promo." In other words, if it takes 60's seconds to explain (or it is a commerical in disguise), it is too complicated. A 30 should be the max on station promos.
 
Didn't you know -- radio listeners are so dumb that if
you don't put your call letters or slogan between each
song, they won't know who you are......

at least, that seems to be the way it is understood.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Musicradio on 11/01/05 05:07 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> Didn't you know -- radio listeners are so dumb that if
> you don't put your call letters or slogan between each
> song, they won't know who you are......
>
> at least, that seems to be the way it is understood.

Actually, what that should say is that "radio listeners are doing other things while they liten and generally have 3 or 4 stations they switch between and seldom remember exactly what they were listening to unless reminded often."

What may arguably be America's most successful station in a competitive market, KGO, repeats the call letters over 50 times an hour.

Listeners are not dumb. But they don't put "remembering what I was listening to" high on their priority lists.
 
Re: Caution... repetition dulls reality.

> For many years, a station I competed against used "more music" in every jingle
> and liner. When we did research, they always won the "Which station plays more
> music?" image, and strongly. Yet they consisxtently had among the highest
> commercial loads in the market! The incessant repetition of "more music" from
> 1968 to present did it (this was an AM CHR that successfully transitioned to
> FM).

Wow! It's not uncommon to read someone accusing program directors of lying to their listeners; it's not everyday we get to read a success story of the practice! ;-)

Still, I'd be careful against advising anyone against running such bland over-used positioning statements. The world is a lot more cluttered than in 1968. Repetition still works. I'm not sure "more music" has any meaning to today's jaded audiences.<P ID="signature">______________
"Radio on the Internet is yet another world-shrinking example of what communications analysts call 'death of distance.'" - Tim Jones

<a href="http://saltydog.5gigs.com">
The Salty Dog</a>
</P>
 
Re: Caution... repetition dulls reality.

> > For many years, a station I competed against used "more
> music" in every jingle
> > and liner. When we did research, they always won the
> "Which station plays more
> > music?" image, and strongly. Yet they consisxtently had
> among the highest
> > commercial loads in the market! The incessant repetition
> of "more music" from
> > 1968 to present did it (this was an AM CHR that
> successfully transitioned to
> > FM).
>
> Wow! It's not uncommon to read someone accusing program
> directors of lying to their listeners; it's not everyday we
> get to read a success story of the practice! ;-)

Playing devil's advocate, and in fairness, the "more music" statement was always used ahead of a song. In other words, they said, "here is more music... another song" as opposed to saying, "more music and fewer commercials."

For whatever reason, the listeners believed that the station provided more music. Interestingly, researching listeners shows that low rated stations do don win the more music image, as there is an implied "more and better music" in the interpretation... "more music I like." If the music is good and there is enough of it, the station will take the image.
 
Hmmmmm....

> > > For many years, a station I competed against used "more
> > music" in every jingle
> > > and liner.
> > > The incessant repetition
> > > of "more music" from
> > > 1968 to present did it (this was an AM CHR that
> > successfully transitioned to
> > > FM).

Hmmmm. I'm trying to figure out David's slightly opaque and veiled reference to the station.

Clues:

1968
"More music" jingle
Liners
AM CHR
Transition to FM

Must have been a Drake or fake-Drake to begin with.

David: is this station in CA?

(email me to head-off the guessing)
 
Re: Hmmmmm....

> > > > For many years, a station I competed against used
> "more
> > > music" in every jingle
> > > > and liner.
> > > > The incessant repetition
> > > > of "more music" from
> > > > 1968 to present did it (this was an AM CHR that
> > > successfully transitioned to
> > > > FM).
>
> Hmmmm. I'm trying to figure out David's slightly opaque and
> veiled reference to the station.
>
> Clues:
>
> 1968
> "More music" jingle
> Liners
> AM CHR
> Transition to FM
>
> Must have been a Drake or fake-Drake to begin with.
>
> David: is this station in CA?

No, it was one of Mike Joseph's most successful stations, WKAQ in San Juan, PR. It transitioned from AM to WKAQ-FM, and was one of the first "hot hits" stations. Mike kept it as a client until about 1992, which may be a consulting record of sorts. It is currently #2 or #3 in market #14, where there are 132 stations licensed in the MSA.
 
Re: Hardly a lie...

> "Variety" truly does not mean "lots of songs." When you talk
> to real listeners, not us geeks on this board, you find that
> "variety" means "all the songs I like."

I admit, growing up as a Top 40 radio addict, I tended to think that way a lot. It never occurred to me back then that just because I knew and liked a few thousand songs, the average radio listener does not. It wasn't until I started reading these forums that I got a better idea of how radio stations are programmed.

That being said, my initial post in this thread wasn't suggesting that stations are "lying" when they claim to have variety, just that I disagree with the some of the ways they try to convince us. If a station only plays 200 songs, and that works well for them, then that's great. But I wish they wouldn't insult my intelligence by playing a song I hear all the time and telling me I "haven't heard this one in years."
 
Re: Hmmmmm....

> No, it was one of Mike Joseph's most successful stations,
> WKAQ in San Juan, PR. It transitioned from AM to WKAQ-FM,
> and was one of the first "hot hits" stations. Mike kept it
> as a client until about 1992, which may be a consulting
> record of sorts. It is currently #2 or #3 in market #14,
> where there are 132 stations licensed in the MSA.
>

Well, I'll be damned.

What is Joseph doing now? Is he retired? He was WABC's first (or one of the first) PDs when they went Top 40.

Now, did WKAQ ever use Johnny Mann jingles? :) (Or would that be "Juan Mann"?)<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Johnny Morgan on 11/01/05 08:55 PM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: Hmmmmm....

> > No, it was one of Mike Joseph's most successful stations,
> > WKAQ in San Juan, PR. It transitioned from AM to WKAQ-FM,
> > and was one of the first "hot hits" stations. Mike kept it
>
> > as a client until about 1992, which may be a consulting
> > record of sorts. It is currently #2 or #3 in market #14,
> > where there are 132 stations licensed in the MSA.
> >
>
> Well, I'll be damned.
>
> What is Joseph doing now? Is he retired? He was WABC's
> first (or one of the first) PDs when they went Top 40.

I believe he was the PD at the switch. He is retired in his 70's now, and the last time I saw him was about 5 years ago when I was on an R&R convention panel. I had never met him before... after the panel, he walked up and said, "I'm glad I only had to compete with you in one market." He turned, and walked away. I think it was a compliment, but who knows?

>
> Now, did WKAQ ever use Johnny Mann jingles? :) (Or would
> that be "Juan Mann"?)

The 1968 jingles were PAMS. Later, I believe they switched to TM.

Funny, I used the WABC package (CRC if not mistaken) with the original "I'll take Manhattan...) musical logo at the start on my first stations in Ecuador... with no chime, of course.
>
 
Re: Hmmmmm....

> with no chime, of
> course.

Well, what fun is that? :) haha
 
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