why is traditional radio so awful?

[dawnpatrol70]

Based on the threads here, i'm a tad older than most of the folk. When I grew up, radio was the main source of hearing music, no internet, no YOUTUBE/Myspace/Twitter/etc. Back then, radio wasn't a whole lot better, but it was TOLERABLE. They would have some things that appealed to TRUE music lovers, not just TOP 40 listeners. For instance, Sunday was all-about special shows. They had Mary Turner Of f The Record, with interviews with each band and played hits and some b-sides. Metal Shop was 3 hours of metal. Jim Ladd did INNERVIEW with music interwoven. King Biscuit had Live Shows. Dr. Demento was a good comedy show with humor related music, and on Monday you had Rockline - hands down the best of all. Not to mention, some of the stations put together their own shows which were good as well. You would ocassionally catch a station playing a B-side, they would play I've Got The Fire and CrossEyed Mary by Iron Maiden on the radio!! You've got to remember Good Riddance(from Brainstew single) by Green Day and Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam were b-sides that radio made into hits. To be honest, had I not grown up when radio was better, i don't think i'd be a DEEP music fan. If I were to base current music on what's played on the radio, I would think 2009 was the worst year in music, however since I listen elsewhere - I realize it was one of the better years EVER!!!

Now radio is not tolerable - it is strictly for the TOP 40crowd, even the oldies they play are cookie-cutter. I would go as far as to say - current top 40 represents the only music made that is NOT GOOD. When I email and/or talk to the program directors, they say the only market for deep music fans is the internet or Satellite radio. Do they not realize how many true music/ indie fans are out there? My problem with that theory is that if you're a casual music listener, you're not going to know that the best music is on internet radio stations. In other words, you don't know what you're missing if you are just plain unaware. Even through word of mouth, you're not going to care, because you don't realize you have potential of liking good music in lieu of Top40 schlock.

My point is, radio has a golden opportunity to get some indie listeners, and they're blowing it. They continue to show they have absolutely zero knowledge of what's goin on in music. They are always 2 months late breaking new artists, and take no chances whatsoever. If there was a station that played non-stop indie they could regain the youth demographic. I have young friends that don't listen to radio, and never did. I ask them if a traditional station played Between the buried and me, every time i die, radiohead, preschool tea party massacre, killers, arsonists get all the girls, the dillinger escape plan, emmure, cursive, cake, getup kids, tv on the radio, ween, afi, eels, beck, etc would you listen?

They say "Hell Yeah" of course. Radio is complaining about it's shrinking fan-base, when they hold the key to returning to former glory. The only explanation i can fathom is they're afraid if they try something new they will slip further down their slippery slope of inevitable nonexistence. They say "Wow - Ladygaga is making us a fortune - let's play her ad infintium... til nauseating symptoms set in" The answer is to hire some young program directors who have a passion for music, and let them choose the music, not the computer!!!

[Guest adam526]

Lost cause.

[One Hundred Fifty-Two]

I sometimes listen to the radio in the car with my girlfriend. We will go out to dinner and on the way home the same four songs we heard on the way there are playing again. I wouldn't even care if they played crap as long as they mixed up the crap they played. That shit is on a ten song loop.

[kirbypuckett]

Radio is dead.

Radio stations only exist to run commercials and background noise for Joe and Jill Sick Pack.

[booyahachieved]

Only radio worth listening to is NPR.

[jimmythescumbag]

Radio is dead.

Radio stations only exist to run commercials and background noise for Joe and Jill Sick Pack.

+1

[rocknroll76]

Radio is gone.

That's why they make ipods.

[kirbypuckett]

I don't know anyone that actually listens to the radio that's my age. If they do, then they generally don't really "like" music. They enjoy the background noise perhaps, but it's not like they're dying to hear some new cutting edge music. People like to hear the same songs over and over and over until they're worn out, then they can come out with something new.

People like us LOVE music and look forward to discovering new things, but also enjoying the classics.

Two different types of people.

I thought of another reason people listen to the radio though, sports talk shows. People LOVE to call into those things and share their opinions, but that doesn't really have to deal with music.

[AlexH.]

I listen to the radio all the time, but we've got at least 2 worthwhile radio stations here, Radio K (U of Minnesota's station) and The Current (MPR's "modern music" channel.) Otherwise, we've got 2 identical top 40 stations, 2 oldies stations, 2 "80s 90s and today" stations, and country. So yeah, there's a lot of garbage, but sometimes there's something good. You just have to seek it out.

[kjg12590]

I don't think Lady Gaga is that terrible. True story.

[rtw88]

SEXTING!

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

I don't know anyone that actually listens to the radio that's my age. If they do, then they generally don't really "like" music. They enjoy the background noise perhaps, but it's not like they're dying to hear some new cutting edge music. People like to hear the same songs over and over and over until they're worn out, then they can come out with something new.

People like us LOVE music and look forward to discovering new things, but also enjoying the classics.

Two different types of people.

I thought of another reason people listen to the radio though, sports talk shows. People LOVE to call into those things and share their opinions, but that doesn't really have to deal with music.

I am forced to listen to the radio in my car since I left my ipod in WV. so the last three months (i keep forgetting to pick it up) all I listen too in the car is WXDX because they have Mark Madden for my drive home. im stuck listening to top 40's between segments, but I dont care.

[rtw88]

If I forget my mp3 player I listen to nothing, NPR, or conservative talk radio for the lulz.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

If I forget my mp3 player I listen to nothing, NPR, or conservative talk radio for the lulz.

i could never force myself to listen to conservative radio. never.

[rtw88]

I've argued with my future father in law about way more infuriating than they can say on the radio, so I can handle it.

[kirbypuckett]

I used to use conservative talk radio as an alarm. I woke up instantly.

[AlexH.]

Until I quit my job, I listened to 10 1/2 hours of conservative talk radio a day. Local guy/Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/local guy. Just about had an aneurysm every day.

[blanketbyday]

<3 Lady Gaga. Really, the only thing that drives me nuts about my local alternative station is the out of touch grunge/new wave era artifacts they call Disc Jockeys, Mother Fuckers are so out of touch.

[enjoyadrian]

I use to intern for a local radio station here. The programming director would program music according to VH1's top 40 countdown. The closer to #1 on that list, the more a song would get played.

[thealex]

more commercials than music has really taken radio down a notch. playing the same 5 songs over and over again doesn't cut it for me.

[mediocore]

I forget the exact number, but the average radio listener listens for around 45 minutes at a time. So radio's basically on a 45-minute loop all day, with a few older songs switched out for a few different older songs.

[rockstar71888]

Sirius > FM/AM

they do play good shit

[mediocore]

Sirius > FM/AM

they do play good shit

At the beginning of Sirius/XM I would've agreed. But now it seems like they've gotten away from a lot of the niche programming that separated it from AM/FM. And a lot of the stations still play the same bands/songs way too often.

I mean, yeah, they're better than AM/FM. But it's still not as good as it could/should be.

[enjoyadrian]

I forget the exact number, but the average radio listener listens for around 45 minutes at a time. So radio's basically on a 45-minute loop all day, with a few older songs switched out for a few different older songs.

The way it was done at the station i worked at was there's a computer point system, 1-7. If a song had a 7, it was played every hour, no matter what. 1's were songs that use to be hits in the 90's, so they would be played once every so often.

It was pretty shitty. I would try recommending songs to be played, but if they didnt get a promo and prize incentives from record labels, they wouldn't deal with it.

[saxamaphone]

I use to intern for a local radio station here. The programming director would program music according to VH1's top 40 countdown. The closer to #1 on that list, the more a song would get played.

That's kind of depressing.