Anyone work in radio programming?

[Skeletor]

As above - anyone work in the music radio industry that can explain the "algorithm" that is the song programming?
Working from home I've had the radio on in the background most of my days. I tend to stick to the "classic rock" stations but I assume the others are just as guilty...
Why do they play the same damn songs every day?
Songs that were put out 40 or 50 years ago and are great songs but... there are other songs on the same albums that are just as good but get no airplay. Examples are songs like "Sweet Home Alabama", "Rock and Roll (LZ)", "Boys are back in town" and a bunch of Canadian stuff (Canadian content regulations up here). I can't stand these particular songs any more due to over play. It is like they have the same 12 hours of songs on shuffle play every day (I think it repeats in the evening?).
Is it just laziness or is there some royalty reasons why these same songs are the only ones played? I assume that all the programming is being done by some central conglomerate corporation but you'd think they could swap out the "shuffle playlist" every now and then?

Got to the point today - Sweet Home Alabama came on and I hit the channel change button and sent a message to the "program manager" of the radio station (website contact) - we'll see if they respond

Rant over - but I am curious as to how this works and why.

 

[DavGrape]

Detroit radio same way.
Sweet Home Alabama WILL be played.

"Oh, and coming up after the break; got some Aerosmith for ya!"
Guess which one.

 

[fett]

I heart Radio are the people to ask.

 

[fry]

I quit listening to terrestrial radio almost 4 years ago. I have been around it a time or two since then, and it is excruciating. Where I live, it’s one song followed by 27 car dealership commercials. I don’t know how in the hell anybody can still listen to it. I did hear an old radio veteran talk about this once. He said people used to call and say “why do you play the same crap all the time, we’re sick of it!“ Then, if they changed it up, people would call and say “why don’t you play the good old stuff you used to play!”. There’s no way to make everybody happy.

 

[Jymbopalyse]

Radio ?


Is that still around ??


You mean . . . like . . . AM & FM ???


I think radio got abandoned decades ago.
They just recorded the last 13 days.
Then put it on repeat.

 

[DavGrape]

I guess that explains Fibber McGee and Molly at 5:30.

 

[Tone deaf]

When I hear old chestnuts (Blackfoot, Billy Squire, Billy Thorpe, April Wine, Bob Seager, etc.), I wonder "What got these songs back in the rotation?" I can only assume that it is money. Those songs are cheap to play. So, dilute the cost of the expensive music with lots of the cheap stuff.

 

[Skeletor]

Detroit radio same way.
Sweet Home Alabama WILL be played.

"Oh, and coming up after the break; got some Aerosmith for ya!"
Guess which one.

Aerosmith... the sappy one Crazy or Crying or whatever it is called? That one gets a channel change as well

 

[DavGrape]

Walk This Way!
Gah!
Always!

Now I got 'Crazy' stuck in my head.
Jeez-o pete.

 

[Skeletor]

Walk This Way!
Gah!
Always!

Now I got 'Crazy' stuck in my head.
Jeez-o pete.

Damn you have it good. I'm sick of walk this way but it kicks ass over Crazy. Generally any aerosmith gets a channel change

 

[redcoats1976]

ummm...jaded?girls of summer? i admit to not being much of an aerosmith fan until i heard these two,but you never hear them on the radio.

 

[Fret Hopper]

And now 30 minutes commercial free listening!

^
The biggest lie in radio. Might not have actual commercials, but it is right on the borderline.

 

[WaywerdSon]

Aerosmith... the sappy one Crazy or Crying or whatever it is called? That one gets a channel change as well

anything past night in the ruts is downhill from their greatest stuff. When they were a bunch of junkies that hated each other they were a pretty damn good band

 

[Skeletor]

anything past night in the ruts is downhill from their greatest stuff. When they were a bunch of junkies that hated each other they were a pretty damn good band

Ya, i really don't hate the old stuff (pre maybe 1982?) But that isn't what gets airplay here... it is the 90s (?) Crap.
Kind of my point... why can't the programmers toss in some of the lost gems instead of Crying...or Crazy or whatever that crap song is called

 

[blackie2]

The programming for AOR, album oriented rock, is based on the theory that listeners only want to hear the number one hits from any artist in the rotation. They’ve been programming this since the 1990’s. Most people never really notice it between relentless commercials and promotions. My source for this stuff were Program Managers who used to hire interns when I taught Mass Comm courses.

 

[electric head]

I listen to the radio all day at work and I have also noticed that if the particular group happens to be coming in concert they play the hell out of their music.

 

[LocoTex]

If I never hear these songs again I will die happy:

Layla
Freebird
Stairway to Heaven
Won't Get Fooled Again

It's like they're on a constant loop on Classic Rock stations.

 

[bilbarstow]

Heh ! "Classic Rock" - is the PROBLEM in itself. By definition, they aren't making any "new" "classic rock". So its ALL the "same old stuff we've heard before."

I agree and respect the opinion that they choose to play only a subset of the music of those eras / off of those Albums.

But really, before you complain, accept some responsibility for the fact that you are actively choosing to listen to only a limited format, and that's what you will get.

I just go back and play my albums from the time period (the whole album). Or I listen to current music, from one of the many choices (I vary them up) off of SiriusXM. Or out of my vast Itunes library. Or you could choose any one of the various streaming services (mostly algorithm programmed, as well) ?

Man shakes fist at clouds !

 

[MikeyTheCat]

It all went downhill when they got rid of payola.

 

[MikeyTheCat]

Back in my HS days I wanted to go into radio (dreamed of a night time slot) and would call in and badger the DJs with song requests. One finally told me to come on down to the studio and put records away in exchange for playing my requests. The station had a rotation of songs that would get played but left some time open for the DJ to pick and requests (which was up to the DJ to play or not). It was pretty fun as the DJs had favorite local and unknown regional bands that they would try to break so you'd hear things besides the regular stuff. The most fun was pissing off the Sunday ethnic talent and doctoring the weather forecasts of one DJ who would read whatever you gave him.
One of my former co-workers DJs a few times a week on a short throw radio station where he plays almost all unknown bands, so there are still guys out there trying to do radio but it's an uphill battle against the pre-programmed format.