i think the music industry should be runned by the fans of the music because its getting stupid. i hear the same songs on the radio 10-20 times an hour and never anything good. it sucks. if fans ran the scene then there would always be new music and radio would be interesting again.

News Flash !!!

The fans buying habits dictate the music industry.

Unfortunately the general public is stricken with (a) terrible fucking taste, and (b) an inability to resist even the shallowest record company marketing.

Here's the scary part; a lot of people actually like those terrible songs on the radio. Trust me, if no one liked the songs, then no one would listen, then ratings would drop, then advertising would dry up, then the station would close or chose a diffferent format.

Oh yeah...if you don't like what you hear on the radio, maybe you should explore the dial...or maybe the OFF button.

I totally disagree. Radio stations get most of their revenue thru advertisements and they need to have a large listening audience in order to attract companies to buy time on the air. Mostly you'll hear top singles by bands (often within a given format/genre) because they already know people like the song. However, stations get paid by record labels (via a middleman) to add new songs to the rotation. So it's basically an incentive program. Stations typically don't play singles from independent artists because independent labels don't pay to add their music to the playlist. You can argue that consumer purchases lead to what is played on the radio, but I think what's played on the radio dictates what the majority of people buy.

Really? You've never heard a new band on the radio ever? Ever? That is what you're saying: they only play songs people already like. How did they know that people already liked...oh...I don't know....Evanescence? They hadn't sold shit when they started getting airplay, so your theory's kind of shot.


Bullshit x 100. I actually work in the industry as opposed to reading conspiracy theories about it.

(a) I work for a commercial rock station. We do play indie artists. We currently have 3 in regular rotation - Joel Plaskett, Sloan, Danny Mainstreet.

(b) Just because Clear Channel is involved with shady dealings, don't assume the entire industry is. That's like saying because a couple of men killed women that all men are woman killers.

(c) Here's the REALITY - we actually pay for the right to use the music, not the other way around. That's right...we have to pay to get service from the record companies. I can also tell you that if there's kickbacks for playing records, someone owes me a fuckton of money, because I haven't seen dime one..and I'm the guy they'd be trying to bribe.


This is a valid point, but it works the other way just as much.

Any advertisement (and that's what songs on the radio are...ads for an album) will boost sales. It also works the other way. Example : at one time Bon Jovi was huge, so practically every single they released was played. Then somewhere around the time It's My Life was released as a single, BJ's record sales started tanking, a trend that is almost always due to the general public growing tired of an artist (exception : when an artist releases an "experimental album, etc). For that reasons, hardly any radio stations picked up the second single, and no one picked up the third to my knowledge.

I refuse to believe the mankind has such bad taste in music as to actually like most of what gets mainstream airplay. As for Evanesence how do you explain why hundreds of other bands like them never got the sudden surge in popularity? Because their music was so good? I think not...

Didn't you read what I wrote? Stations (not all of them mind you) get paid to add songs to the rotation. The stations know if a song is working or not, it's called requests and ratings. Besides, Evanescence is a Linkin Park rip off, they were bound to see airplay.

I didn't say every single radio station is in someone's pocket. Clear Channel does own about 85% of broadcast radio. Independent radio stations just don't get the same recognition. I had no idea there was a college radio station in my town until I heard Portishead while flipping the dial.

Oh, yeah, like no one's heard of royalty fees. I guess it's too bad that no one's throwing money your way, but it happens. If they did would you say no? Not to say you'd sell out like that, but it's tempting.

Well, despite who influences who, the influence that radio has on sales is starting to fade. Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead, Doves, and Björk (to name a few) have been very successful despite the fact they see little or no airplay.

I suppose we can all agree that for the most part radio is wearing out it's welcome.

Tell that to the other ten thousand Linkin Park rip-offs in North America. Why aren't they getting play too? You are speaking in hyperbole and anecdote. The fact remains you stated that radio only plays popular stuff they know people will like, which is wrong.



You should probably broaden you horizons. There are literally thousands of radio stations available on the very machine you are reading this on.

Do I think Clear Channel is bad for the industry? Damn right. Do I think there's shady dealings going on? Seems like it. Do I think their programming philosophy is decidedly short-termed thinking? Definitely. That's why I've chosen to listen elsewhere. The US is the only country where there isn't much of a competitive market in radio anymore. Radio is a lot more vibrant and interesting (not to mention original) when you leave the US border.

[derail]I would guess you'll see Clear Channel being split the same way AT&T was in the 80s. The gov't doesn't like that kind of money/power in one company's hands.[/derail]


This says to me;

(a) You haven't really listened to your local area radio enough to form a proper opinion.
(b) You proved exactly my point about how people fall for even the worst marketing. You aren't aware of non-CC stations, because they promote and advertise more. Advertising=recognition.



No. A billion times no. I couldn't be bribed enough to risk losing my house, my career, and my decent reputation. My job pays fine, and the people who offer you stuff (it HAS happened to me, BTW) are greasy slimeballs who would sell you out in a heartbeat.


This is not uncommon. Whether you're talking about Iron Maiden, The Small Faces, Led Zeppelin (who didn't get much airplay "in their day") or a host of others, it isn't just people getting airplay who sell. See, this is also why radio doesn't play those artists - you are far from alone. Fans of most of the bands you mentioned don't listen to radio much, so in turn the radio industry finds little ratings incentive to play the music. Trust me, when you play FF and Radiohead like the station I work for does, you're not getting anyone phoning to thank you for it. Play something old and tired like Back In Black, and people respond. Them's the breaks.


I said the same thing 20 years ago. Hell, my dad used to say that in the 50s because they were scared of playing to much rock n' roll instead of Fabian and Pat Boone. Nothing has changed, and radio still works...just not for everyone all the time. I'm not gonna argue the artistic virtues of the business, but you really should research more before making more half-cocked statements.

If you're saying radio is out of touch with you, you're probably right. Wait 20 years, then you'll see. No one dissed radio more than me when I was a teen, but I "get it" a little more now...and they program to me a little more because I'm the prime demographic.

I'm just going to sit here an watch another soured idealist blossom right in front of my eyes.

Unfortunately, the mere fact that it is "mainstream" contradicts that entirely. If people weren't buying, they wouldn't be selling/promoting it so aggressively.

On the flip side, most people are buying simply because they sell it so aggressively/vigorously. They don't look beyond what's thrown to them.

It's like Frank Zappa said in reference to "giving the people what they want":

You don't ask, you don't get. That was 1980 too...to think of how much more true that statement has become with each passing year...