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Why Does Radio Suck?


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Great article, thanks!

 

Here's a tasty tidbit from it:

 

In the 1990s, however, Washington moved steadily to deregulate the radio industry. Among other things, it removed most of America's decades-old restrictions on ownership. Today, the top three broadcasters control at least 60 percent of the stations in the top 100 markets in the U.S.

 

Is There Gas In The Car? :cool:

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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I don't remember ever thinking Radio was that good.

 

For those of you who thinks Radio sucks now, how was it so much better before, or what should it be? Is this already addressed by things like XM Radio?

 

Is the discussion from an entertainment value perspective, or a new artist promotional opportunity perspective?

 

I'd take my iPod any day over a radio station...

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This is sort of old news. The main reason radio sucks is that it profits by delivering people's ears to advertisers, rather than delivering music to people's ears.

 

There is some small possibility that XM, Sirius, radioio.com and radioparadise.com will break this business model, but it's a lot more likely they will end up following one of these 2 paths:

 

'Public TV/Radio' model - once or twice a year, beg for money for 2 or 3 weeks straight.

 

'Cable TV' model - once almost everybody subscribes, and the current broadcast market has lost most of it's market share, start putting on the same obnoxious crap ads as the broadcasters did, to milk as much money out of it as possible.

 

Of the 2, I guess the Public TV/Radio model is less annoying... At least it's not full-time annoying like the other one.

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Originally posted by philbo_Tangent:

'Cable TV' model - once almost everybody subscribes, and the current broadcast market has lost most of it's market share, start putting on the same obnoxious crap ads as the broadcasters did, to milk as much money out of it as possible.

Ouch! What a depressing (yet possible) scenario!

Steve Force,

Durham, North Carolina

--------

My Professional Websites

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Supply and Demend....

 

It's not TV or Radio's fault they suck,

 

I beleive is that it's the percentage of people with bad taste in stuff is just higher.

 

Something about the bell curve... normal is in the middle and is the highest. They eat Big Macs, watch reality shows, buy Britney, etc. People with better educated tastes are at the extremes of of curve, hence, less in numbers. Pretty simple if you think about it!

 

Boy, I'm glad I'm not normal! :D

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Yeah, though I don't listen to radio on my own time, for the most part it does suck. However, over the past few weeks at work we've been listening to this station out of Delaware that has a twist. Yes, they play a lot of the popular crap, but I can't think of one other station that plays Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" after Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again". It's a decent variety, and there are very few repeats in an 8-hour workday (er, night). Only problem is, every once in a while, the station's signal goes dead in our area (maybe the Big C sending gremlins to their station?).

 

Radio sucks, yes, but at least there are some stations that aren't too bad.

Peace

If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking 'til you do suck seed!
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There actually was a time in my (loooong) memory when radio in my market (LA) was really, really hip.

 

Sure, the 'underground' stations in the late 60's and early 70's played a lot of what you'd expect: soon-to-be-big artists like David Bowie or Led Zeppelin, album material from faves like the Stones you wouldn't hear on 'commercial' radio, and the like.

 

But the hippest of the stations mixed it up by throwing in non-rock artists like Miles Davis (Bitch's Brew opened up a lot of rocker's heads back then, lemme tell ya), blues artists like Howlin' Wolf, singers like Billie Holiday, and even comedy bits from people like the Marx Brothers (who were largely forgotten at the time), the fabulously funny Lord Buckley, and the then-mind-boggling surrealism of folks like the Firesign Theatre.

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Originally posted by TeleCarlos:

I beleive is that it's the percentage of people with bad taste in stuff is just higher.

Regardless of all the corporate influences, I wonder if polls have much of an impact on playlists? I get calls periodically from some biz that asks for my demographical info, what stations I listen to, and plays 20 or so song clips of top40/nu metal/alt rock stuff. Most of it is suck-suck-suck. I have not yet heard a tune that wasn't already on the radio-why not ask folks what type of format they want, straight up?
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Radio sucks, yes, but at least there are some stations that aren't too bad.

That's true, there are glimmers of hope. I confess, MTV Indie Station has some nice unknown bands that are worth checking out. I'm sure there are better options thou.

 

How bout cable? History Channel, Discovery et al has done awesome programming in the last couple of years. I'm certain it has taken a bite out regular programming.

 

Just like voting, I do not let crap play out in my TV or radio, I change it fast. What else can I do, right. Example: the instant I saw a J.Lo vid or news clip, I switched the channel. I will not tolerate the art form of music being "prostituted" as another money making endeavor.

 

"Nope, not in my house you don't"

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Originally posted by philbo_Tangent:

Of the 2, I guess the Public TV/Radio model is less annoying... At least it's not full-time annoying like the other one.

I dunno. The Public TV/Radio model does piss me off, then again so do commercials. I dunno which type I'd choose.
Shut up and play.
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More insight from Forbes Magazine, which takes a look at the National Association of Broadcasters, and their efforts to fight satellite radio. Like many Washington lobbying organizations, the NAB knows the power of good ideas, and how to buy enough greasy politicians to kill them.

 

Forbes Article

"If more of us valued food, cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - J. R. R. Tolkien
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by TeleCarlos:

MTV Indie Station has some nice unknown bands that are worth checking out. [/QB]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Where do I check this out?

Go here:

http://www.mtv.com/mtvradio/

 

On the bottom they have lots of stations...

not promising anything but it is worth a try.

 

By the way, I only got into this station & videos after I got a Cable modem, otherwise... wouldn't even try it.

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I beleive is that it's the percentage of people with bad taste in stuff is just higher. Something about the bell curve... normal is in the middle and is the highest. They eat Big Macs, watch reality shows, buy Britney, etc. People with better educated tastes are at the extremes of of curve, hence, less in numbers. Pretty simple if you think about it! Boy, I'm glad I'm not normal!
Love your post. You just saved me a ton of time writing.

I just wanted to add, just make the music you want to make. In the end, that is all that really matters. Expressing yourself.

Peace,

Ernest

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Originally posted by revolead:

Originally posted by philbo_Tangent:

Of the 2, I guess the Public TV/Radio model is less annoying... At least it's not full-time annoying like the other one.

I dunno. The Public TV/Radio model does piss me off, then again so do commercials. I dunno which type I'd choose.
College Radio!!!! Free form rules!
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Originally posted by philbo_Tangent:

This is sort of old news. The main reason radio sucks is that it profits by delivering people's ears to advertisers, rather than delivering music to people's ears.

 

There is some small possibility that XM, Sirius, radioio.com and radioparadise.com will break this business model, but it's a lot more likely they will end up following one of these 2 paths:

 

'Public TV/Radio' model - once or twice a year, beg for money for 2 or 3 weeks straight.

 

'Cable TV' model - once almost everybody subscribes, and the current broadcast market has lost most of it's market share, start putting on the same obnoxious crap ads as the broadcasters did, to milk as much money out of it as possible.

 

Of the 2, I guess the Public TV/Radio model is less annoying... At least it's not full-time annoying like the other one.

The business of delivering listeners to advertiser is spot on. :thu:

 

Satellite radio won't have to go public radio begfest - satellite makes money on subscriber fees. Looks like cable TV to me.

 

I'm very concerned that satellite radio will just be another sucky medium. The satellite channels I have heard of seem to focus on demographics and catering to built in tastes. The NASCAR channel - the Disney Channel. Yeesh :mad: Surprise me once in a while!

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Originally posted by felix.:

For those of you who thinks Radio sucks now, how was it so much better before, or what should it be? Is this already addressed by things like XM Radio?

XM Rules! It's the greatest purchase I have made in the last year. I've listened to more radio in the last year than in the last ten years since getting XM.
"this is rock n roll"
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