Why are top 40 stations playing quarter century old music?

Factual Questions
21

[QUOTE=pkbites]
25+ years ago when top 40 radio stations were playing top hits like Eye of the Tiger, The safety Dance, etc., I can tell you from memory that they weren’t playing songs from 1958, 69, or, many of them, even the early 70’s.
[/QUOTE]

Most of the ones that I remember were playing mostly hard rock from the 60’s and 70’s as well as the occasional disco or motown track thrown in.

This might sound dumb ,but listen to the commericals that get interjected. Im guessing that most of them, will target a demographic in their 40-60 range.

In a way its almost censorship. Music was and is primarily a way to speak to the people and for the people to speak up and given a choice between whats being heard by listeners of urban music versus the miami vice lifestyle of the eighties , the people that decide what the market will bear for your listenin pleasure , have decided that your gonna hear axel f.

Now I love 80’s music , I grew up with it. Specifically I grew with it.But one of the reasons 80’s music was so there , was due to the dearth of music to play when the video generation just started. I can just guess what it may have cost for a Led Zepplin video or what not, so cheaper acts got more play than they normally would have in any other era.

What was amusing after the fact was a song by Bruce Cockburn, If I had a rocket launcher. A song he wrote and performed as a protest against american actions in El Salvador in the 80’s and the rocket launcher was pointed at American helicopters, was dusted off after 9/11. Other than the royalties , I assume he was equally amused.

And anyways , I was reading the webpage of a bar that I used to frequent that has live bands on the weekend , and what struck me is that they dont want to hear original music , has to be top forty. Someone is probably making a few tunes hear and there, but the business mechanism for them getting to top forty is probably not quite there yet.

Declan

22

A noted radio consultant has posted a white paper on this issue and how it relates to trends in current music. There is apparently a cycle that has been repeating itself since the beginning of the Rock era. It’s a long read, but very interesting.

link

23

Because music changed. The Tin Pan Alley era ended around 1955 that ushered in the Rock era, which lasted till the late 80s early 90s, when R&B and Rap took over and became the standard for pop instead of rock.

Although even now some people won’t admit rock music is as dead as disco all one has to do is look at the Billboard charts to see rock hasn’t been the mainstay of pop for over a decade now and R&B overtook it much longer than that.

Basically at one time rock was pop music, now pop music is R&B and Rap and HipHop etc.

So radio stations have to play older music to get the rock/pop feel that hasn’t been popular in 25 years

24

I would like to suggest some other reasons why 30yo music is still popular.

First, let’s compare the music scene leading up to 1950, say 1920-1950. Recorded music wasn’t as widespread, radio not as ubiquitous, walkmans didn’t exist, and the recorded quality not very HiFi. So a hit wasn’t as well known as in later decades due to lesser exposure.

The sound quality of a 1920’s recording played ca. 1960 was pretty crappy. Once I had a HiFi system, even of minimal quality in 1960, I didn’t want to play obsolete, scratchy old 78s.

But the sound quality of recordings from 1960-today is pretty much the same, and of quality that reaches or exceeds human hearing and perception. You may recognize a 1970’s song as being old, but it doesn’t sound ancient, at least quality-wise.

Another factor…the baby boom accentuated a divide between generations. Believe me, I wouldn’t have been caught dead with my peers listening to Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller when all the hip cats were swingin’ to Chuck Berry and Lil Richard, even tho those genres were only 10 years apart. I don’t see that extreme divide today – all generations seem to like the Beatles.

25

[QUOTE=notlikely]
So radio stations have to play older music to get the rock/pop feel that hasn’t been popular in 25 years
[/QUOTE]

If it isn’t popular, nobody would listen.

If nobody listened, they wouldn’t get advertising.

Without advertising they’d be out of business.

Perhaps you’re imposing your views on what should be popular, in your opinion, but it doesn’t seem to match up to the fiscal reality. Radio stations do exist that play this music; therefore, they must be making money from it somehow.

26

[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Yeah, as far as pop music goes, I have to say the 80s were pretty terrible, much moreso than the 90s or 00s. However, in terms of what was going on off the Top 40 radar, holy crap were the 80s good.
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Yeah, there were some good bands in the 80’s, I admit. But, IME, when somebody says they like “80’s music”, they’re not talking about bands like Joy Division.

27

[QUOTE=Ludovic]
Current rock music isn’t. Current pop has never been worse in the rock era.

Synth pop rocked! Too bad they play too little of it when they play 80s music!
[/QUOTE]

Current rock music isn’t what?

28

[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party]
Yeah, there were some good bands in the 80’s, I admit. But, IME, when somebody says they like “80’s music”, they’re not talking about bands like Joy Division.
[/QUOTE]

And when people say they like “70’s music”, they’re not talking about Led Zeppelin, Dark Side/ The Wall-era Pink Floyd or The Sex Pistols. I’ve always found it frustrating and strange how “70’s music” is code for Disco and “80’s music” can mean anything from Pop (Madonna, Prince) to Hair Band (Poison, Ratt), but somehow does not mean Heavy Metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax).

29

[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party]
Current rock music isn’t what?
[/QUOTE]

LOUD, I said. Current rock music isn’t LOUD!

It isn’t allowed?
No, LOUD, I said!

30

My son, whose iPod sounds like I could have listened to it when I was in college, tells me that classic rock is very big among his age group (high school). I think it may gave something to do with the quality (or lack of same) of current music.

31

[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party]
Yeah, there were some good bands in the 80’s, I admit. But, IME, when somebody says they like “80’s music”, they’re not talking about bands like Joy Division.
[/QUOTE]

I agree, which is why I was specific to say “pop.” A lot of people dismiss the 80s wholesale and forget the fantastic underground scene.

As for classic rock, that was way popular in my high school in the early 90s, as well. I didn’t get into truly contemporary music up until about 1992/3 and college. I didn’t discover most of the great 80s bands until the mid- to late-90s, and I have been playing catch-up almost ever since.

Plus, I’m not sure I know what the OP is talking about. The Top 40 music stations here in Chicago don’t play 30-year-old music. It’s mostly R&B and hip-hop, and the oldest stuff I hear is probably from no further back than a couple years ago.

32

[QUOTE=BrotherCadfael]
My son, whose iPod sounds like I could have listened to it when I was in college, tells me that classic rock is very big among his age group (high school). I think it may gave something to do with the quality (or lack of same) of current music.
[/QUOTE]

People keep saying this, but it’s so not true. There’s lots of terrific music out there. You may have to dig a little, but it’s not all that hard to find.

33

“Top 40” radio audiences are considerably older (on average) than they were 25 years ago. The terrestrial FM Radio top 40 demographic is both diminishing in size and increasing in age as newer media delivery technologies with more flexible and convenience listening options slice the audience into ever finer sections.

This article is 15 years old and the scenario it describes is only more so now.

Breakup of Pop Music Audience Leaves Top 40 Radio Tuned Out

34

[QUOTE=Yookeroo]
People keep saying this, but it’s so not true. There’s lots of terrific music out there. You may have to dig a little, but it’s not all that hard to find.
[/QUOTE]

Thats the thing now isnt it. Getting turned on to a new or for that matter an old band from a buddy is one thing, but if you have to excavate to find what you might like , then there is a problem.

Music will always move faster through word of mouth, than any other distribution method and yet that comment comes up, so I think we are probably asking the wrong people , and since I dont know any teenagers currently, I shall have to await developments on this thread.

Declan

35

[QUOTE=TheBoltEater]
And when people say they like “70’s music”, they’re not talking about Led Zeppelin, Dark Side/ The Wall-era Pink Floyd or The Sex Pistols. I’ve always found it frustrating and strange how “70’s music” is code for Disco and “80’s music” can mean anything from Pop (Madonna, Prince) to Hair Band (Poison, Ratt), but somehow does not mean Heavy Metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax).
[/QUOTE]

Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon-my all time favorite collection bar none. Led Zep is my second favorite band. Nope, these aren’t on the TL classic soft rock cds, but I have them and my teens love them.

36

The 80s are hot with my generation. Check out CollegeHumor.com sometime. It’s all about early 90s nostalgia and 80s music. The hottest Pittsburgh club, Matrix, has 4 different rooms that play totally different genres. One is all 80s music. Let me repeat that for emphasis. The most popular club in Pittsburgh has an entire room devoted to just 80s music. That’s how popular it is with those my age (22).

37

[QUOTE=Declan]
Thats the thing now isnt it. Getting turned on to a new or for that matter an old band from a buddy is one thing, but if you have to excavate to find what you might like , then there is a problem.
[/QUOTE]

You don’t have to dig all that deep. On this board there have been plenty of threads recommending music. Some stuff I love:
Niyaz (Persian/Indian/Electronic)
Instituto Mexicano del Sonido (Mexican/electronic)
West Indian Girl (early Pink Floyd with a dash of '70s funk)
The Bird And The Bee (indie pop/female vocals)
MIDIval Punditz (Indian/electronic)
Kraak And Smaak
Eliane Elias (Brazilian jazz)
Death Cab For Cutie (indie)
Conjure One (electronic)
St. Germain (electronica/jazz)
Armin van Buuren (trance)
Kraak & Smaak (eletronica/funk)
Bebel Gilberto (Brazilian)
The Raconteurs (blues/rock)
Portishead (trip hop/downtempo)
Zero 7 (downtempo)
Sia (downtempo? Pop?)
Shpongle (psytrance?)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (funk/soul)
Swell Season (folk/indie)
Gotan Project (tango/electronica)
M.I.A. (hip hop/world)
The Ditty Bops (indie/folk?)
Anoushka Shankar (Indian fusion?)
Daft Punk (EDM)
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
The Polyphonic Spree (choral rock)
Digitalism (electro)
Rilo Kiley (indie with a dash of country)
Bitter:Sweet (trip hop?)
Devendra Banhart (indie folk?)
Scissor Sisters (glam rock)
Air (downtempo/electronic/ambient)
Girl Talk (mash-up)
Imogen Heap (electronic/indie/pop)
Lily Allen (ska/pop)
Above & Beyond (trance)
Matisyahu (orthodox Jewish reggae)
Dresden Dolls (indie cabaret?)
Kinky (Mexican/electronica/hip hop?)
Chemical Brothers (EDM)

There is so much good stuff out there.

38

I’d just like to point out that the “Baby Boomer” generation are post WWII babies, i.e. they’re now in their 60s. I don’t think they’re much of an influence on business and pop culture anymore.

39

I think it’s time for a paradigm shift. We have always tended to separate music into categories by decade. And besides that there’s the ‘pre-rock’ era and the post-rock era.

The reason why we didn’t listen to our parents’ music in the 70’s, and 80’s was because our parents’ music was radically different. Crooners and Elvis, girl singing groups like the Shirelles, singers like Fats Domino and Frankie Valley, all singing safe music that didn’t rattle any cages. But then rock music happened, and we divided music into ‘then’ and now’. As rock continued and changed, we started measuring the changes by decades, because we were conditioned to believe that music always changes and grows and that our parent’s music is hopelessly square and must be avoided.

But in fact, it turns out that much modern music isn’t really all that different than music from 30 years ago. The Raconteurs could easily have been a 70’s band. So could Wilco, or the Black Keys or the White Stripes. Hell, Lynyrd Skynyrd is still selling out stadiums and their new songs are getting airplay and they sound exactly like the old ones.

So while there are always new elements in pop music like Disco, Rap, New Wave, Punk, etc, they come and go. But the ‘core’ of rock music has not changed much - just as the blues went through period of decades without major change, as did classical music.

So it’s not that ‘old’ rock is any better - it’s just that the stuff that’s left over is the good stuff. We’re not really listening to Dr. Hook or Bananarama any more, you know? We just keep the good stuff and toss the junk and it becomes part of the catalog.

I’ll bet they’ll be making rock music 50 years from now, and we’d be hard pressed to tell if some of those bands were from the 2050’s or the 1970’s.

40

[QUOTE=Sam Stone]
Crooners and Elvis, girl singing groups like the Shirelles, singers like Fats Domino and Frankie Valley, all singing safe music that didn’t rattle any cages. But then rock music happened, and we divided music into ‘then’ and now’.
[/QUOTE]

Excuse me. “Safe music that didn’t rattle any cages” (?) Have you ever read anything about Rock ‘n’ Roll in the fifties? Does the phrase “National campaign to stamp out this satanic devil-music!” ring any bells? There were laws proposed in congress to try and make rock ‘n’ roll illegal. Spittle flew from every pulpit in the country. The singers and groups you named kicked in the doors, brother.

If, on the other hand, your definition of “rock music” is The Bee Gees and The Eagles, well perhaps you have a point. And may God have mercy on your soul.