Play commercials for themselves, saying how they play all the best music, and so on. Why do this when I’m already tuned in. Don’t tell me how great you are, shut up and play music! What I really hate is when they play recordings of listeners who call in to say how much they love the station.I don’t give a rats ass that these folks like the station. Play more music, jerks.
I can understand stations advirtising on billboards, bumper stickers, and t.v., but why on your own station? They already have me listening, why waste time telling me how great they are? It’s like hanging out with a friend who continually brags what a great person he is to hang out with.
Now, most radio stations here in Milwaukee suck, suck, SUCK!
But I know that this is used all over the country.
WHY? It doesn’t generate income for them. It mearly lengthens the commercial break. Anyone know why the media types think this tactic is effective?
Because if you had just happened to tune into that station for the first time ever, and were not aware of what the station played all the time, you would now. Then perhaps, you would listen more often to that station.
I have a friend who used to work in radio and he said you’d be surprised how many people have their radios on and have no idea what station it’s set on. Also, radio (and TV) stations are required to identify themselves at certain times every hour. If the FCC wanted to, they could fine the stations for not broadcasting on time. As for the listener testimonial, they may be for people other than the radio’s owner who may be listening in, say, at the beach.
I’m taking about actual 60 second commercials that say something like: “W.H.I.Z., we play only the top hits, [snippit of some song] then a testimonial from a listener 'I listen to WHIZ at work, in my car, blah blah blah…[another snippit of music] 'we’re the best radio station in Brew Town, blah blah blah [another snippit of some song].” They do this in addition to regular station identification spots.
I don’t want to hear snippits of music and 60 seconds of bragging!Just play the whole song.And dj’s who talk over the songs should be shot.I can’t believe I’m the only one who hates that! The stations in Milwaukee are so boaring & predictable, playing the same 10 songs over, & over, & over. I’ve been forced to listen to the college stations (if I can get them in) which aren’t real professional, but at least the play more music.
We’ve got a station like that here (Florida Gulf Coast).
They have some kind of battle with another station called “Thunder” and it seems after every third song they’d play two minutes of “We play MORE music and kick MORE ass than Thunder.” Or worse, “Thunder thinks THIS rocks” then play a few seconds of some horrible song Thunder played. Or, “In the last hour Thunder played 25 commercials while we only played 19.” I don’t think they consider their own adverts in the 19.
And I swear, couldn’t they at least ONCE give the name of a song they just played? Apparently not, as that would either require a minimal knowledge of music or the ability to read. Instead, they just gotta keep telling us how much MORE music they play, (and how much MORE ass they kick).
I don’t mind “station identification”, but this stuff is infuriating.
Funny thing is, I don’t remember the name of the station, and couldn’t intentionally find either of them on the FM Dial. Maybe if they just told me quietly and went on with the music I’d remember.
Well pkbites, I believe the original reason (way back) DJs talked over the beginning of songs (particular new and/or popular releases) was to discourage the home listener from recording the complete song on that new-fangled cassette tape. I suppose the same still applies, especially with MP3 etc., although nowadays it also is because they love the sound of their own voice.
The non-song indentification crap is becoming intolerable, with almost no IDing of the tons of new releases. While various ridiculous ideas (including some sort of digitial marker device now available - I forget its name) are being bandied about, does anyone know of a station doing the simpliest and most useful concept - placing its playlist (updated on the hour, say) on its web-site, listed in chronological order with associated times (so you can look it up and say “I heard that song around 5:15PM, before Bare Naked Ladies ‘It’s all been done’… hey, here it is, it was ‘Stop the Rock’ by Apollo 440” - Well, you get the idea)
I know of a hand-fun of alternate radio shows that do this, but any stations (none that I normally listen too here in NY)?
Not true; DJs talked over the beginnings of songs from at least the 1950s, when tape recordings were rare. The old-time top-40 DJ talked because it was his job to talk in order to liven up the show.
The commercials for the stations are called promos and are often played during a stop set (commercial break) when the station does not have enough ads to completely fill the break. On some stations, you will occasionally hear a break with no promos, just the usual 10 second station ID tag.
The DJ talked over the music intro because it often was the only time he was allowed to talk (and say important things, like his name).
When radio consultants (the first biggie was Mike Joseph in the early 60’s) concluded that much of the public was unaware of the station they were listening to then the first of the “structured” talkups started sneaking up.
The first thing out of the jocks mouth had to be the calls.
In the case of NYC there were a few calls so close to each other that the jocks had to emphasize the difference. Recall Imus and w-N-bc while Ingram shouted w-A-bc.
These days the creeping population of digital readouts have caused consultants to recommend the first thing out of the mouth should be dial position…“93-3 The Fox” and “The New 94-point-7,” etc.
Now, to the OP’s point. Why run promos? Because they promote you and they’re free. When the station has something to promote these can be great pieces of information…how the listen and win the $10,000 (even though you know you’ll end up with a T-shirt).
But if all the station is doing is saying what a great radio station they are…well, now we’re getting a little close to masturbation, IMHO.
The reason radio DJ hype up themselves and the radio stations is–in order to believe in it themselves and to keep themselves up (TOC). Remember, you have people sitting and standing in cramped rooms for four to six hours straight. Imagine if you stay in there while a boring stretch of music or news tape or something else and you do nothing at the time? That right you wind up snoring on air. So to prevent such tedium, the programmer DJs have to do small things, such as shilling merchandise at appropriate times, hype the station and themselves, and cue sound effects and other stock tape. Repeat that you are number one, or at least very good, then you start to believe it yourself and will take pride in your work. So says some positive-thinking gurus.
A most memorable example of self-hyping working wonders for a radio station was Z-100, WHTZ in New York, ca. 1986. It started off at twentieth place, not bad but not quite good enough. So, starting with the Original Zoo with Scott Shannon, and Shadoe Stevens in the afternoon, they created the “worst to first” commercial blitz. It was one of the most effective commercial campaigns in broadcast history; they quickly became the #1 radio station in America. They came to believe that they were a great station with incredible DJs and brilliant programming, and they were right. It was one of few stations that you can actually enjoy listening to for 24 hours a day. Then they got full of themselves, lost their legendary DJs and, as a result, lost ground again.
It’s for people who just tuned into that particular station, and want to know what kind of music is played on it, and why they should keep listening. Station identification does not accomplish that. It merely identifies the frequency and the call sign (I think that’s the right term).
But, I also think that there is a secondary tactic involved here. I believe it establishes loyalty to that station by constantly reminding the devoted listener of just what a damn good station they’re listening to. Not only do radio stations do this, but TV networks as well.
The only legendary radio station was XER in Mexico.
Late at night, this overpowered AM station could be heard as far away as England & Japan. Weird rock, country, oddball religious types & quack “cure-all” snake oil nostrums; all presided over by …HIM.
OOOOOWWWWWWOOOOOOO!!! “TAKE YO’ HANDS OFF DAT GIRL!!”
I was a radio programmer for six of eleven years in the business. Although there are no hard or fast rules to correct programming, I can tell you why I think stations constantly rename and promote themselves.
You, the listener, are not always the most important thing - the ratings book is often foremost in the programmer’s mind. Songs and commercial breaks are placed not to make your life easier but rather to play against the rules of the ratings books. For example, Arbitron states that if I grab an audience member who notes that he or she listened from the top of the hour to at least 18 past, I win the entire half hour. The full first fifteen minutes and just three of the next and I win it all. So I place a commercial stop set before the top of the hour and then constantly tell you you are in a half hour (or 40 minute) run of consistent music so you’ll stay past 18 after. Not only will you stay, but you will realize you’re staying and be able to report that later.
Past that - the leading rating services ask for self-reported ratings. Audience members are asked to either write down (in diaries) or asked on the phone what they listened to and how long. If I constantly tell you that I am W### who “plays the best music” in “30 minute sweeps” to
“get you through the morning/midday/afternoon” with “jock name”, then you might stand a better chance at remembering what I tell you and reporting it to the ratings services.
Now, you made the statement that you get sick of hearing it.
That may be, but research has shown that even consistant retelling doesn’t always mean retention. There is an element of the user wanting to remember. If you are “sick” of hearing something on a radio station, then that means you’ve heard it a great deal. That’s good. That means you are listening and doing it willingly. By becomming sick of it, I am pretty sure you like my station and have a willingness to remember my slogans - or else you wouldn’t be sick of them.
I know this doesn’t sound like the station has you, the listener, firmly in mind. Sorry to say that may be the case.
There is, and will always be, a real balancing act between grabbing and audience, teaching the audience, and holding the audience for the longest passible amount of time. Hopefully the audience will stay and learn so they will report back to the ratings services that they listened longest to my station so we can have the highest ratings and charge advertisers the highest amount of money for the lowest number of commercials.
Radio is a great career - but it also leads the way in ulcers and divorce. I got one…the ulcer that is. I got out before it had the opportunity to destroy my marriage.
well, iirc, some stations are starting to play with a phone system, i.e. you’d call up the request line or something, and you’d have two options, request a song, or find out what a song title was. if you wanted to request a song, you’d get through to the dj, if you wanted to find out what a song was, you’d get a computerized voice prompt that’d guide you through the play list. this was a year or two ago that i’d read this, and i think it was in radio world, but i can’t be for sure.
i work at a group that just got bought out (actually i’m at work now…gotta love the midnight to 8am shift…). we’re told now to only ID the song we came out of and the song we’re going in to. and at the top of the hour maybe maybe highlight one or two other songs coming up.
but then again most of our live breaks are right before or after (or both) a new song that might not be familiar. i usually use “newest” or “latest” for at least a month after the songs out, unless another single has come out since. by that time you should know it, if you listen to our station for any amount of time. besides, if a person really wants to know what song it is, they’ll call. it’s a lot more difficult to go to a web site every time you want to know what a song is, than it is to dial 7 digits and ask (that is, if the DJ picks up…).
btw… our longest self promoting liner (no listener testimonials, just snippets of the variety of music we play–creed, van halen, kiss, rage) is 19 seconds long. and we recently changed formats (a few months ago) so thanks god we’ve got nothing longer…